K&W Tool Grows Manufacturing Capabilities with OMAX Waterjet Technology

Founded in 1998, K&W Tool & Machine has grown from a 2,500 square foot pole barn behind its founder's home into a 100,000 square foot manufacturing facility serving customers in the automotive, aerospace, energy, defense, ammunition, and special machine industries. Over nearly three decades, the company has steadily expanded its capabilities, workforce, and equipment offerings to support increasingly complex manufacturing projects. Among the investments that have helped fuel that growth are the three large-format OMAX abrasive waterjet systems.

According to Camren Kring, Plant Manager at K&W Tool & Machine, the addition of waterjet technology has helped the company attract new business. “It's brought more business to K&W, expanded our capabilities, and an add value piece of equipment," said Kring.

Today, waterjet cutting plays an important role in K&W's ability to serve a diverse customer base while remaining competitive in demanding manufacturing markets. From thick aluminum components and titanium parts to armor plate applications, the company's waterjet capabilities have become a key part of its operation.

From Tool and Die Shop to Full-Service Manufacturer

Founder Joe Kohn launched K&W Tool & Machine after completing his Journeyman Tool and Die apprenticeship and spending twelve years at Tomco Tool & Die. What started as a small operation in Sheridan, Michigan, has evolved into a major manufacturing business in nearby Greenville.

Today, K&W employs 32 people and supports customers across a diverse range of industries. As Kring explained, "K&W's growth into our 100,000 sq ft facility has allowed us to add employees, and continue with the apprenticeship program, along with a welding program to further our employee's education." That investment in people mirrors the company's approach to manufacturing. K&W has consistently expanded its capabilities by adding equipment that allows the company to support more work, serve more industries, and provide customers with additional manufacturing solutions.

The company's operations now include CNC milling, laser cutting, fabrication, abrasive waterjet cutting, machine design / build / integration, automation, and controls. Together, those capabilities allow K&W to support projects from prototype development through production while keeping multiple manufacturing processes under one roof. For customers, that means working with a supplier capable of handling a wide range of manufacturing needs. For K&W, it means having the flexibility to respond when projects require different materials, tolerances, or production methods.

Adding Waterjet to Stay Competitive

When asked why K&W first invested in waterjet technology, Kring's answer was simple: "To stay competitive in our market." That investment began in 2010 with the purchase of the company's first OMAX 120 system. As customer demand grew, K&W added an OMAX 120X in 2016 and most recently installed an OMAX 120X-3 in 2024. The continued investment reflects the role waterjet cutting has come to play within the company. Rather than treating waterjet as a specialty process used for occasional jobs, K&W has incorporated it into daily production and project planning.

As the business expanded, so did the need for larger work envelopes, greater throughput, and the ability to process larger material sizes. The OMAX 120X platform aligned well with those requirements. Its large-format design allows K&W to process oversized components and nest multiple parts from a single sheet, helping improve efficiency while supporting a wide range of customer applications.

For a manufacturer serving industries that often require thick plate, large components, and custom parts, additional table capacity can create opportunities to take on work that smaller systems may struggle to accommodate. As customer requirements have evolved, K&W's waterjet operation has evolved alongside them.

The latest addition, an OMAX 120X-3, further expanded the company's ability to process large-format materials while increasing available production capacity. With a cutting envelope of up to 40 feet by 10 feet, K&W's OMAX 120X-3 provides the capacity needed for large-format plate processing, helping the company take on bigger projects and more challenging customer requirements. The move reflects a broader strategy that has guided K&W's growth since its founding: invest in capabilities that help solve customer challenges and support future opportunities.

Expanding Capabilities for Thick Material Applications

K&W regularly cuts aluminum, steel, and titanium in thicknesses ranging from 0.030 inch to six inches. According to Kring, one of the primary drivers behind the company's waterjet investment was "the ability to cut thicker material with no heat affected zones."

That capability continues to be one of the biggest advantages waterjet cutting provides for K&W. Many of the parts produced by the company require thick materials, complex profiles, or manufacturing methods that preserve the material's original properties. As customer requirements have grown more demanding, K&W has increasingly relied on waterjet technology to support applications involving thicker materials and challenging geometries. The process gives the company another option when evaluating how best to manufacture a component while maintaining quality and efficiency.

K&W's waterjets are equipped with TiltaJET cutting heads, which automatically compensate for taper during cutting. This helps improve part accuracy, edge quality, and consistency while reducing secondary machining operations. Parts can then move efficiently into machining, welding, fabrication, or assembly based on customer requirements.

For a shop supporting multiple industries and project types, reducing additional processing while maintaining part quality can have a significant impact on productivity. It also allows K&W to remain responsive when customers need quick turnaround times on complex projects.

Just as important is the flexibility that waterjet technology provides. Whether a project requires aluminum, steel, titanium, or armor plate, K&W can often process the material using equipment already integrated into its manufacturing workflow.

Supporting Growth in Defense Manufacturing

One market where K&W continues to see growing demand is defense manufacturing. According to Kring, "In the defense industry, everything is going to aluminum. We need the waterjet to cut the thick aluminum." As defense-related applications increasingly utilize aluminum components, manufacturers are being asked to process larger and thicker materials while meeting strict quality requirements. K&W's waterjet capabilities have positioned the company to respond to those demands.

The large-format OMAX systems provide the capacity needed to process substantial pieces of material while maintaining the flexibility required for both custom and production work. Combined with the company's machining, fabrication, and welding capabilities, waterjet cutting has become an important part of how K&W supports defense customers. The technology has also helped the company secure projects that may be difficult for competitors to take on. As Kring noted, "It has helped us secure the work that others cannot do, cutting thicker material, and armor plate."

That ability to tackle challenging applications has helped K&W strengthen customer relationships while creating new opportunities for growth. Rather than competing solely on price, the company can compete on capability, offering manufacturing solutions for projects that require specialized equipment, experience, and expertise.

As demand for thick aluminum and specialty materials continues to increase, K&W is positioned to support customers looking for manufacturing partners capable of handling those requirements.

Creating Business Opportunities

While the technical capabilities are important, Kring points to the business impact as one of the biggest benefits of K&W's waterjet investment. "It's brought more business to K&W, expanded our capabilities, and an add value piece of equipment." That statement captures the broader role waterjet technology plays within the company. The investment was never simply about adding another machine to the shop floor. It was about creating new opportunities.

Today, K&W serves customers across automotive, aerospace, energy, defense, ammunition, special machine, and job shop markets. Each industry presents unique manufacturing challenges, and the company's diverse equipment portfolio allows it to respond with the process that best fits the application.

Waterjet cutting complements the rest of K&W's operation by providing another way to process materials before they move into machining, welding, fabrication, or assembly. The result is a manufacturing environment capable of supporting a broader range of customer requirements without relying on outside suppliers.

As the company has grown, those additional capabilities have helped expand both its customer base and the types of projects it can pursue. Waterjet technology has become one of the tools that enables K&W to say yes to more opportunities and support customers with increasingly complex manufacturing challenges.

Why K&W Chose OMAX

When evaluating waterjet suppliers, K&W selected OMAX based on a combination of product performance and support. "We chose OMAX for the service, smaller company, good product, and a good sales team," said Kring.

That relationship has continued for more than fifteen years, spanning three separate machine purchases and multiple generations of equipment. Over that time, K&W has expanded its waterjet operation from a single machine to a three-system installation that plays an important role in daily production. Today, the company's OMAX waterjets support work across numerous industries and applications, helping K&W process thick aluminum, steel, titanium, armor plate, and large-format components for customers with demanding requirements.

From its beginnings in a small pole barn to its current 100,000 square foot manufacturing facility, K&W's growth has been built on expanding capabilities, investing in people, and creating new opportunities for customers. Waterjet technology has been an important part of that journey. By helping K&W take on larger projects, process thicker materials, and secure work that might otherwise go elsewhere, the company's OMAX systems have contributed to both business growth and long-term competitiveness. For K&W, the investment has become more than a cutting process. It has become another tool for supporting customers, expanding capabilities, and continuing the growth story that began nearly three decades ago.