I joined Modig Machine Tool on July 4th 2016. The five years since have passed so quickly that I’m not sure how to summarize them: exciting, challenging, great people, amazing customers, travel, success, growth, change, and, most importantly, maintaining the 75-year old value system that has made us who we are.
Leaving Spirit AeroSystems was a tough decision. My job was stimulating, my team was very successful, and I was surrounded by people who were – and who still are – close friends. So, what was it that convinced me to make such an abrupt career change? Three things: modig’s potential, its products, and its people.
It was clear to me that this relatively small Swedish company had yet to make the splash it deserved. I have huge appreciation for people who dedicate their lives to the products that others take for granted – airplanes, cars, boats, homes, buildings, and all our other everyday conveniences. I saw this attitude in David Modig and everyone else here, backed up by a range of outstanding products and innovations.
With this inspiration, David and I worked for several months on an aggressive 5-year plan to change the face of modig forever. It’s been tough, but it’s led to us moving production from our hometown of Virserum to our fantastic custom-built facility in Kalmar. Then, in October 2021, we celebrated the grand opening of our North American Headquarters in Wichita, Kansas.
It’s a place for demonstrating Modig’s strengths. With machining centers on-site, customers can come here for demonstrations, program optimization, and run-time validation. It’s also home to technicians, engineers, CNC programmers, machine operators, and project managers, so you can understand why more than 20 different companies
from various sectors have already been here for machining support.
The recent slow-down in the aerospace industry has, of course, been challenging, but we’ve maintained our upward trajectory through diversification, acquisitions, product releases, and marketing. With so many electric vehicles using aluminum extrusion, our HHV line has found a new sector where it can excel. Between 40% and 70% faster than the competition, we knew that our machining centers could penetrate this emerging market once manufacturers understood their capabilities. We have an actual business case showing 30 HHVs doing the work of 118 conventional machines – with this level of performance, it’s natural that business-savvy teams who care about efficiency and productivity can see the long-term value of working with Modig.
I am so proud of everyone in our team and thankful for their hard work over the past five years. With our new homes in Kalmar and Wichita, and the potential of our solutions (including, of course, the extraordinary inverted machining platform), I’m looking forward to further success in the next five years – and beyond.
Did this article spark your curiosity? Read more about MODIG in our e-magazine.
E-magazine: Produktion: ROXX Communication Group, Publisher: Modig Machine Tool. Project manager: Micael Lindgren. Text: Brian Cloughley. Photo: Modig Machine Tool/Studio Rosenfors/Lindsberg Media.