The Power of Finding a Way: This is APT Machining

After all these years, this 30+ year job shop is just getting started.

A quick chat with Brian Mayo, President of APT Machining in Kasota, Minnesota, reveals that he believes loyal customers to be a significant reason for the company’s longevity and success. But of course, loyalty has to be earned, and since 1990, that’s exactly what APT has done.

Today, their customers know that there’s a slim-to-none chance that they’ll hear the word “no” coming from APT. Mayo and his staff intentionally keep the schedule flexible to fit in those spur-of-the-moment needs that tend to pop up.

“My dad taught me to, no matter what, find a way to keep customers satisfied,” Mayo said. “So across agriculture, transportation, construction, power generation, electric motor, industrial, consumer goods, and medical, we always help customers with what they need. And if for some reason we can’t do it, we help them find someone who can.”

It’s a winning formula, and when it’s paired with the reliable support of Ellison Technologies, it results in one of the best job shop partners you can find.

Our Longstanding and Fruitful Relationship

People who appreciate loyalty are usually able to give it freely to others, and since the early 90s, that’s been our experience with the Mayo family and APT. All those decades ago, the relationship began with the purchases of some Okuma lathes and Tree mills. A DMG Mori NLX machine followed, and that brings us to where we are today: APT’s relationship with DN Solutions and with Jason Pawelk, Sales Engineer at Ellison Minnesota.

“Working with Ellison has been wonderful. Over the years, we’ve used them for machine needs, training, and parts,” Mayo said. “I’ve been impressed with everyone there who I’ve crossed paths with.”

“Jason is exactly who you want as a sales partner. He has great attention to detail, and I know that everything, from quote to machine delivery, will be well documented and communicated.”

Enter Four DN Machining Centers

The most recent APT purchases were all DN Solutions machining centers: two NHP 4000 horizontals and two DNM 4500 verticals. The four machines are each an ideal asset for a busy job shop such as APT. They all work on a variety of parts for all industries.

“The difference was immediately noticeable,” Mayo said. “The DN machines brought speed and impressive construction that allowed us to improve productivity and quality.”

“In the past, we made our machine purchases based on availability, price, and need, but we’ve gotten to the point where we feel DN is the best choice for any of our purchases."

In true job shop fashion, APT’s DN machines handle a wide range of parts for several industries. “Plenty of the parts we make are just made to print and we aren’t always sure what they do or where they go,” said Mayo. “But we do a variety of aluminum, steel and stainless steel parts for fiber communication lines, ductile castings for shower drains, weldments for the paint industry, hardened steel molds for hammer dies, and a variety of parts for huge commercial doors you’d see in things like airplane hangars and fire stations.”

“On average, we have seen about 20% improvement in cycle times. DN machines are reliable, easy to set up, and operator-friendly.”

Need To Cement Your Tomorrow? Talk To Ellison Technologies.

APT stands out by always finding a way to do right by their customers, and we try our best to do business in exactly the same way. Truly, all of us at Ellison put customer success before our own. For decades, we’ve seen how beneficial that success can be for all parties involved.

If you have a feeling that it’s time for a new machine tool purchase, we have experts located all over the country who would like nothing better than to team up. Get in touch and tell us what you have in mind today.

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