Committed to Improvement

Machinewell, Inc. was founded on the belief that “nothing will work unless you do.” Machinewell supplies custom machined and welded parts to about 80 customers across the U.S., with capabilities including CNC turning, Swiss machining, milling, welding, sawing, engineering, R&D, and quality inspection. Started in 1976 as a one-man agricultural equipment repair shop, Machinewell has grown into a 53-employee operation running two shifts a day, producing roughly 20,000 parts a week for clients including Polaris, Landscape Structures, and Life Fitness. Family- and locally-owned and operated from its 30,000-square-foot facility in Grygla, Minnesota, Machinewell is a key employer for its small northwestern Minnesota community and earned ISO 9001:2015 certification in December 2022.

The Challenge

After earning their ISO 9001:2015 certification with Enterprise Minnesota’s help, Machinewell’s leadership team recognized that maintaining certification would require disciplined, ongoing internal auditing, not just a one-time push. With the VP team already stretched across sales, engineering, and finance, they didn’t have the bandwidth to build and sustain a rigorous internal audit cadence on their own. Having already built a working relationship with Enterprise Minnesota business growth consultant Keith Gadacz during the certification process, the leadership team chose to reengage with Enterprise Minnesota for support with their annual system audits, ensuring Machinewell stayed audit-ready and continued to meet the standards required to do business with major clients.

The Solution

Enterprise Minnesota consultant Keith Gadacz conducted third-party analysis of Machinewell’s management system and documentation to verify that its daily operations complied with the ISO 9001:2015 standard. Since becoming ISO certified, Machinewell has chosen to work with Enterprise Minnesota each year as a trusted partner for ensuring the company maintains ISO compliance. Along the way, as Keith meets with the Machinewell team, he is able to bring fresh perspective to the company’s processes and speaks with employees at all levels of production, helping ensure they are invested in the value ISO certification brings. For Machinewell, nonconformities are rare and opportunities for improvement (OFI) are seen as helpful for finding additional ways to keep improving their operations.

The Results

• $120,000 in increased or retained sales.
• $20,000 in cost savings in labor, materials, overhead, or other areas.
• $14,000 invested in new products or processes.
• $28,000 invested in new plant, equipment, or information systems