Warning, ask ,search, call and go see if possible

[joyridin']

Definitely do the "call and go see" if possible.

I work for a manufacturer of carbide tooling. Before the recession on this one cul de sac, there were 4 machine shops. One was an ancient dump and hadn't bought a new tool or machine in 30 years. The other 3 had new machines, up-to-date tooling, and good software. All 3 made top notch items. The 4th place was in the hammer and chisel age.

Unfortunately, as of now, the only place left is the crap hole. When I stopped in there about 5 months ago, he was laughing that he was the only one left. Why? Because he had no debt. He hadn't put a freaking dime into anything in 20-30 years. The other 3 places bought new machines, and were competing on a real basis, but when the economy falls off the planet in a matter of weeks, and every order you have gets canceled, you have no choice but to shut the doors.

So be careful of those places that are still standing after this last economic mess. They might be standing for a reason...and it isn't a good one.