Robert B. Mlakar

In 1964, while a 10th Grader, I was invited by my father to meet a gentleman at the Holiday Inn, Euclid Ohio cocktail bar. Mr. Ernie Frase, of Dayton Reliable Tool & Die, asked the bartender to bring a beer in a glass with the rim about 3 inches. Then he put a round aluminum disc on the glass and pulled a ring tab off the lid. The Easy Open Pop Top was invented! That got my attention!

Manufacturing with machine tools is most important a “value-added” occupation.

I was honored to work with others. We sold the first 600 ton stamping press to extrude the valves that inflate airbags to protect drivers, and now children in the back seats. We cut 50 ft diameter gears to make coal strip-mining shovels in the late 1970s. Then came Robots (GMFanuc) and 3D Printers (Stereolythography) in the mid 1980s. Early on we machined the first dies and molds for orthopedic implants.

Machine tools are a futuristic lifestyle. Precision and Operator Safety has marked the route for all of us. Working with others through AMT, AMTDA and other supplier and customer trade organizations has personalized and inspired us all.