Smith’s Machine & Grinding adds 4 positions

Smith’s Machine & Grinding, Inc. has bumped up Galesburg’s job force by four positions — one administrative and three machinists — during the past 12 months.

Owner Scot Ogden would like to double that number.

“I have a lot of machines sitting idle on second shift and I’d love to see them up and running,” Ogden says. “I’m always looking for good, trained machinists — I’ve been advertising and I could use four or five more.”

Smith’s Machine & Grinding, Inc. makes steel parts for a variety of industries, including steel mills, refineries, hydraulic industries and lawn mower companies. Steel parts for different types of industrial pumps make up a large portion of the business that Ogden oversees.

“We’re a job shop for other companies,” he says. “Some are over-capacity and some just don’t make their parts in-house. So they come to me and I tell them what we can do for them.”

Ogden began experiencing a sharp increase in production two summers ago.

“As soon as the economy got going again and the price of oil went back up, business got better,” Ogden says. “When you drill more oil, you need more parts.”

With 16 years of experience as the company’s owner, Ogden has learned what to expect when business is down — and when it is up.

“We’re still busy and from what customers tell me, we’re going to stay that way,” he says. “I hope it’s because I do a good job with on-time service with fair prices for good quality parts.”

Writer: Kelle Barr, Second Wave
Source: Scot Ogden, Owner, Smith’s Machine & Grinding, Inc.