It is almost a given that anyone involved in the automotive specialty-equipment industry is a tool fanatic. Enthusiasts, technicians, retailers, executives—everybody has an appreciation for a tool or a piece of equipment that improves quality or makes a job easier or quicker.

There are basics to manufacturing that change little over time. To create marketable parts, manufacturers must mold, mill, drill, cut, weld and otherwise fabricate raw materials into something consumers find useful. The tools used to do these things are another matter altogether. It’s no secret that machine technologies are changing rapidly.