Discussion
Could you (well me) make a living opening a sub-contract CNC turning and milling machine shop. I've worked in engineering workshops doing tool making, cnc machining and programming, welding, running metal stores, even a bit of AutoCAD etc since I was 16 (nearly 9 years ago). I'm not the kind person who cares about having a fancy new car, fancy house, impressing the Joneses etc. I just want to make a reasonable income.
Anybody else ever opened a engineering workshop?
Anybody else ever opened a engineering workshop?
I own a CNC milling & Turning shop. It is fantastic once you have a steady order book and really good customer relationships going, but down sides are, its a very cut throat industry, and one of the biggest problems I encounter is decent machinists.
The costs to run a shop are so high, so it can have small profit margins which is something i saw when i have bought out other companies.
Dealing with big companies as customers is the way forward, as when you deal with little firms, they treat you like crap, talk to you like the own the world for 1k a month orders. Which makes it very hard to fill your capacity. If you have good contacts with nice big cusomters and can get the work, then its good fun.
The costs to run a shop are so high, so it can have small profit margins which is something i saw when i have bought out other companies.
Dealing with big companies as customers is the way forward, as when you deal with little firms, they treat you like crap, talk to you like the own the world for 1k a month orders. Which makes it very hard to fill your capacity. If you have good contacts with nice big cusomters and can get the work, then its good fun.
Noesph said:
Could you (well me) make a living opening a sub-contract CNC turning and milling machine shop. I've worked in engineering workshops doing tool making, cnc machining and programming, welding, running metal stores, even a bit of AutoCAD etc since I was 16 (nearly 9 years ago). I'm not the kind person who cares about having a fancy new car, fancy house, impressing the Joneses etc. I just want to make a reasonable income.
Anybody else ever opened a engineering workshop?
You can make a living out of anything if you are providing for an un-met demand (product/price/quality/speed etc). Your first question should therefore be 'is there a demand'? If there is, describe that demand (price/quality/product etc). Once described, can you meet it, or better still, improve upon it. If you then have the skills to move forward (in your case, the production) and you can also meet the other skills needed to run yiur new business (finance, marketing, forecasting, strategy, customer relations, HR, leadership (you get the picture!)), then you may have a fighting chance. Good luck!Anybody else ever opened a engineering workshop?
sparkyb999 said:
I own a CNC milling & Turning shop. It is fantastic once you have a steady order book and really good customer relationships going, but down sides are, its a very cut throat industry, and one of the biggest problems I encounter is decent machinists.
The costs to run a shop are so high, so it can have small profit margins which is something i saw when i have bought out other companies.
Dealing with big companies as customers is the way forward, as when you deal with little firms, they treat you like crap, talk to you like the own the world for 1k a month orders. Which makes it very hard to fill your capacity. If you have good contacts with nice big cusomters and can get the work, then its good fun.
Lots of good info there, especially about the big companies. I'm in no doubt about how cut throat the industry is, but I've been thinking about going on my own for years, I think I've got to a point in my life where I think that's its worth having a go, instead of a sitting around in my old age going "what if".The costs to run a shop are so high, so it can have small profit margins which is something i saw when i have bought out other companies.
Dealing with big companies as customers is the way forward, as when you deal with little firms, they treat you like crap, talk to you like the own the world for 1k a month orders. Which makes it very hard to fill your capacity. If you have good contacts with nice big cusomters and can get the work, then its good fun.
rog007 said:
You can make a living out of anything if you are providing for an un-met demand (product/price/quality/speed etc). Your first question should therefore be 'is there a demand'? If there is, describe that demand (price/quality/product etc). Once described, can you meet it, or better still, improve upon it. If you then have the skills to move forward (in your case, the production) and you can also meet the other skills needed to run yiur new business (finance, marketing, forecasting, strategy, customer relations, HR, leadership (you get the picture!)), then you may have a fighting chance. Good luck!
I agree with you, and I really need to have a good think and sort all that stuff out. Thanks.
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