Foremaster Tool is a precision manufacturing company in Northern Utah with a long family legacy of producing quality and exacting machine work. Their long list of high-profile customers continues to depend on Foremaster Tool’s varied machining, assembly and inspection capabilities as well as their capable staff and sparkling, professional facility. Large Fortune 500 customers have trusted their very complex parts and assemblies to Foremaster. Their list of customers includes several large aerospace & defense contractors, automotive suppliers as well as local and national manufacturers who are impressive by any standards. There are many reasons why Foremaster Tool is a leader in precision machining and manufacturing, but several unique elements and a family conviction have contributed significantly to their success.
Alvin (Pete) and Bonnie Foremaster founded the company 41 years ago after Pete had spent years in the precision machining/tool and die trade and was confident in his ability to open his own business. He also had a succession plan in son Brian. Brian worked for the company from the time he was in high school, and Brian opted to enhance his skills outside of the company for a number of years. Brian learned more about the trade while working at a few very large companies, including Honeywell. At age 25, Brian felt he had the newly acquired skill sets to come back into Foremaster Tool full-time. Brian is assisted by the management team, which includes Craig Blackett, Bonnie Foremaster, and Yolanda Foremaster, Brian’s wife. Bonnie says, “Pete was an expert machinist, and a good business man. Brian, with key team members, has taken Foremaster to the next level.
Alvin (Pete) and Bonnie Foremaster founded the company 41 years ago after Pete had spent years in the precision machining/tool and die trade and was confident in his ability to open his own business. He also had a succession plan in son Brian. Brian worked for the company from the time he was in high school, and Brian opted to enhance his skills outside of the company for a number of years. Brian learned more about the trade while working at a few very large companies, including Honeywell. At age 25, Brian felt he had the newly acquired skill sets to come back into Foremaster Tool full-time. Brian is assisted by the management team, which includes Craig Blackett, Bonnie Foremaster, and Yolanda Foremaster, Brian’s wife. Bonnie says, “Pete was an expert machinist, and a good business man. Brian, with key team members, has taken Foremaster to the next level.
The Foremaster family has built their business with conservative and solid financial prudence. Bonnie says, “Over the past 40 plus years we expanded the business gradually, increasing the facility size as needed, and we purchased 1-2 machines at a time. This allowed us to pay them off before making any new purchases. Foremaster is built on a solid and conservative financial model, ensuring that we can weather downturns.” The company weathered the 2008-2009 economic downturn without a single layoff! In fact, Foremaster Tool has no sales force and does little to add to their customer base as they are kept extremely busy with repeat business from satisfied customers.
Foremaster Tool’s facilities have grown with financial stability in mind. The company opened in a 2400 square foot facility, and over the years moved from a 4800 square foot facility, to 9600, and then to 11,000. When they were bursting at the seams and couldn’t even accommodate the floor space for a bar feeder they needed, they planned their move to their current facility, an 18,000 building located in Ogden, Utah. With low debt key to their growth, the Foremaster owners purchased their latest facility. And with their latest impressive facility, Foremaster Tool is poised again for growth.
The team members at Foremaster are almost all journeymen machinists, and approximately half have more than 10 years of tenure with the company. Brian Foremaster, president and co-owner with Bonnie Foremaster, says, “We only bring on 1 or 2 trainees at a time, and our team mentors them until they become expert machinists. Additionally, our turnover rate with our journeymen machinists is almost non-existent. You get years of true craftsman expertise with the team at Foremaster.”
Foremaster Tool’s facilities have grown with financial stability in mind. The company opened in a 2400 square foot facility, and over the years moved from a 4800 square foot facility, to 9600, and then to 11,000. When they were bursting at the seams and couldn’t even accommodate the floor space for a bar feeder they needed, they planned their move to their current facility, an 18,000 building located in Ogden, Utah. With low debt key to their growth, the Foremaster owners purchased their latest facility. And with their latest impressive facility, Foremaster Tool is poised again for growth.
The team members at Foremaster are almost all journeymen machinists, and approximately half have more than 10 years of tenure with the company. Brian Foremaster, president and co-owner with Bonnie Foremaster, says, “We only bring on 1 or 2 trainees at a time, and our team mentors them until they become expert machinists. Additionally, our turnover rate with our journeymen machinists is almost non-existent. You get years of true craftsman expertise with the team at Foremaster.”
The company is well versed in electrical panel assembly. In fact, they have a master electrician on staff, and their accomplishments include complete high level assembly of products requiring electrical panels. Today, companies like ATK Launch and Autoliv capitalize on Foremaster’s capabilities in this arena.
Foremaster Tool specializes in custom tooling with quick turn-around, and there aren’t many machine shops that can do this for their customers. Only shops with very experienced journeymen machinists can satisfy these requirements. They are also well- known for their unique ability manufacture automation assembly equipment. Craig Blackett, operations manager says, “Our customers come to us with a design. We then price the machine components, price the total assembly, machine the parts, and do the final assembly. If and when there is an issue, we are responsible, and we engineer the solution. There is no going back and forth with several machine shops to get the issue resolved.”
Brian adds, “This also makes the end automation assembly equipment less expensive for our customers, because there aren’t several party add-ons. We can also turn the product around to our customers much faster, since all of the deliverables are under our control.”
Foremaster Tool specializes in custom tooling with quick turn-around, and there aren’t many machine shops that can do this for their customers. Only shops with very experienced journeymen machinists can satisfy these requirements. They are also well- known for their unique ability manufacture automation assembly equipment. Craig Blackett, operations manager says, “Our customers come to us with a design. We then price the machine components, price the total assembly, machine the parts, and do the final assembly. If and when there is an issue, we are responsible, and we engineer the solution. There is no going back and forth with several machine shops to get the issue resolved.”
Brian adds, “This also makes the end automation assembly equipment less expensive for our customers, because there aren’t several party add-ons. We can also turn the product around to our customers much faster, since all of the deliverables are under our control.”
When Pete Foremaster initially purchasedmachines to start his business, Tracy Smith, 2nd generation owner of Smith Machinery, were business associates and friends and worked together to select the right equipment for Pete’s vision of his business. Today, Brian Foremaster continues to purchase high-performance/high-value machine tools from Smith Machinery. He says, “We purchase machines that epitomize operator efficiency – and Mazak fits this bill. Their controls are so user friendly that we have our machinists operating 2 Mazaks simultaneously. There isn’t another machine I can think of where one machinist can safely and efficiently run two machines. In essence, we really look to find both quality and value when we buy a machine. We find that Mazak fits this requirement very well.”
Obviously their Mazak machine tools help Foremaster Tool to run their business efficiently as well as profitably, but Brian is quick to admit that another very important reason he purchases his machines from Smith Machinery is their dedication to customer support and satisfaction.
“You will not find better local support in this industry than you will find with Smith Machinery. Their Applications Engineer, Ben Anderson, is the best A.E. I have come in contact with, ever! Our sales engineer, Scott Trumble, always goes the extra mile. He is here for every installation and he stops by at least once a week to see how Smith Machinery can help our business. The Smith Machinery team members are both knowledgeable and a pleasure to do business with. They are trustworthy.”
Obviously their Mazak machine tools help Foremaster Tool to run their business efficiently as well as profitably, but Brian is quick to admit that another very important reason he purchases his machines from Smith Machinery is their dedication to customer support and satisfaction.
“You will not find better local support in this industry than you will find with Smith Machinery. Their Applications Engineer, Ben Anderson, is the best A.E. I have come in contact with, ever! Our sales engineer, Scott Trumble, always goes the extra mile. He is here for every installation and he stops by at least once a week to see how Smith Machinery can help our business. The Smith Machinery team members are both knowledgeable and a pleasure to do business with. They are trustworthy.”
Brian points to a recent event that describes the Smith Machinery ethic. “We had a Mazak machine that was 8 years old, and out of warranty. We had contracted a local independent service repair company to repair machine. After 30 days, the machine still wasn’t up and running. So, finally, we called Clark Smith, and he told us that he would absorb the cost of the labor if we paid the cost for the parts. Clark got us the support we needed, and within days, we were back up and running. As I have said, Smith Machinery offers support you will not find anywhere else. “
Foremaster Tool has no sales force and does little to add to their customer base, Brian admits. They don’t have time to, because they are kept extremely busy with repeat business from satisfied customers. However, that is not to say that you shouldn’t contact Foremaster Tool if you are looking for a supplier that can produce parts that are extremely complex and of tight tolerance, but who can also offer electrical and/or mechanical design and assembly.
Foremaster Tool in Ogden, Utah.
If you haven’t done business with them, you will find them to be a professional and experienced team capable of providing exacting and quality results, whether it is single machined components or complex automation equipment.Check them out at www.foremastertool.com or call them at (801) 737-0265.
Article courtesy of A2Z Metalworker
Foremaster Tool has no sales force and does little to add to their customer base, Brian admits. They don’t have time to, because they are kept extremely busy with repeat business from satisfied customers. However, that is not to say that you shouldn’t contact Foremaster Tool if you are looking for a supplier that can produce parts that are extremely complex and of tight tolerance, but who can also offer electrical and/or mechanical design and assembly.
Foremaster Tool in Ogden, Utah.
If you haven’t done business with them, you will find them to be a professional and experienced team capable of providing exacting and quality results, whether it is single machined components or complex automation equipment.Check them out at www.foremastertool.com or call them at (801) 737-0265.
Article courtesy of A2Z Metalworker
