Job Shop Grows with Hard Work and the Right Machine Tool Technology

Rooted among the tucks and folds of Southwestern Illinois farmland some 40 miles from St. Louis, Missouri, one might not expect to find a forward-thinking shop with the most advanced machine tool technology pumping out parts in a high-mix/low-volume production environment. But that’s the case at Sanks Machining, and second-generation owner and President Dustin Sanks says cutting-edge machine tools have been key to his shop’s growth and continued success.

“When it comes to describing Sanks Machining, I like the term job shop,” Sanks said. “Whether it’s one component or a whole assembly, we can do it. We’ve made a niche for ourselves by being able to handle anything that comes through the door. It’s what we do, and we’re good at it.”

Sanks Machining has grown from a one-man operation to a 20,000-square-foot job shop with 16 employees performing a full complement of services from traditional machining to in-house design and processing of intricate parts on the latest machine tool technology.

The company’s history, Sanks said, is “your typical story that is anything but typical.” True to form, a standard recipe of perseverance and hard work contributed to success, but a special father-son relationship also led Sanks Machining to where it is today.

William Sanks, Dustin’s father, started the shop in his garage in 1997 and equipped it with a manual lathe and tabletop mill. After working for other companies in the area, the elder Sanks felt he could do as good a job, if not better, working for himself and supporting local business needs. Initial customers included the local telephone company and nearby steel yard.

During this time, Dustin attended Ranken Technical College in St. Louis, then honed his skills with other firms until returning to the family business in 2011. At that point, the push and pull between old-school and a fresh perspective finally led to William selling the business to Dustin in 2015.

When Dustin took over, the shop had six low-end commodity machines on the floor producing nearly as much downtime as production. That’s when Sanks realized a change in direction was needed and acquired its first multi-tasking machine in the final quarter of 2013. The multi-tasking machine was a QUICK TURN 250MY Multi-Tasking Turning Center from Mazak. As an (MY) configuration, the machine features milling capability and Y-axis functionality along with a standard through-hole chuck package, and integral turning spindle motor. All of which allow Sanks to process a wide range of parts in single setups.

“That was our direction at the time when I took over,” Dustin said of his commodity machine inventory. “We lacked innovation, the service was lackluster, and the technology wasn’t up to par.”

The shop’s initial move to a high-end multi-tasking machine proved to be the catalyst for adding even more advanced machine tool technology, and in late 2016, Sanks solidified its move away from commodity machines with the purchase of a Mazak VCN 530C NEXUS Series Vertical Machining Center.

“Once we got the VCN 530C, we ran it 24 hours per day for the better part of a month to get a customer’s job done, with that, I knew we had made the right decision,” Dustin said. “This is also when I realized we needed to continue to improve our level of technology with the right machine tools or we’d be out of business.”

In addition to setting itself apart from regional competition with its machine tool technology, Dustin said the move to Mazak enabled Sanks to triple its growth and production against its capital investment by putting out more work with fewer machines. The shop’s original Mazak purchase has led to several other machines.

Those other Mazak additions included more QUICK TURN CNC Turning Centers, a VTC (Vertical Traveling Column) Series Vertical Machining Center and an HCN 6800 Horizontal Machining Center that has allowed the shop to consolidate multiple operations. In December 2023, Sanks acquired an INTEGREX i-500 3000U  advanced Multi-Tasking Machine that will provide the shop even more DONE IN ONEÒ single-setup part processing capability for medium to large complex parts.

The MAZATROL Smooth CNC controls that provide for both conversational and G-code programming on its Mazak machines have also factored significantly into Sanks’ success. Originally trained in G-code, Dustin initially resisted MAZATROL’s conversational programming capability. However, after his second day of training, “it was like a light switch went on,” he said. “If you can answer questions, it’s simple.”

Now, 85% of the shop’s programming is performed on the floor, streamlining production and putting every operator in control of his process. Additionally, younger operators quickly gain confidence in their abilities and intuitively take to Mazak’s control platform because it looks like the screens and tablets they grew up with, according to Dustin.

Overall, the move to Mazak has updated part handling and setup throughout the shop, allowing Sanks to produce parts better, faster and more accurately than it ever could with its commodity machines, Dustin added. By turning out more parts with fewer machines, the shop also eases the load on its operators with less part handling and fewer setups.

In addition to improved production numbers, the complexity of Sanks’ manufacturing capability has also evolved from turning out relatively simple, straightforward parts to intricate, high-precision components and molds. Together, these enhancements have positioned Sanks well ahead of its competition by maximizing the benefits of its existing capabilities.

“We look toward the future when it comes to deciding on a machine,” Dustin said. “Because it’s more about growing our existing capabilities. We continuously ask ourselves how we can do existing work better, faster and more accurately, while at the same time, how will the machine position us for future growth.”

Along with the focus and effort Sanks Machining has mustered over the last six years, Dustin also credits regional machine tool distributor Municipal Tool & Machine as a major asset for choosing the right machine technology at the right time.

“Their level of professionalism, service knowledge and accountability is worth its weight in gold,” Dustin said. “Had it not been for (Municipal owner) Bill Summers and his staff, I don’t know that we’d be where we are today.”

Sanks’ national client base now includes support for the defense industry, automotive, tool & die, moldmaking and the textile sectors, and the shop has its sights set on an entrée into the aerospace manufacturing sector. For its customers, Sanks machines a variety of parts in materials ranging from oil-filled plastics to D2 hardened steels in sizes as small as 0.375” in diameter to large gearboxes measuring 32” x 28” x 12”.

Sanks’ past, present and future are built on the company’s desire to exceed customer expectations at every level and secure the equipment and talent to make that happen. Dustin describes the shop as dynamic, with the ability to adjust quickly and move on the fly to meet customer demand. “Having the right machine tools has made that possible,” he said.

Building upon the customer base and reputation established by his father, Dustin maintains his focus on the shop’s current production quality while keeping an eye cast to the future. “You have to realize where the future is going,” he said. “We have to not only think about what our customers expect now, but where the workforce is going and where the next business opportunities are.”