Strong CNC Milling Machines Made Stronger With Gosiger’s Support

Geissele Automatics

“Okuma and Gosiger do business the way I do. They provide a superior CNC milling machine plus the people and support to help me be successful.”

-Bill Geissele

Location: North Wales, Pennsylvania

Equipment: Seven Okuma CNC Machines

In 2004 Bill Geissele established Geissele Automatics as a manufacturer of trigger mechanisms for the AR15 rifle. The company was born out of Bill’s involvement as a competitive target shooter, and he was able to turn his hobby into a fast-growing business. Bill designed the company’s first trigger, the Hi-Speed National Match, for CMP and NRA Hi-Power Rifle competition. Although designed for target shooting, the Geissele Hi-Speed trigger was found by the U.S. Military to have applications in semi-automatic sniper weapons. In 2005 Geissele Automatics received a request from the Department of Defense: "Can you build us a select-fire trigger that is as good as your Hi-Speed?" In response, Bill designed the Geissele Super Select-Fire trigger (SSF). After rigorous testing the SSF was adopted by entities in the U.S. Special Operations community and has become their trigger of choice for M4 carbine based weapons.

When Bill started Geissele Automatics he used wire EDM machines to cut his triggers, but soon realized he needed a CNC milling machine. After years of research, and several shopping trips to IMTS, Bill purchased his first Okuma in 2009. Since then he’s added six more to fuel his rapidly growing business.

If at First You Get Confused, Ask Experienced Users

“When I went to IMTS I looked at all the builders, but they all looked the same to me. At the time I really didn’t have any experience in CNC milling. While at the show, I talked to an older gentleman who owned a shop in the Midwest, and asked him what kind of machines he had. He said, ‘I have a shop full of Okumas and I really don’t have any problems. I replaced the hydraulic hose a year ago, minor things like that. But they run.’ Then I talked with friend of mine down in Florida who has Okumas and he said, ‘We don’t have any troubles. They run and run and run. We’re happy with them, you should look at it.’"

A Really Great Business Partnership

“So I called Olafs Gaibiselis at Gosiger and that was the beginning of a really great business partnership. When I bought my first milling machine, it was an Okuma MCV-4020, and we were very happy with it. It’s a very accurate and reliable machine. And Olafs, along with Gosiger’s Applications Engineer Chris Young, guided us every step of the way, and got us up and going.”

“Since then I’ve purchased several more Okumas: an MB-46V, three GENOS M560-Vs, an LT2000 EX and an LB3000-EX. Based on my experience, and talking with other shop owners who’ve gone the route of buying so-called ‘cheaper’ milling machines, Okumas are a dream to use compared to what you get at the low end. They have great stiffness, they hold tolerances throughout our runs, they stay constant through heating and cooling, and they just keep running.”

Would I Buy From Another Builder?

“Through the years I’ve had many people from other builders come in and try to sell me their machines. I always ask them about service and support, because that’s very important to me. With Gosiger, I have an applications engineer who I can call up and he’ll give me a friendly five minutes to walk me through a question or problem. He stops by once a month to shake our hands and ask how things are going, and he always helps us out in some way. When I ask these other builders if I can get that kind of support, they say ‘well, we don’t provide that.’ Okay, then I’m not buying their machines.”

Superior Machines + Great Support = Success

“Part of the reason I’ve been able to grow this company is I know what makes a nice product, what people like to buy, how to listen to people, and how to treat my customers. Okuma and Gosiger do business the way I do. They provide a superior CNC milling machine plus the people and support to help me be successful.”

Bill Geissele

Founder, Geissele Automatics