Eagle Machinery & Supply, Inc., located in Sugarcreek, OH, is a custom machinery manufacturer and robotics automation supplier. The company is a systems integrator specializing in wood processing systems, optimization solutions for scanning, ripping, crosscutting, sorting and stacking, planing and sanding, finger jointing, industrial bulk material handling systems and hydraulic fluid power systems. Eagle is also a distributing partner and systems integrator for the sales, training, installation, technical support, parts and service of MiCROTEC/WoodEye Log and Lumber Scanners, and OSI Machinerie Systems’ Planers, Sanders, Side and End Matcher Profilers.
The company serves all sectors of the hardwood and softwood industry including doors and windows, flooring for residential, commercial, truck trailer flooring, sports surfaces, gymnasium flooring, furniture, moulding, millwork and trim applications, bourbon and wine barrels.
Eagle proudly designs and manufactures turnkey solutions for industrial woodworking processing systems in North America.
CEO and owner, Kirk Spillman, offered a brief history of how the company became a world-class automation supplier. “Eagle was born in 2004 after an effort to merge two existing firms, an Ohio entity, and Nelson Atkinson from Canada,” he explained. “Each had unique product offerings and partnered to offer integrated processing systems.”
Kirk said, “There was an interesting opportunity because separately, the two companies did not fully integrate, design, manufacture or provide the software controls of all the custom machinery required to supply turn-key systems, and our North American manufacturers were in need of a single source partner capable and committed to providing custom solutions unique to each client’s processing needs.” This explains the beginnings of the full offering product lines that Eagle Machinery offers today.
“It’s our policy that the system is set up here entirely, at our facility, and the customer will be thoroughly trained here,” said Todd Spillman, Executive Vice President of Eagle Machinery & Supply, Inc.
Kirk shared that Eagle began with a small nucleus of people. “We’re grateful and proud to say, these people are still with us 20-plus-years later. That initial nucleus included 13 employees. We had software programmers, electrical circuitry people and a mechanically inclined group with a passion for helping others. With these skill sets, Eagle was poised for new product development to meet the needs of a diverse marketplace.”
Among the many product offerings at Eagle, the crosscut and rip saws are some of the operation’s flagship products. Vice President of Operations Jeremy Lycans offered, “Our partnership with MiCROTEC has been good for Eagle and MiCROTEC. We have been able to bring them a lot of sales opportunities for scanning equipment, which we sell and service as part of our systems and with the integration experience we have in wood processing we find innovative new niches for the scanning industry.”
Executive Vice President Todd Spillman added, “There are several crosscut applications we offer. We have our standard Talon which is our stand alone saw and there are several models of this unit: the Talon 1000, Talon 2000, Talon 3000 and Talon 5000. All are geared for different applications for different throughput requirements. All of our products are fully customizable to what our customers’ needs are. For example, a mom-and-pop shop doesn’t need our Talon 5000, which will run faster than any crosscut saw in the industry.”
Eagle hosted the 2023 Wood Component Manufacturers Association Fall tour group, featuring the latest technology in Planing, Scanning, Ripping, Crosscutting and Custom Material Handling.
The company’s EagleEye TalonVision Saw, was the 2018 recipient of Challengers Award Winning Machines at the International Woodworking Fair (IWF). Todd continued, “We have two patents on this machine which was a four-to-five-year development project. We took existing scanning capabilities from a stand-alone scanner and a stand-alone crosscut saw, and we put them together into one machine. This was a game changer for a lot of folks, particularly in the flooring sector where you run low grade material. It’s very common for material to break throughout an integrated system. This machine single handedly took care of those issues.”
Today, Eagle now encompasses 100,000-plus square-feet, with over 70 employees. Kirk offered, “Our recent factory expansion houses our engineering and production managers, customer demonstrations and training spaces, final machine assembly and inspections. This is also where we essentially install every project in its entirety to perform operator-maintenance-safety training before delivery to our customers.”
Kirk believes trusting partnerships are a key reason Eagle remains at the helm of the market in a rapidly changing environment. “Among one of the many reasons we remain successful is the fact that we believe in long-term partnerships with our customers. When we sell them a cap X solution, we marry them and intend to be around to support them. It’s very important to Eagle, as we enter new partnerships with end-users, that our potential customers consider the value and importance of our long-term relationship.”
Eagle Machinery & Supply, Inc. is a distributing partner and systems integrator for the sales, training, installation, technical support, parts and service of MiCROTEC/WoodEye Log and Lumber Scanners and OSI Machinerie Systems throughout North America.
Todd offered, “The custom aspect of our business is our concept solutions and our integrated processing systems that we design to fit customers’ specific needs. We don’t push a standard package. It’s far more important for Eagle and our customers to mutually understand what the objective is. What are you struggling with? What are your goals for production and how do we get you there?”
Adding to what sets Eagle apart from others, Kirk said, “We have sales engineers, not salesmen, who work together with our engineering and product managers, which ensures the best end result for each customer partner. We schedule on-site visits where we measure and discuss material flow, process, etc. All these things are integral parts of our business and what sales and systems engineering is all about.”
Regarding a typical installation from spec to implementation, Todd said each project is different due to the many factors involved. “It varies according to size and scope of the project,” he explained. “There are a lot of moving parts to each installation. No two are the same.”
Eagle Machinery & Supply, Inc. is located on 47 acres in Sugarcreek, OH. With 100,000-plus square-feet under roof, Eagle supplies world class custom machinery and automation specializing in wood processing systems, optimization solutions for scanning, ripping and crosscutting, planing and sanding, finger jointing, robotic work cells, bulk material handling and hydraulic fluid power units.
An important part of the process at Eagle is attention to detail and ensuring the customer knows how to operate the equipment before installation. Todd explained, “Every customer comes here, to Eagle, first. It’s our policy that the system is set up here entirely and the customer will be thoroughly trained here. We do this so that when the system shows up onsite, they understand what they’re getting and how it is supposed to function. After initial installation and additional training, our standard offering includes follow-up visits to make sure the project is operating correctly, and that the customer knows how to work every aspect of the system. It’s all part of the purchase price. After they’re in production for a month or two we will come back, make adjustments and provide additional training as needed.”
Lycans summarized, “Our goal is to be the entire process for manufacturers. For example, I’ve been to a couple of stave mills where the system includes a lot of piecemeal equipment. They are sawing here, moving this cart of lumber there, doing this to it, and again moving the cart again. What needs to happen is to integrate everything into one complete system. That’s what we do.”
Todd added, “Every relationship that we have with our customers and our vendors, is a relationship established on faith and trust. You must have those two things to be successful partners. Kirk and Lori Spillman took a serious leap of faith to form this company with no guarantee of how it would go; and here we are twenty plus years later, still growing to keep up with the demands of this industry.”
“Our mission statement is, ‘Become a Blessing to Others’.” Kirk added, “We want to know what others are struggling with, and how might we be able to help them?”
Eagle Machinery & Supply, Inc. are members of the National Hardwood Lumber Association, Wood Component Manufacturers Association, Wood Products Manufacturers Association, Wood Moulding and Millwork Producers Association, National Wood Flooring Association, Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturers Association, Hardwood Manufacturers Association, Southern Forest Products Association, Associated Cooperage Industries of America Inc., Wood Industry Association, International Woodworking Fair and Appalachian Hardwood Manufacturers Inc.
For more information visit www.eaglemachines.com.
