Gilman Precision: Engineering Quality Products for Customer Satisfaction

Gilman Precision in Grafton, WI, offers its customer a product that is high-value added in nature.

Every business decision a company makes has to take into account the advantage of the investment, and sometimes the price tag can leave decision makers thinking “do-it-yourself” is the way to go.

When it comes to making spindles and slides for use in a company’s equipment, Gilman COO Mike Weiland said a unique expertise is needed to create a component capable of the quality results its customers demand.

“The bulk of our customers are either OEM machine builders or end users themselves — and the products made by these customers are only as good as the machinery itself,” Weiland said. “What we produce is far from a commodity. Our customers demand a product that is high value added in nature. We engineer, manufacture and refurbish high-value added products for OEMs and end users who demand high precision as it relates to linear and rotary motion.”

Slides and spindles built at Gilman are held to strict standards, requiring tolerances anywhere between one-ten-thousandth of an inch to three-ten-thousandths of an inch.

Chris Hannert, production supervisor at Gilman, said each component goes through vigorous testing, and the process is transparent for its customers.

“Spindles always go through a run cycle, where we test them for a number of hours and we measure vibration and temperature. We document all that and send a copy to the customer,” Hannert said. “On our slides, we fill out a test report. We check things like tracking and ball screw backlash — and that’s all documented on the report as well, all sent to the customer.”

The company focuses on producing a quality component every time.

“Our ability to meet these stringent requirements is seen in our extremely low warranty rate, which is approximately .1% of sales,” Weiland said. “Bottom line is, the customer will get a quality product, that meets their specific requirements and can be relied upon for years to come.”

Hannert echoed this emphasis on quality and satisfaction.

“The value of having Gilman make parts, do your spindle repairs and make your slides is — we have all the right equipment and we have lots of experience building slides. We’ve been doing it for over 50 years,” Hannert said. “We have a lot of specialized equipment that’s really well maintained, in our temperature-controlled facility, so that we can hit exacting tolerances, and at the end everybody has something that they’re very happy with.”

Gilman Precision has been dedicated to the advancement of high precision solutions that improve efficiency and achieve longevity since 1952. The company develops customized slides and spindles for value-added engineers with exacting needs and standards, providing expert service for virtually any manufacturer’s equipment.

If you’ve got a question on ordering a spindle or slide, contact us at 800-445-6267 or sales@gilmanprecision.com.