By Cindy Gladden, Record Staff Writer
National Manufacturing Day, Friday, Oct. 7, is a day designed to inspire the upcoming generation of employees in all manufacturing trades by visiting successful companies in their area.Mittler Brothers Machine and Tool in Wright City is celebrating 36 years of manufacturing successes and will welcome students from Rankin Technical College to tour its plant.“We were raised in the days of a traditional family,” said Mike Mittler. “We learned a lot about business sitting at the dinner table.”Mike was the oldest of eight children. His brother and business partner, Paul, was the youngest.Mittler said his dad would get home at 6 p.m., and the family would sit around the dinner table and his parents both reported on how their day went — Dad reported about his day on the job, and Mom reporting on happenings on the home front.Mittler said his upbringing had a direct and profound impact on his future business success. He was taught the importance of hard work, integrity and a drive to achieve something important. He learned much from his dad who began as a truck driver and retired as company president.Since 1980, Mittler Brothers has served a diverse customer base. Mittler said the company can be defined by two major divisions — its own company product line and products that support race cars, hot rods and classic cars. It started by producing one product and now provides customers a 100-page catalog.Mittler remembers how he got started.“I’m a motor head,” he said. “The night they walked on the moon in 1969, I was working on my first car.”Mittler said he dropped out of community college to work for a company building race cars and saw a demand for tools to streamline the job. He continued his education as he later worked for a machine shop.“During the Super Bowl of 1980, we rented a 2,500- square-foot building in Wentzville and here we are,” he said.His adventures with the racing industry include working with some of the biggest names, such as Carl Edwards and Jamie McMurray.“I let them drive for me when they were no name kids and nobody knew who they were,” said Mittler. “Now they are household names.”The MB Motorsports racing team, a member of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, is the only team that has survived since 1995, its inaugural year. In 2015, its No. 63 Silverado ran 22 races and its No. 36 Chevy Silverado completed 18 races.“We are the little engine that could, competing against the big guys,” he said.Racing is only one part of the Mittler story. The company’s 50,000-square-foot plant now manufactures items for a variety of customers, including medical, oil and gas, robotics, heavy rail and many consumer products.Its theme is “shaping the world since 1980 through precision, design and manufacturing.”Mittler said his lead product is the ultimate tube notcher, It machines notches for pipes to fit together. He said a company that fabricates pipe, tubing or race cars would use the machine.Mittler is very proud of the 60 highly trained employees who operate the equipment inside the plant.“We have mostly local people who have great jobs with pretty good benefits and minimal time driving here,” he said. “Our people are guided by safety, quality and productivity.”According to Mittler, all trades are in great demand and feels that America’s small businesses are an example of what makes this country great. He offers high school students part-time jobs, beginning with sweeping and cleaning up around the shop in hopes they will consider the industry as a career.“Greg Klemme, now a company vice president, began this way 35 years ago,” he said.Mittler’s machinists are seen operating machines manually or computer controlled, all high precision and high quality. One of the company’s latest products was for a Canadian rail company.In one year, his employees took a blank screen, engineered and built a giant robot to assemble railcar wheels and axles that can lift 3,000 pounds. The Fanuc M-2000ia is the “largest axis robot in the world today.” The project was on time, on budget and can complete 12 axle assemblies per hour.Mittler is proud of the work of his machinists, welders, fabricators, sandblasters and many others who contribute to the success of the company.“We have the freedom to run our businesses the way we want,” he said. “We can make what we think will serve our customers the best. Small business is the future of this country.”Mittler Brothers is a member of the National Tooling and Machining Association (NTMA). For more information visit mittlerbros.com.Mike Mittler, owner of Mittler Brothers Machine and Tool located in Wright City, stands by the Fanuc M-2000ia axis robot manufactured for a Canadian rail company. It is the largest axis robot in the world today and can lift up to 3,000 pounds. The machine assembles railcar wheels and axles. Cindy Gladden photo.
