My Okuma-Machined Wedding Ring

In 2013 I had the best summer of my life. A beautiful young lady named Karen Barth joined Okuma as a summer intern in the Marketing Department, a place I tend to spend a little bit of time in, because my Mom (Mindy Mikami) works there as our Web Manager. Like me, Karen grew up in the machine tool industry - her family owns Dimension Machine, a shop in Cincinnati that just happens to use lots of Okumas. We have a lot in common.

Pretty Cool

Karen and I started dating, and the first time I got to meet the Barth family was at her brother Kevin’s wedding. I was a little nervous about how this would go, but I knew the fact that my Mom and I both work for Okuma was a step in the right direction. The Barths are huge Okuma fans. So much so, they go to great lengths to send our entire company awesome thank you gifts, like pizza deliveries, or the many times Don Barth has driven all the way from Cincinnati to Charlotte with a cooler filled with ice cream from Aglamesis. This ice cream is a family favorite for the Barths, and they wanted to share this with their Okuma family. They’re pretty cool like that. 

Case Study and Video: Dimension Machine Welcomes Horizontal Machining Center to the Family

My Okuma-Machined Ring

Anyway, Kevin is a really awesome guy. He’s very adventurous and comes up with all sorts of ideas that are really out there (in a good way). When Karen and I got engaged, and the wedding date was set, Kevin and another brother-in-law Tom, who at the time was also preparing for his own wedding to Lily Barth (yes, there are a lot of Barth ladies!) proposed the idea of making our rings in their shop. They told me about the idea and I thought it would be really cool that they were made on an Okuma and it’s something that our family members made. They bought a rod of titanium, and asked me what my ring size was. Then they just cut a bunch of rings on their LB3000 EX-II using the Advanced One-Touch IGF function, and we got the perfect fit for me.

Actually, it’s ALL a perfect fit. Dimension and Okuma, Karen and me, and even pizza and ice cream. (Not at the same time! In concept, of course.) From our family to yours, have a wonderful Valentine’s Day with those you hold dear.

Other blogs by Ken:

A Global Culture of Teamwork

We offer a variety of ways for you to stay informed about our events, and to receive general Okuma updates. Fill out the form below to let us know the type of information you'd like to receive.

Your Name
Address
OKUMA MACHINE TOOL ACADEMY COURSES
Find Your Distributor