Right around the turn of the century in a home garage in Wisconsin, Modern Tool & Machine was born. The garage belonged to Randy Kirt, a man whose machining knowledge is challenged only by his sense of humor—when we asked him what his job title is, he told us he gets called a lot of names.
Randy, whose actual title is Owner and President, is a machine tool lifer who’s about to hit 49 years in the industry. He worked for other shops before making the leap in 1997, and the first decade of his business’s life was spent in that garage. Four Hurco machines filled up the 24’ x 64’ space.
Today, Modern Tool & Machine strives for the complex, satisfying jobs. They don’t shy away from difficult materials, and at times, they’ll get jobs with no part print to be found. For Randy and his right-hand man, Carson Konkol (more on him in a bit), that’s the fun stuff. No two days are the same, but there’s one unmistakable constant: the presence of Hurco.
At IMTS 1996, Randy visited a handful of machine builders and asked them, right there on the show floor, to drill and tap four holes. Any size, any location. “All the builders hemmed and hawed and gave me the runaround,” he said. “Except Hurco.”
At the Hurco booth, the program was typed up in one minute, and Randy was instantly sold. He grabbed a BMC 3017, and he’s been a Hotshot ever since.
“Hurco is made to do both simple and complex parts,” Randy said. “It’s the quickest way to do it. I swear I could quickly teach a 5th grader to make parts on a Hurco if we were just milling a slot and drilling some holes.”
“They’ve always taken customer feedback and incorporated it into their machines. It doesn’t make sense to me that other machines aren’t this easy to use.”
Konkol, now 25 years young, has been with Modern Tool & Machine for two and a half years. His career started at a different shop, a monotonous gig that had him flipping tubes and boring them out. But once he signed on with Randy and his Hurco machines, the job became a satisfying career.
“The variety of work we do is awesome,” Carson said. “I love the constant challenge, too. Some of the work is easy, some is difficult and all of it is a blast. No two of my days are ever the same.”
We asked Randy what Carson’s job title is, and he instantly rattled off “The Guy, The Right-Hand Man, The Best.” A pretty dynamite title, honestly. “I will put Carson up against anyone,” Randy said. “I haven’t seen anyone come close to what he can do, especially when it comes to 5-axis.”
When they snagged a VMX42SRT from Hurco distributor Integra Machine Tool, their first 5-axis machining center opened up a world of new possibilities. Carson, fluent in the conversational and G-code versions of the Hurco control, approached things conversationally with the SRT. “It was easy to take my knowledge base with planes and moving zeroes,” he said.
And now, rather than programming parts in Fusion 360, Carson is making 3+2 parts on the Hurco control. “Now maybe 10 or 15% of my work is done on Fusion 360,” he said. “Using the Hurco conversational control, I can knock out multiple complex parts in one shift.”
Carson’s skill with the conversational Hurco control is truly impressive. When we were on their shop floor, he showed us a complex workholding tombstone that he programmed conversationally. He has plenty of G-code experience as well, and gives Hurco high marks on that side of the control, too.
Randy and Carson know their future is already mapped out: be a Midwestern high-precision job shop that customers can rely on. They’ll continue working with a range of industries and delivering high-mix, low-volume components—some single-digit quantities, some 20-piece orders.
“Our customers look for speed, which means we don’t have time to program for days on end,” Randy said. “But thanks to Hurco, we can get parts made and shipped before programmers at other shops are done writing the program.”
And for Randy, it ain’t broke, so he won’t fix it. “Hurco helped me grow and get Modern Tool where it is today,” he said. “It’s a great machine for my generation, and Carson’s, and the ones in between.”
When you’re ready for the high-precision, high-reliability machine with the control and support to grow your shop, do what Randy did in ‘96: talk to Hurco.
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