Page 60 - Summer 2024 EDM Today

EDM Today asked Patrick about the EDM Today Magazine
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When discussing the nation's lack of skilled workers,
Tony added that, indirectly, the
investment in Carl Hirschmann
Patrick indicated that, unfortunately, the Chicago area
tooling and fixturing has helped
is no exception to labor shortages. However, Sko-Die is

fortunate because it is a great workplace. Employees can
Sko-Die grow as it allows them
to be competitive and achieve an
build a career and have a nice lifestyle for themselves
accuracy level that exceeds the
and their families. Potential new hires generally like what
they see and hear when visiting the Sko-Die facility. They
like the apprenticeship program and great compensation
package that includes health care insurance with a signif-
investment in their latest EDM, the
icant percentage of the cost paid for by Sko-Die. customer’s expectations.
Sodick AL600P. Patrick stated that their Wire EDM
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operations are critical to their overall success. They
Hiring and training employees is, of course, extremely
important, but employee retention is also something
wanted to choose a machine that would meet their
requirements from both a productivity and accuracy
that some companies struggle with. Sko-Die uses a very
standpoint. They looked closely at Sodick and ran test
effective two-part bonus structure. At the end of the year,
employees get a bonus based on their individual perfor-
cuts. The speed, accuracy, and surface finish all exceed-

ed their expectations, so they made the investment.
mance, but also a second bonus based on the company's
aggregate performance. This inspires employees to work
Tony added that it was a good decision. Their Sodick
as a team and support each other. It is certainly a strat-
machine has performed extremely well, and Sodick has
egy that works for Sko-Die as they are fortunate to have
little turnover of employees.
Sko-Die is an active member of several industry associ-
Sko-Die was nominated for Top Shop honors by Neal provided great service and support.
ations; their memberships include the Precision Metal-
Otten from Carl Hirschmann. In addition to adding auto-
forming Association, the American Welding Society, the
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National Association of Manufacturers, and the Illinois
mation, Sko-Die has embraced high-accuracy fixturing.

Sko-Die’s Senior Manufacturing Engineer Tony Cosentino
Manufacturers’ Association. Patrick explained that their
said they started with Carl Hirschmann fixtures and vices
active memberships help to keep them abreast of new
in the early 2000s. They allow the operators to set up
technologies and issues that impact their industry. He
added that the information gleaned from their industry
faster and greatly reduce errors. Most importantly, they
associations help greatly with their strategic planning.
enable Sko-Die to achieve extremely high repeatability
and precision in their most demanding work.
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EDM Today Magazine
EDM Today Magazine EDM Today Magazine EDM Today, Summer 2024 Issue
Tony Cosentino and EDM Operator Wojciech Karpiesiuk

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