Quickmill marks 100th build, sale of the Intimidator
A Peterborough-based manufacturer marked the 100th build and sale of a globe-reaching product that the company’s founder used to refer to as the BHAG — Big, Hairy, Audatious Goal — during a Monday afternoon celebration.
The three-metre by three-metre Intimidator, a large machining centre used to cut metal, was the backdrop for the event at Quickmill on Rye Street, a company incorporated in 1984 by engineer and former vice-president Dave Piggott.
Its 30-plus employees paused shop floor operations to welcome Quickmill executives and representatives of the Greater Peterborough Chamber of Commerce and Peterborough and the Kawarthas Economic Development (PKED) for the occasion.
The Intimidator is the fourth sold to a customer in Sarnia who has a contract with Irving Oil, Quickmill president and CEO Jeff Driscoll told those gathered.
“This is a testament to the confidence the customer has in the product and in the dedication of the employees of Quickmill,” he said, pointing out how the company has overcame many challenges, including primarily offshore competition.
The Intimidator is used extensively to machine heat exchanger/heat transfer components for the global energy sector, as well as in a list of industries by customers from across North and South America, Europe, Africa, Russia, India and the Middle East.
Since it was first built in the mid-2000s, the centre — which takes from six months to a year to build — has grown larger to meet customers’ needs, Driscoll explained. Base/table sizes range from 2.5 to 5 metres wide to 2.5 to 12 metres long.
Large steel workpieces are positioned and clamped inside the Intimidator before they are precision-machined by a dynamic bridge and 75 horsepower spindle.
Service technician Mike Morrissey fired up the machine for a demonstration, milling and drilling holes in a carbon steel block. A brief video presentation with some history on the development of the machining centre was also screened.
Driscoll said he has been “blown away” by the skills of staff since he joined the company a decade ago and he urged them to take great pride in the important milestone.
The company values its local connections as it tries to grow the skilled trades — it currently has a co-op student from Holy Cross Secondary School and employs an Oshawa millwright who graduated from Durham College, Driscoll pointed out.
Many of Quickmill’s tradespeople hail from the city and places like Lakefield and Bridgenorth and have been with the company from 20 to 24 years, he added. “The majority of staff were born in this area.”
Quickmill board chairman Alan Maislin, of Montreal, thanked employees for getting the company to where it is today. “Today is a very important day in the history of Quickmill … thank you to all of you.”
PKED director of business development Suzanne McCrimmon highlighted how economic development is about attracting and maintaining jobs and fostering entrepreneurship. “You’ve met all of those targets.”
Chamber board chairman Jim Hill highlighted how Quickmill has overcome the many challenges faces by manufacturers. “You’ve overcome all of that … to become a world-class supplier of a world-class product. That’s a feat-and-a-half.”
NOTES: For more information on Quickmill, visit www.quickmill.com or email info@quickmill.com.… Other gantry and bridge machining centers built by the company with NASCAR-themed names include the Annihilator and Eliminator.