Modern Machine Shop's Top Shops Program Identifies Best-In-Class Manufacturing

This year’s survey included submissions from shop principals (owners, executives, managers) who provided metrics and detailed insight for the Top Shops program’s four main categories: machining technology, shopfloor practices, business strategies and human resources. The program enables all shops—from small job shops to large captive operations—to compare their key performance indicators as well as processes and equipment used with the nation’s best machining businesses. This enables company executives to identify and prioritize improvement efforts.

Key points for this year include:

-Top Shops achieved a spindle utilization for its CNC machines of 72 percent compared to 60 percent for others.

-This survey, 37 percent of Top Shops reported having additive manufacturing/3D printing equipment, a significant increase from 19 percent in last year’s survey.

-Median value for gross sales per CNC machine for Top Shops and other shops was $300,000 and $160,000, respectively.

“There are a couple primary reasons hundreds of companies each year participate in our Top Shops benchmarking survey,” says Derek Korn, Executive Editor of Modern Machine Shop and Top Shops survey director. “One reason is because it highlights the technologies, processes and strategies leading companies are applying both on the shop floor and in the front office. Another is that the survey enables shops to see how their key performance metrics compare to industry leaders.”

Four participating shops in the benchmarking group were named 2017 Honors Program winners for the primary survey categories. This year’s winners include X-L Machine (Three Rivers, Michigan), Richards Industries (Cincinnati, Ohio), Land Sea Air Manufacturing (Westminster, Maryland) and MRS Machining (Augusta, Wisconsin).

The 2017 awards will be presented at the inaugural Top Shops Conference, which will take place September 5-7in Indianapolis, Indiana. The conference will enable attendees to learn about practical ways to improve their machining business. More information is available at TopShopsEvent.com