Mike Mittler Elected to NTMA's National Executive Team

Mid-America Commerce & Industry, Jan 01, 2003

The National Tooling & Machining Association (NTMA) has elected Mike Mittler of Mittler Brothers Machine & Tool, Foristell, Missouri, to its national executive team.

Being elected to the team means that over the next five years Mittler will serve as Secretary, Treasurer, 1st Vice Chairman, Chairman and Immediate Past Chairman at the national level.

Formal installation as Secretary will take place at the NTMA's annual meeting at St. Thomas in February.

Mittler had served on numerous national committees and held offices in the St. Louis chapter.

"It is an honor to be elected," stated Mike Mittler. "It is also a tremendous opportunity for myself and for our company."

Mittler noted that he views himself as the typical shop owner. He started out on a shop floor, eventually starting a business in 1980 (with his brother Paul), and learning how to run a business from experiences.

"I have gained a lot of knowledge and exposure through the association with the NTMA," commented Mittler. "A group can accomplish a lot more than an individual. There is no way to measure all the benefits we have realized from our membership. This is our opportunity to give back to the NTMA and our industry."

The Mittler brothers started their business with the two of them as the only employees in a 2,500-sq.-ft. facility. Today, 22 years later, they have 40 employees operating in 30,500-sq.-ft. of space across three adjacent buildings.

Mittler Brothers, located west of St. Louis on I-70, produces its own line of metal fabricating products for racing and industrial customers as well as offering custom work for the automotive, medical, heavy transportation and automation industries.

Equipment at the company includes: four CNC vertical machining centers; a 4-axis horizontal machining center; four CNC turning centers, a new Okuma lathe with a Westech gantry loader (for unattended operation) and a CNC high definition plasma cutter.

CAD is used on all software and Virtual Gibbs CAM software is used for programming.

When asked what important issues face the precision machining industry, Mittler pointed to the onslaught of foreign competition.

"The political activity provided by the NTMA has spotlighted the importance of our industry to our nation's economy. The recent West Coast dock strikes were a great case in point ... especially with the delay in the delivery of defense department parts."

Mittler Brothers can be contacted at: (636) 463-2464; fax (636) 4632874; PO Box 110 Foristell, Missouri 63348; www.mittlerbros.com;

sales@mittlerbros.com.