Jim King currently serves as the President, CEO, and COO of Okuma America Corporation, having been named President and COO April 1, 2011 and adding the CEO title in August 2024. Jim also serves as a Senior Officer of Okuma Japan. He originally joined the Okuma organization in January, 2010, as the Senior Vice President of Sales. Before joining Okuma America, Jim previously served as Director of Channel Management for Siemens Industry, based in Alpharetta, GA, Vice President-Sales and Marketing for Nematron, based in Ann Arbor, MI, and Director-Business Development for Source Alliance.com in Raleigh, NC. During his career, he managed national sales, channel, marketing, and service groups, as well as directed sales planning. He began his career in 1980 as a sales representative for Rockwell Automation where he held positions of increasing responsibility in sales, marketing, and product development. Jim earned an Applied Engineering Sciences degree from Michigan State University.
One of my favorite things to do is to visit machine shops in person. I’m always impressed by the things our customers are doing, and even more so by what it took for them to get there. I see many admirable characteristics o...
As we count down the weeks to IMTS 2024, we at Okuma America are focused on the theme we’re spotlighting in this year’s booth, “Open Possibilities.” This concept is a driving force for our day-to-day activities as we serve ...
Many of us have spent time in companies where the official corporate values are simply words on paper, and once they’re completed, they get filed away for safekeeping. Subsequently, the executive team envisions that employe...
During the holiday season, I typically write a year-end message that shares my thoughts about our company, the industry, and where we’re headed. With any communication of this kind, one needs to consider the current env...
Most shops are aware of the wealth of opportunities in today’s dynamic manufacturing environment. But it can be daunting to think about how to take advantage of them. The key to leveraging the best opportunities for your bu...
This year we’re celebrating the 125th anniversary of Okuma Corporation, plus the 60th anniversary of our OSP control, and both milestones are meaningful not only to our company but to the manufacturing industry as a whole. ...
On a recent visit to Detroit I was pleased to meet with several Okuma customers, an activity that’s always a pleasure and provides many insights about the pulse of our industry. There was one piece of feedback I heard repea...
One of the hottest topics in today’s manufacturing environment is finding ways to produce parts at a lower cost, without the need for additional employees. No matter where you go in the world, this is what shops are talking...
The importance of Corporate Culture is well established in today’s business environment and known to be critical to a company’s long-term success. I believe that culture is becoming even more important today, as people seek t...
Most shops I talk with these days are facing one common challenge: how to become more competitive. There’s plenty of opportunity in today’s marketplace, including a resurgence in reshoring, but much of this work requires extr...
Recently we had a session with the leadership teams from our distribution network, and one of the key themes we discussed was charting the course for our organizations in 2022. While we acknowledge that we’ll likely face unus...
When the time comes to purchase a machine tool, many customers create a spreadsheet that compares available metrics on the equipment they’re considering. While it’s useful to look at machine tool specs and data, make no mista...
