Evolving Enterprise North Fork Grinding and Machining in multiple industries, territories

Aug 16, 2023

May 28—For nearly 20 years, North Fork Grinding & Machining Inc., 166 Tire Hill Road, has produced metal and plastic equipment and parts.

Richard Jacobs, president and founder, ships the company's products throughout the tri-state area and as far as California. He has positioned the company in recent years to continue under the leadership of his daughter, Kara McRae.

The answers to the following questions were provided by Jacobs.

The goal of presenting this questionnaire is to show how time-tested businesses have grown and endured.

For more, listen to the podcast.

Question: How did your business start?

Answer: I had always wanted to open my own business, and the company that I was working for previously burnt down. The owner decided not to reopen after the fire and I took that opportunity to start my own company. I started the business in 2005, where I rented a building and purchased my first piece of equipment, a 15-foot surface grinder.

Question: What were some of the major developments in the business over time?

Answer: In 2012, we obtained our ISO 9001 certification. This certification allows us the opportunity to do government contracts. Since then, we have expanded our services further, supporting the defense, commercial and recycling industries. In 2016, I sold the majority ownership to my daughter, Kara McRae.

Now, we are a woman-owned small business.

Question: How has your business evolved to what it is today?

Answer: Midway through the first year of me opening my business, I purchased our first CNC (computer numerical control) machine to be able to manufacture parts for the recycling industry. In 2008, we started machining more commercial work and purchased our second CNC machine. In 2012, we got our ISO certificate and purchased another CNC machine.

As the business evolved in 2016, I sold the business to my daughter. She decided to shift North Fork Grinding's focus more on defense work.

Since we are a woman-owned small business, that opened more doors and allowed us to purchase two CNC lathes and also another CNC mill. She is also purchasing the building that we originally were renting. This will give us the opportunity to expand even more.

Question: What's most rewarding about your business?

Answer: The most rewarding things about our business is coming to work everyday with family members and having the same end goal to pass down from generation to generation. It is also very rewarding to help other businesses in the area and to keep manufacturing in Johnstown.

Question: How broad is the territory reached by your products or services?

Answer: My products are reached all across the United States. Most of our business is done in Pennsylvania, but we have reached a lot of the surrounding states. Our products have reached as far as California.

Question: What have been your biggest business challenges?

Answer: When I first started the business, we only had the capabilities of surface grinding, and there were times I did not have a lot of work. There were many times in the beginning, I had to rely on word of mouth to get new customers or jobs. I eventually had to challenge myself to adapt and learn new things to increase business. This is when I had purchased different equipment to expand to different industries and customers.

Question: What advice do you have for people who want to open and sustain a business in Johnstown?

Any advice I would give to someone wanting to start their own business is that you have to have the dedication and work ethic to start and run that business. You have to be realistic and understand that your business could take years to grow into what you wanted. You definitely want to get involved in businesses in the area that are looking to support smaller businesses.