Hallmark Tool & Gage, Wixom, MI has grown from six employees in 1990, when George Richards purchased the company, to 37 employees today.
One of the many types of parts Hallmark manufactures for custom machinery is tagged for a final quality check.
At its 34,000 square-foot facility, Hallmark provides complete turn-key operations from raw material to final machining and assembly. Hallmark machines all types of material and provides á la carte services.
Hallmark currently owns multiple Hurcos: its first Hurco, a 4-axis BMC40/50, two VMX84 mills, one VMX50 mill, a VMX42 mill, a BMC40/20, a VM20, two VM1 mills, a TM10 slant-bed lathe, three of the large double column DCX mills, two 2-meter DCX22 mills and one 3-meter DCX32 mill.
Hurco VMX84 mill. The Hurco was chosen because of its integrated control that includes conversational programming. "The control's operating system is easy to use and it made it easy to train employees who had never programmed a CNC machine before," said George Richards.
"We do a lot of plate work and machine bases," said George Richards. "The machines we build are in operation all over the world."
The larger work envelope of the DCX machines supports the large plate work Hallmark does. It is also beneficial for smaller jobs because users can do an entire batch at one time with multiple fixtures on the table.
The majority of Hallmark's projects in the past revolved around the automotive industry. However, the father and son team spent the last five years diversifying Hallmark's customer base to include defense, food packaging and a variety of commercial and industrial projects.
"If you are looking for only fabricating, just machining, or simply an EDM service, you will find it here at Hallmark," said George Richards.
Hallmark Tool & Gage is a family-owned and operated business in Wixom, MI. "Hallmark has more Hurco 2-meter and 3-meter DCX double column machining centers under one roof than any other company in the country," said a company spokesperson. Hallmark invested in these machining centers to expand its capabilities in order to increase the services provided to its customers. "When we research the need for new equipment, we are always seeking to expand our capabilities in size, technology, quality and efficiency," said George Richards, President of Hallmark.
When Hallmark was founded in 1980, it had six employees. The company was primarily a gage and fixture manufacturer when George Richards purchased it in 1990. Scott Richards, George's son, started as a trainee at Hallmark in 1992 and worked his way through the company to his current position as Vice President. Today, the company has 37 employees and has expanded into fabricating, CNC machining, EDM services and complete full turn-key projects.
The majority of Hallmark's projects in the past revolved around the automotive industry. However, the father and son team spent the last five years diversifying Hallmark's customer base to include defense, food packaging and a variety of commercial and industrial projects. "We do a lot of plate work and machine bases," said George Richards. "The machines we build are in operation all over the world."
A surface grinder by trade who has been in the industry since 1966, George Richards said he was first introduced to Hurco in 1996. "We had never looked at CNC equipment and we were looking for a company that could supply us with a machine we could train our employees to operate for a specific part we needed to machine," he explained. "We also wanted a machine that was versatile enough to handle other machining needs as required."
Ultimately, George and Scott Richards chose Hurco because of its integrated control that includes conversational programming, which was invented by Hurco co-founder Gerald Roch. "After looking at several different machines, Hurco was the answer," said George Richards. "The control's operating system is easy to use and it made it easy to train employees who had never programmed a CNC machine before. Hurco and Braun Machinery (the Hurco distributor in Michigan at that time) gave us the support necessary to get us going and continued that support at every request. When we got our first Hurco, Scott was programming at the control and making parts within six hours. I was sold. We have been buying Hurcos ever since."
Hallmark currently owns multiple Hurcos:
- One 4-axis BMC40/50, Hallmark's first Hurco
- Two VMX84 mills
- One VMX50 mill
- One VMX42 mill
- One BMC40/20
- One VM20
- Two VM1 mills
- One TM10 slant-bed lathe
- Three large DCX double column mills
- Two 2-meter DCX22 mills
- One 3-meter DCX32 mill.
As for the company's investment in three Hurco DCX double column machining centers, Scott Richards said, "We went with the DCX obviously because of the size of the envelope (83" x 126"), but ultimately it is the control with its ease of programming. It is so user-friendly. There are so many ways to get from point A to point B when you are setting up and running the part and the Hurco control makes it easy."
George Richards added, "The extra Y-axis is just phenomenal on the DCX machines. Whenever we look at buying a new machine, we ask ourselves, 'Should we spend a little more to expand our capabilities in addition to expanding our capacity?'"
When asked for specifics, George and Scott Richards identified Hurco's patented UltiMotion feature and NC/Conversational Merge as two examples of technology that led to their purchase. "The new UltiMotion eliminates all the lost motion you used to see, and NC/Conversational Merge has the ability to go from one to another and use the best of both programming methods," said Scott Richards.
According to the company, while the larger envelope of the DCX machines supports the large plate work Hallmark does, it is also beneficial for smaller jobs because users can do an entire batch at one time with multiple fixtures on the table.
"The machine itself has the rigidity, accuracy and repeatability we need for the job at hand, whether we are machining aluminum, stainless, mild steel or preheated materials," said George Richards.
Paul Beverly, a CNC programmer/operator at Hallmark, said, "the Tool & Material Library, DXF Transfer, Concurrent Programming and AutoCalc are some specific control features that make my job more efficient." With the Tool & Material Library, he sets up the tool parameters by part material in the control, along with feeds and speeds, and then he selects them when he is setting up the part.
Beverly said, "With Hurco's DXF feature data entry mistakes are eliminated with DXF Transfer because the tool paths are created from the geometry of the CAD-generated file. The Hurco DXF Transfer has some extra features that are time savers. Multiple part planes can be linked into a single program, contours can be chained automatically and a group of hole operations can be selected based on the hole diameter."
"AutoCalc is another time saver. You put in the dimensions that you know and the control automatically fills in what is missing," Beverly said. A feature Hurco calls Concurrent Programming is designed to maximize productivity. "Once this job is running, it is time to program another," said Beverly. "While running one job, you can program the next one right at the control without interrupting the cycle."
At its 34,000 square-foot facility, Hallmark provides complete turn-key operations from raw material to final machining and assembly. Hallmark machines all types of material and provides á la carte services. George Richards said his business philosophy is straightforward: "At Hallmark, our goal is to provide our customers with a complete turn-key operation from raw material to final machining for any size project. We want to be a partner with our customers and consistently provide them with the quality and service they require at a competitive price. But we also offer smaller services. If you are looking for only fabricating, just machining, or simply an EDM service, you will find it here at Hallmark. As for the future, Hallmark will continue to rely on great employees and top-notch equipment to provide its customers with world-class results."
For more information contact:
Hallmark Tool & Gage
51200 Pontiac Trail
Wixom, MI 48393
248-669-4010
srichards@hallmarktool.com
Hurco Companies, Inc.
One Technology Way
P.O. Box 68180
Indianapolis, IN 46268
800-634-2416
info@hurco.com
www.hurco.com
Southwest
TX, NM, N. LA
Dave Stilley
Chaparral Machinery
3435 Roy Orr Blvd., #100
Grand Prairie, TX 75050
972-313-1987
dstilley@chaparralmachinery.com
www.chaparralmachinery.com
S.E. TX, S. LA
Scott Murray
SMI Machine Tools
5829 West Sam Houston Pkwy. North #804
Houston, TX 77041
713-937-7771
scott@smimachinetools.com
www.smimachinetools.com
OK
Gage Machine Tool
10668 Widmer Rd.
Lenexa, KS 66215
913-894-1233
www.gagemachinetool.com
AR
Hurco USA
One Technology Way
Indianapolis, IN 46268
800-634-2416
317-298-2622
info@hurco.com
www.hurco.com
Southeast
FL, AL, GA
Skip Thompson
Applied Machine Sales Inc.
2200 Airport Industrial Drive
Suite 300
Ball Ground, GA 30107
678-880-0893
info@appliedmachine.com
www.appliedmachine.com
NC, SC, VA
Dan Beckman
SST Southeast
415 Brookshire Road
Greer, SC 29651
864-801-8181
sales@singlesourcetech.com
www.singlesourcetech.com
TN
Mark Cox
ACI Machine Tool Sales, LLC
2001 Foundation Drive
Lawrenceburg, KY 40342
502-839-1441
mark@acimachine.com
www.acimachine.com
MS
Hurco USA
One Technology Way
Indianapolis, IN 46268
800-634-2416
317-298-2622
info@hurco.com
www.hurco.com
Northeast
DE, E. PA, E. MD, S. NJ
Northeast Precision Machinery, Inc.
384 Nina Way
Warminster, PA 18974
215-672-8112
northeast@comcast.net
www.northeastprecision.com
ME, VT, NH, CT, MA, RI, N. NJ, NY (far South)
Joe Klier
Brooks Associates, Inc.
300 Longwater Dr, Unit A
Norwell, MA 02061
800-458-6607
781-871-3400
jklierjr@comcast.net
www.brooksmachinery.com
NY (except far South)
Jason Boyle, President
Excel Machine Technologies, Inc.
65 Bermar Park
Rochester, NY 14624
585-426-1911
jasonb@emtcnc.com
www.emtcnc.com
W. MD, C. & W. PA, N. WV
Hurco USA
One Technology Way
Indianapolis, IN 46268
317-293-5309
800-634-2416
info@hurco.com
www.hurco.com
Midwest
MI
Jim Braun
Braun Machinery Company, Inc.
800-968-1000
616-698-6400
info@braunmachinery.com
www.braunmachinery.com
N. IL
Jeff Hassen
Machinery Source
6530 Revlon Dr
Belvidere, IL 61008
815-547-0990
sales@machinerysource.com
www.machinerysource.com
S. IL, S. & E. MO
David Smith
CJ Smith Machinery Company
2275 Cassens Drive, Ste. 123
Fenton, MO 63026
800-223-3240
636-349-7757
dsmith@cjsmith-machinery.com
www.cjsmith-machinery.com
N. IN
Jerry Shultz
Humston Machinery, Inc.
10813 DeAndra Drive
Zionsville, IN 46077
317-873-3765
humston@humstonmachinery.com
www.humstonmachinery.com
IA, MN, ND, SD, N.W. WI
Tom Drazkowski
Stone Machinery, Inc.
551 Phalen Blvd.
St. Paul, MN 55130
800-879-2788
651-778-8887
info@stonemachinery.com
www.stonemachinery.com
KS, N.W. MO, NE
Dirk Gage
Gage Machine Tool
10668 Widmer Rd.
Lenexa, KS 66215
913-894-1233
dgage@gagemachinetool.com
www.gagemachinetool.com
KY, S. IN
Mark Cox
ACI Machine Tool Sales, LLC
2001 Foundation Drive
Lawrenceburg, KY 40342
502-839-1441
mark@acimachine.com
www.acimachine.com
OH
Scott Mays
Reynolds Machinery, Inc.
760 Liberty Lane
Dayton, OH 45449
937-847-8121
scottmays@reynoldsmachinery.com
www.reynoldsmachinery.com
WI (except extreme N.W.)
Vanessa Cole
Dynamic International, Inc.
N25 W23287 Paul Road
Pewaukee, WI 53072
262-521-1100
vanessa@dynamicintl.com
www.dynamicintl.com
West
AZ, SE NV
Randy Flores
D & R Machinery Exchange, LLC
5020 S. Ash Ave. Ste. 105
Tempe, AZ 85282
480-775-6462
jeff.flores@dandrmachinery.com
www.dandrmachinery.com
CO, WY
Troy Kattenhorn
Foothills Machinery Sales
6855 West 116th Avenue
Broomfield, CO 80020
303-466-3777
troy@foothillsmachinery.com
www.foothillsmachinery.com
OR, WA
Rosco Precision Machinery, LLC
4114 B Place NW, Unit 105
Auburn, WA 98001
253-333-2439
info@roscoprecisionmachinery.com
www.roscoprecisionmachinery.com
S. CA
Gary Smith
Machinery Sales Company
17253 Chestnut Street
City of Industry, CA 91748
661-362-0816
gary_smith@mchysales.com
www.mchysales.com
N. CA, N. NV
John Servin
Henry Servin & Sons
2185 Ronald St.
Santa Clara, CA 95050
408-980-8909
john@hsands.com
www.hsands.com
UT, ID, MT
David Mann
Todd Machinery Inc.
2061 W. 2300 S.
Salt Lake City, UT 84119
801-294-6390
davidmann@toddmachinery.com
www.toddmachinery.com