Caliber Automation: 2018 Machine Shop Interview

Welcome to our first of many posts in our new blog series, Machine Shop Of The Week. Our goal is to allow hundreds of machine shops or industry related businesses promote themselves, explain services, showcase projects and hopefully get some additional work through this blog. This is completely free for machine shops, and posts will be live in the order that the completed questionnaires are received. If you are interested in receiving a questionnaire please fill out the contact form found at the bottom of this entry, thank you.

We would like to introduce, Caliber Automation LLC of Des Plaines, IL.

Owner, Jacek Cioch

How did you get started? And how has the journey been so far?

I’ve started working for a company that would rebuild CNC machines for customers and for resale. I was able to learn the intricate details underneath a CNC machine that made it run and function the way it was supposed. After words, for about 5 years I spent in the maintenance department working on all types of machines such as multi-spindle, broaching, VMC, lathes, EDM, inspection machines, etc. It was an eye-opening experience to be able to be around different ways of processing a single part. Afterwards, we started to work with automation and improving the company’s current processes either decreasing cycle time or making the machines run multiple part numbers with minimal or even no change in tooling. From there, Caliber Automation was formed. Focusing from automation to our strong background in maintenance and repair, we can give our customers all types of solutions that they might not even know about.

What are some struggles you have had along the way of growing your business?

Hardest part of running a business is the unknown. You don’t know what tomorrow is going to bring but I believe that is what drives us. We don’t stop at “well, we never have done this” because there is always a beginning to learning new things and fear is something you must overcome to grow. In the beginning, it was scary to drop everything and go full-time working as a business owner because you have your monthly living expenses and they must be met because no one is going to give you a check at the end of the week saying, “good job”. It puts “owning a business” into a completely different perspective but the benefits outweigh the negatives.

What should we know that makes your shop/business unique?

Our business is a family run business where we focus on everybody, not just the larger companies. We’ve noticed a lack of support for companies that are starting out or people not pursuing their passion in the machining world only because the cost of running a business is too high. We want to change that and work with everybody to give them what they need, for an amount that benefits them rather than worried because another component broke down or a process isn’t working the way it should be.

What are your capabilities?

Caliber Automation focus on troubleshooting and maintenance of all types of machinery, automation, process control, etc. Our strong suit is our electronics department where we can repair, or exchange most common electronics found in CNC machines such as Fanuc, Siemens, Fuji. We do retrofitting of newer devices to replace legacy components to the same specifications or better. Caliber Automation also focuses on process improvements such as maximizing the output a certain machine, automation, or inspection process can output. There are many ways to fix a problem, and we will sit down and talk with you to see which way is best in the current situation.

Do you specialize in working in a particular industry or industries?

We do not have a particular industry we work in because we have worked in the automotive field, food industry, chemical processing, woodworking, and many more.

Tell us about a unique job you’ve done.

A unique job we did was programming a Fanuc 2D camera to pick up squares on bags that were later on dumping into a mixer to create slurries for polishing. The camera would use the arrow for the orientation of the bag to pick it up correctly since it was a 75lbs bag, also it would use the scale of the arrow to determine how far the robot needed to go to pick up the bag without ripping the bag open on accident and causing a mess! It was a challenge project where two other companies failed but Caliber Automation got it done and in a very tight time frame.

Business Information

• Website – https://Caliber-automation.com (historical website link unavailable when checked October 7, 2026)
• Address – 108 Touhy Ct. Des Plaines, IL 60018
• Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/caliber_automation/
• Owner – Jacek R. Cioch

Service Page – From Website

Online Store

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