Waunakee / Wisconsin / United States
In 2001 two friends had a series of casual conversations, basically complaining about the fact that there was no good small CNC for inventors, R&D, or small manufacturers. One of the two was the owner of a specialty tool company and the other was general manager of a technology research company. The 2001-2002 recession hit hard on research companies. When investment pulled out, the research company had to shut its doors. About that time the tool company owner called up the former research manager and reminded him that it was not very productive to whine about the lack of a small CNC, suggesting that it would be more useful to do something about it. This was the start of Tormach LLC. The remainder of the story is located at Tormach Design Story. Combining Quality and Value: Tormach engineers guide all details of product design and development, while Tormach products are manufactured in China, with 100% inspection by Tormach employees. This unique combination of western technology and Asian manufacturing provides a combination of quality and value that is unmatched anywhere. In contrast, machine tools, such as those from Hardinge, Mori Seiki, and others, are highly engineered products, designed and manufactured by companies in USA, Germany, or Japan. This provides high quality but at a tremendous cost. Companies associated with low cost machine tools, such as Grizzly, Enco, or Smithy, are essentially resellers of machinery made in China. They may select the color and a few options, but they do not have an engineering staff that truly controls the design. The cost is low and quality is variable. Geeks with Tools: Tormach has a significant technical staff. More than 60% of our staff has science or engineering degrees, more than 40% have their Masters degree and two staff members have PhDs in engineering. This may explain some of our preoccupation with testing, design, and documentation. Mission Driven: Our company was started because we felt there was a real need among entrepreneurs, researchers, educators, and hobbyists. If we seem to know what you want, it is probably because we have been in your shoes. Tormach applauds the innovators among us and is dedicated to providing the tools they need to support their ambitions. Full Spectrum: We are here to help people enter the world of CNC manufacturing, and selling an entry level machine tool is only a part of what is needed to accomplish that. Through our website, manuals, training, software, tooling, and engineered accessories we are working to make CNC machining easy to learn and productivity quick to achieve. There is a learning curve, but it is not a brick wall, and Tormach makes the process easier.
