Indiana Machine Tool Distributor Moves Into a New Facility, Adds Employees

After just 15 months in business, machine tools distributor Heartland Machine & Engineering is riding at the top of the manufacturing tidal wave some say is an indicator the economy is on a slow rebound. However, there is nothing slow about Heartland’s growth over the past year. Company officials:

• Bought a new building in Franklin to move from 2,700ft² to more than 12,000ft²
• Added 10 employees
• Expanded business into Kentucky, Tennessee, and China
• Surpassed their commitment to the city of Franklin, IN to work with local vendors to impact the local economy and achieve a benchmark of sales and revenue for one year in just a four-month period

Last week, Heartland had a grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony at its new building at 2850 Graham Rd. in Franklin. Guests in attendance were Sen. Greg Walker (R-Columbus), Rep. Woody Burton (R-Whiteland), and Cheryl Morphew, president and CEO of the Johnson County Development Corporation. Representatives from Cummins Fuel Systems, Amada Wasino, Shigiya, and Hyundai-WIA attended. With more than 200 registered attendees from Indiana’s manufacturing industry,  participants viewed machine training and demonstrations on 18 of the industry’s leading CNC machines, grinders, lathes, and automated robotics that provide production efficiencies to companies specializing in automotive, aerospace, agriculture, medical devices, and job shops throughout the Midwest.

Machine demonstrations included:

• Hyundia-WIA vertical turning lathe for the aerospace and automotive industries 
• Knuth water jet machine specializing in machining and fabrication of parts ranging from small to very large 
• Shigiya grinders that perform extreme finishing down to 1-micron tolerances and below 
• Amada Wasino computerized numerically controlled (CNC) lathes with integrated automation that allows for operator-free functioning 
• Robotic capabilities with a vision/camera system for part recognition as demonstrated by the machine’s ability to deal a hand of Black Jack on a moving platform 
• Vertical machine centers for precision machining automotive and medical parts