Wade is a machinist by trade who started programming machine tools in 1992. His early years were spent working for companies machining large, heavy equipment components. Wade became an applications engineer for a machine tool builder, where he spent eleven years developing super abrasive aerospace and medical processes with an emphasis on five-axis grinding. He did a lot of five-axis programming and machine tool troubleshooting—even building machine tools from the ground up. Wade joined Okuma America Corporation in 2005 as an applications engineer and moved from there to inside sales, sales engineer, and regional manager. Wade was then promoted to the role of product specialist sales manager and tech centers manager while also serving as the host of Okuma's Shop Matters podcast. In April of 2023, he was promoted to General Manager of the newly established Okuma Factory Automation Division and then promoted to Vice President of Engineering & Factory Automation Division for the Americas in February of 2024. Wade's diverse background enables him to help Okuma’s distributors and end users meet their manufacturing challenges, especially through our philosophy of automation for all.
Machine tool automation is becoming an increasingly important part of today's manufacturing landscape as more and more small and mid-size job shops look to improve their operations' overall efficiency and profitability. Depen...
There’s a lot to be excited about in our industry. With the non-stop improvement of processes and technologies that quickly and cost-effectively produce parts, market opportunities are growing. The momentum of manufacturing p...
By completing a quick online search for machine tools, an individual will quickly be inundated with a variety of options. As we all know, there is an increase in the need to produce more precise parts as profitably as possibl...
By Wade Anderson After months of preparation it’s almost here Okuma’s Summer Showcase 2019. With 20 machine tools on display, demonstrations showing the latest technologies, and countless years of experience all in one r...
The economy is strong, and this is one of the few times I can ever remember where there are more jobs available than there are candidates to fill them. It truly is an amazing business climate. However, even when times are goo...
2018 has proven to be among the busiest times for manufacturing. Are you experiencing the excitement (and challenges) of a company in growth mode? Are you trying to find new solutions to increase productivity without adding e...
BBQ! Barbecue! Barbacoa, Bar-B-Que, Bar-B-Cue, Q! There are a lot of ways to spell it, and a lot of different flavors, from Chicken with Alabama White Sauce, Eastern Carolina Vinegar based pulled pork, Texas Brisket, South Ca...
I grew up in the Midwest. In my youth, while my friends were focused on sports like, basketball, baseball, and football, I was playing in the dirt and dust of the rodeo arena. I spent 7 years riding bulls, and to this day it ...
Way back when I was a kid, before my obsession with CNC machines began, I was crazy about hot rods. I started working on my first car, a 1965 Buick Wildcat (455 Big Block for any gearheads out there) when I was 10, and have b...
