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By Brent Donaldson, Executive Editor
March 21, 2022
Behind-the-Scenes Tour
of an Amish-owned Machine Shop
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Advanced machining technologies work alongside old-world traditions.
Northern Indiana Axle specializes in the machining of horse-drawn carriage parts, stainless steel components, ball hitches, gun parts, cable fencing parts, and hinge caps for aluminum trailers.
The business has 25 employees, a mix of both Amish and “English”, as well as an almost even split of men and women working on the shop floor.
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In addition to several Okuma Cadet big-bore turning centers and Haas VF-2 and VF-4 VMCs, Northern Indiana Axle runs several Marubeni Citizen Cincom and Miyano CNC Swiss-type lathes.
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When Ken Mullet started Northern Indiana Axle in 1989, his only experience with machining had come from training with the shop’s 70-something-year-old former owner. Mullet’s first batch of axles, produced on this Gisholt manual lathe, was rejected by the customer.
Getting Started
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It wasn’t until 1994 that Mullet learned about CNC machining at the
“This was the game-changer,” he says. “I went to that show and saw what the outside people do with metalworking. And when I walked in there, it was like a kid walking into a candy store.” Mullet’s first machine was an Okuma big bore Cadet, which immediately increased his production from 20 axles a day to 80. The shop now operates 30 CNC machine tools but occasionally still utilizes the Gisholt.
International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS).
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— a time when they are expected to begin preparing for the adult world in the Amish community. This preparation can include helping run a family farm, or learning trades such as carpentry and even machining, though shops like Northern Indiana Axle that operate CNC machine tools are far from the norm.
Most Amish children stop attending school after the 8th grade
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Northern Indiana Axle adheres to the Amish standard of not using electricity sourced from the city power grid.
Instead, the shop relies on a 1,200-rpm natural gas generator and a diesel backup generator to heat the 60,000-square-foot building and provide the considerable electricity needed to power 30 CNC machine tools.
Use of Electric?
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When it comes to his employees and their work environment, Mullet says that he doesn’t make distinctions between Amish and “English” workers, but that he does place a special emphasis on family obligations. “Weddings, funerals, anything like that, you can take off,” he says. “If you have family vacations and that's key for you, you can take off."
Family Values
“And to the people that are from the outside, English world, I say this: We have a culture we go by that we live with. You come in and you have a culture. We want to respect that culture. We don’t feel that we are better than the English people. We don't feel that way at all. We have a culture, they have a culture. Just let us respect each other and move forward.”
- Ken Mullet, Owner, Northern Indiana Axle
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