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Charlotte, North Carolina, November 14, 2017 – Biesse prides itself on developing its dealers at the highest level through an extensive training and educational system. In the case of Rick Braun and his company, Machine Solutions, that development has carried them into a new 10,000 square foot facility in Jasper, Indiana.
“We are committed to providing our dealers with the tools they need to succeed including the sharing of best practices designed to grow business,” Biesse America Vice President of Distribution Mike Johnson said. “We encourage them to take an active role in that growth process and Rick has done an outstanding job with that at Machine Solutions. Their continued success and the new facility are proof of that.”
After recently christening Machine Solutions’ new Tech Center with a soft launch, Braun will host a formal grand opening next April. The company was previously located in Peru, Indiana, in a facility that was less than half the size of the new building, which features a nice contrast between the past and present.
“We’re really trying to cling on to a historic building in town and use all the native hardwoods that were used to support the facility and just accentuate those and then blend that with the latest and greatest of Industry 4.0 level of equipment,” he said.
Braun’s association with Biesse started in 2006 when he worked for another dealer in Indiana. Four years later, Machine Solutions was founded and Braun’s business relationship with Biesse soon began to blossom in earnest.
“We were given a territory of basically half of Indiana,” Braun recalled. “I guess you’d call that significant because it was a beginning. But now after six or seven years have passed, we have exclusive contracts in all of Indiana and all of Kentucky and Southern Ohio. So, now, we’ve basically tripled from where we started in 2010 as far as areas of coverage for Biesse. That’s very significant in our history.”
Biesse already has a palpable presence in the Tech Center with a Viet S2 321 sander and a new Stream A edgebander on the Showroom floor along with a Klever 1530 CNC that will soon be replaced.
“We’re planning to upgrade the Klever to a full nest NBC, probably a Rover S, here in the next coming months to prepare for our grand opening,” Braun said. “We hope to have an Elix machine in here as well.”
With a heavy concentration of Tier 1 companies in the region needing a facility to visit for ideas relating to Industry 4.0, Braun will outfit his new facility mainly with those solutions. There will be a strong emphasis on automation and service support with a newly hired Automation Specialist in charge of managing the facility. Braun views automation as a key component in overcoming the challenge of a serious labor crisis in Southern Indiana.
“Decision makers no longer have the time to leave their post for a day trip to see solutions that will help their business,” Braun said. “But they are willing to take a long lunch to get a sample of automation that will help solve their labor crisis. They will also be willing to send groups of engineers to get a better handle on how we can affect their bottom lines.”
In partnership with Biesse, Braun will constantly look at new ideas and processes to change the entire landscape of local manufacturing. The emphasis on 4.0 will only continue to grow.
“We’re just trying to follow the lead of the European influence and the Biesse influence to move to that level of machine technology and continue to carry that message forward to our Customer base,” Braun said.
Think Forward is a phrase that helps define both Biesse’s mission and culture as a company. Braun answers emphatically when asked how Biesse has contributed to his own company’s success over the years.
“They’ve been vital, to put it bluntly, very vital to our success,” he said. “Biesse is very forward-thinking, always looking for new innovations and probably the leading innovator in our industry. We just want to continue to spread the word and spread the technology and support them on a local level and we’re going to see continued growth and a gain in market share.”
