From Farm Shop to High-Tech Powerhouse: A Blueprint for Rapid CNC Scaling
In the heart of Wichita, Kansas, Youngers and Sons Manufacturing is proving that "lights-out" production isn't just a futuristic concept -- it's a weekend reality. The company has cracked the code on scaling high-precision operations through the strategic integration of Okuma lathes and automated robotic loaders. But what was the specific "pre-flight blueprint" leadership used that has them on a path to a 200% productivity gain?
Every Friday through Sunday in Wichita, Kansas, there's a distinctive location in the city where employees have left the building, the lights are out, but spindles hum nonstop, producing parts to exact spec, all weekend long. This is all made possible by one company's vision to take its manufacturing capabilities to the next level through technology.
From Humble Beginnings to Full-Scale Operations
On weekdays too, Youngers and Sons Manufacturing has its operations down to an automated science that fuels business transformation. This transformation journey dates back more than 50 years, as the company has grown from a small metal building on a farm making recreation equipment, to a multi-facility business making components for a variety of industries, including oil and gas, agriculture, and other industrial markets.
Youngers and Sons Manufacturing has grown from a small farm building in 1973 to a multi-facility operation today.
Throughout their journey, company leadership has looked for ways to grow its competitive advantage within these industries, as well as position itself for future possibilities. Over time, they've invested in and acquired the right machine tools and technologies to facilitate this positioning.
Choosing the right machines came first -- then operational trials, then progress, then perfection, all powered by a growing fleet of CNC machines, including several Okuma machines. Each success set up the next, and it wasn't long until recurring orders and steady demand became catalysts for automated progress.
Positioning for Growth
To help position for growth, Younger's and Son's VP of Manufacturing and COO Chad Hoheisel turned to Okuma and local representative Hartwig for assistance in scaling their operation. The answer -- three Okuma GENOS L3000-e lathes, each paired with an Okuma Robot Loader -- Rotary (ORL-R). With this technology investment, Youngers and Sons enabled quicker job changeovers, upskilled employees, and reduced costs. In essence, more work was done with fewer resources, throughput rose, and part tolerances and repeatability were held at the highest levels.
Youngers and Sons has scaled its operation with the help of 3 Okuma lathes.
The GENOS L3000-e lathe is a one-saddle lathe featuring an integral spindle for powerful, high-precision CNC machining. The integral spindle motor provides increased machining capacity as highly rigid guideways handle powerful cutting capabilities. This highly evolved horizontal lathe delivers turning, optional milling capabilities, optional Y-axis, and optional sub-spindle (W) in a compact footprint.
The Okuma Robot Loader -- Rotary (ORL-R) is designed as a seamlessly integrated and automated part loader and unloader system. It features a rotating platform and disc-style storage unit to hold part stock and finished parts.
With less than ten conversational steps for setup and an intentional plug-and-play design, two ORL-Rs were up and running at 100% capacity in less than a week. Seeing the results of elevated efficiency in real time, Hoheisel made the easy, economical decision to add a third. Hartwig St. Louis supported the purchase and installation without delay, and the transformed workflows have produced excellent outcomes ever since.
Okuma's Robot Loader -- Rotary (ORL-R) -- enables lights-out production.
"We make between 600 and 800 parts a day per machine with the ORL-R. And it's a fairly complicated part," explains Hoheisel. "In two months with this setup, it's the most efficient, cleanest-running process we have."
The optimized process runs 24 hours a day with a 2-minute cycle time. It also frees Youngers and Sons Manufacturing’s operators to focus on value-add jobs, instead of tending one machine. "I used to have an operator tied to the machine for such a short cycle time," says Hoheisel. "He probably walked ten miles a day to keep machines loaded and running." But now, the extreme physical demands and repetition have been replaced by time to complete paperwork and quality inspection checks that are difficult to do while machines are in cycle.
The robot loaders didn't take his team's jobs; they made his team's jobs more fulfilling while providing significant returns on investment. Automation acted as a cost-saving measure and a growth mechanism, enabling more complex and higher-value work. "Our operators love the new processes, and we've had a 50% productivity increase," adds Hoheisel. "Projections show a 200% gain soon."
A fifth Okuma LB3000 EX II, equipped with an LNS Quick Six S2 bar feeder, was added in 2024.
Through continuous R&D, iterative designs, and the collective push for limitless potential in our industry, CNC automation just keeps getting better. Because Youngers and Sons' leadership embraces this technology with open arms, so do their employees.
Today, Okuma Robot Loaders can triple efficiency because Youngers and Sons Manufacturing built a plan and had a mindset for their next automation solutions before adopting them. Hoheisel evaluated which machines and workflows were best positioned for robotic arms, then worked with a Hartwig St. Louis representative to create a pre-flight blueprint plan.
"We became really good at making parts first and having the right workflows in place," Hoheisel says of his strategy. "Then we automated those processes." He understood how, where, and which automation would make the biggest impact by doing the heavy lifting before placing a purchase order; the blueprint was drawn before the three Okuma Robot Loaders ever arrived in Wichita because Hoheisel knows automation delivers the most benefits when workflows are sound.
The shift to automation has boosted productivity by 50% and freed operators from grueling repetitive tasks.
Hoheisel also understood the added benefits of adopting automation solutions. "I am big on standardization. Using Okuma machines and automation, I'm calling on the same sales team and the same service team."
What's Next? An Okuma Robot Loader for Every Okuma Lathe
Another plan is already in motion. It's one that will add machining capabilities and take three robot loaders to a total of seven in the next six months. This time, the company will add the Okuma Robot Loader -- Drawer (ORL-D) to multitasking lathes -- a new integration that will elevate offerings for oil and gas, agriculture, construction, and heavy equipment markets even more. Growth created the capacity for reinvestment and additional equipment, and Youngers and Sons Manufacturing is turning again to the roots that helped grow their success.
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