Kitamura Machinery has announced a distribution partnership with Next Industries. Next Industries will exclusively distribute Kitamura’s vertical, horizontal and five-axis machining centers; accessories; spare parts; and software in the states of Michigan, Indiana and Kentucky.
“I cannot convey enough how excited and honored our team is to be selected by Kitamura to represent the product in Michigan, Indiana and Kentucky,” says David Cochenour, director of operations at Next Industries. “Knowing the history of quality, accuracy and speed of the Kitamura brand made the decision an easy one for our team. As a full-service solutions provider, our team has been recognized for putting the customer first and providing value-added solutions. Adding Kitamura to our lineup allows us to provide our customers with extremely rigid and accurate machining centers without sacrificing speed. This is true not only for the 2,362-ipm rapids they achieve on solid box ways, but also for their
David Cochenour, a friend of VanVranken s, serves on the foundation s all-volunteer board. We decided that a nonprofit was a great opportunity, Zac Cochenour said. The main goal at first was to do scholarships to give three or more students $5,000 each, and to donate to the ALS group of Susie s choice. We just want to bring awareness to it. I have an uncle with ALS, so it hits kind of close to home for me. Susie has impacted me and so many generations of people. I just wanted her to be remembered while she s still here.
Kyle Robbins, who lives in Charleston, S.C., said he learned of VanVranken s illness during a past visit home for the holidays. A 2006 Hoover graduate, Robbins is vice president of the foundation and was one of four football team co-captains under VanVranken s brother, Don Hertler Jr., along with Cochenour, Ron Gnau, and Josh Nettleton.