A Trusted Industry Partner For Over 30 Years
Great Ideas sometime come from casual conversation over lunch. That’s how three friends started ABLE Machine Tool Sales in 1987
Working for a successful CNC machine tool distributor, which imported from Japan, Lynne Anderson was a dynamic, well-organized manager who handled a lot of G&W Machine Co.’s administration and marketing. She spoke with manufacturers and knew what needed to be done to help her company get their products to the USA market. A coworker from the same company, Alfred (Al) Barile was a successful salesman and friend. He knew his products well, could relate to the customer’s requirements and had a good sense of humor. Who said it first, no one really remembers, but Lynne and Al started talking about the ideal machine tool distributorship.
Lynne and Al met time and again and kept discussing how a distributor could supply top notch equipment for a fair price and always do what they say they’re going to do in a timely way. As the idea began to gel, they invited a like-minded coworker, Alan Lockery to one of their lunches. Alan was another multi-talented, hands-on, successful individual who understood sales and service. Alan brought a clear focus on how to help customers grow their business, with quality machine tool products that augment what they already had and would give them room to grow. The friends were a perfect match. So, the three young professionals, created Anderson Barile Lockery Enterprises), which became ABLE Machine Tool Sales.
ABLE Machine Tool Sales founders. (L-R) Alan Lockery, Lynne Anderson, and Alfred Barile
The first small office ABLE occupied was a 600 square-foot store front on Main Street in West Springfield, MA. Lynne managed the busy office, while Al and Alan covered a geographic territory consisting of CT and Western MA. They represented two exclusive lines, a Japanese vertical machining center manufacturer called Hamai, and a CNC retrofit control company named Jucker & Pease. To stretch their resources and give customers a larger impression of ABLE, Al and Alan alternated jobs. When Al sold a machine Alan would install it. When Alan sold a machine Al would install it. Regardless of size, customers could 100% count on Able Machine Tool Sales for both sales and service.
ABLE’s first office in 1987 was here in this eclectic neighborhood with colorful characters stopping by daily to say hello.
Fast forward a bit and ABLE Machine Tool Sales merged with Heritage Machinery, a New Hampshire company owned by a respected friend. Heritage represented LeBlond Makino Machine Co. of Cincinnati, Ohio. This was a good move. About a year later, Daewoo (now known as Doosan/DMTA) joined the line of manufacturers ABLE represented, and growth followed. ABLE expanded to represent a full line of large and small machine tool manufacturers, and all six New England States became their sales territory.
With nine full-time employees, Lynne, Al and Alan moved their business to a new 4,000 square foot location on Suffield Street in Agawam, MA. Within the year, they realized they needed more space, a larger showroom, and a service area. Agawam was an ideally situated location for them, so in 1995 they invested in their first permanent location at 800 Silver St. The 7,000 square-foot building they purchased was a former warehouse with a nice front office, large, clean warehouse space, and wide ground-level overhead doors, perfect for bringing in large machine tools, such as milling machines and lathes. This was ABLE’s home for 24 successful years, before their final move.
Al Barile loved being with customers, selling and engineering solutions, so in 2000, after much thought, he stepped down from being President of ABLE, backed off on his management responsibilities, and returned to selling full time. Al’s customers considered him a trusted friend and valuable resource. He was a customer advocate and continually supported ABLE’s best practices initiatives by helping ABLE look for areas where it could improve and flourish. He retired in 2020. After Al stepped down, Lynne Anderson, with her keen eye on every aspect of business, moved from Vice President to President of ABLE. Alan became Vice President.
Lynne expertly managed operations and developed a talented administrative staff. She organized schedules, placed orders, figured out transportation, and logistics beyond what can be listed here. She continued in this capacity until retiring in 2008. Beyond ABLE, Lynne was a pioneer in the industry. She was the first woman president of the American Machine Tool Distributors Association or AMTDA, and she encouraged other females in the business to join associations, such as the Society of Manufacturing Engineers. Her legacy lives in the policies ABLE holds and the dedicated staff who remain the backbone of ABLE Machine Tool Sales today.
In 2007, before Lynne retired, it was clear that ABLE was bursting at the seams. Lynne and Alan expanded the building at 800 Silver Street from 7,000 to over 11,000 square feet. With the additional space, ABLE became an integrator of options for the machines they sell. Integration translates to additional tool capabilities, higher quality output, greater speed, and cost-effective production for the customer.
When Lynne retired in 2008 and relinquished her partnership, Alan Lockery took on the President’s role at ABLE Machine Tool Sales and became its primary owner. The years have gone by fast. Throughout ABLE’s history, Alan has lived the challenges and excitement of growing a business. He fully understands what every customer is trying to do, to please their customers, succeed, and have time to do the things they love.
ABLE’s management team formerly included Executive Vice President Edward Corridon, Jr, who was a contributing partner for several years. Ed retired in December 2019. Partner and Vice President of Operations Joseph Halik oversees machine customizations in house and quality control for all machines coming in and going out of ABLE’s facility. Managers include VP of Sales Mark Perreault, VP of Human Resources Georgia Sappleton, General Manager Christopher Lockery, and Parts and Service Manager Marcy Venne. They, in turn, manage ABLE’s sales engineers, application engineers, service and support technicians, and administrative staff.
(L-R) Joseph Halik, Georgia Sappleton, Mark Perreault, Marcy Venne, Christopher Lockery and Alan Lockery
This management team and staff brought ABLE Machine Tool Sales to greater heights with the completion of ABLE’s new headquarters at 253 Silver Street, an 18,000 square foot state-of-the-art machine tool facility, with plenty of room for training, option integration, and showroom displays. This facility allows ABLE to do more for its customers than ever before.
ABLE Offers
ABLE’s mission is to help its customers modernize operations and integrate the right machine tools into their system to streamline their manufacturing process, find new efficiencies, create improvements, increase profitability, and tap the full potential of their tools and workforce now and into the future.
They sell machines and accessories, service everything they sell, and provide needed parts, technical support, and training throughout New England. They sell machining centers, wire and Ram EDMs, milling and boring machines, turning centers, lathes, automated deburring systems, drills, saws, automated part handling tools, manual and direct computer-controlled coordinate measuring machines, metrology systems, polishing, twin spindle and gantry mills, and a wide variety of accessories, including such things as probes and robots. They also provide engineered services, parts and repair service, technical training, technical support, and install integrated and automated systems.
“Back in 2017, we had just finished the build-out on my first shop, opened for business, and within a month needed to replace a machine due to unforeseen issues. I reached out to Andy Duffy @ ABLE and he put me in touch with a finance person he had done a great number of deals through. Not knowing whether or not I would buy a machine from him, he was fully supportive of my urgent needs. Once approved I went back to Andy. Within 4 weeks we had two brand new machines installed, up, and running! Andy, Marcy, Dave and the team at ABLE never made me feel like we were a small shop, never made us feel anything less than a VIP. Whether it is sales, service or technical support, ABLE Machine Tool Sales is and will always be our first choice for machine tools. They provide quality, integrity, character and an unwavering support from quote to install and thru it all.” – Johnathan D., Owner/Operator
Having operated in Agawam, MA for over three decades, ABLE Machine Tool Sales is the New England region distributor for Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), such as Aims CMM, B/X-ACT Metrology, Clausing Industrial, Doosan/DMTA, Flexmill, Makino, Parpas America, Renishaw, Tacchi USA and Takamaz. ABLE serves Job Shops and such companies as Colt Firearms, Paradigm, Raytheon Technologies, Pratt & Whitney, GE Aviation and Ruger, to name a few.
What differentiates ABLE from other distributors is their ability to save customers delivery and setup time by bring almost any size and number of machines into their facility, adding all systems and accessories, and testing everything prior to final shipment and installation at the customer’s shop. “Not many machine tool dealers have this capacity,” said Alan Lockery.
“We found there was a need to shorten lead times in getting machines to the customer. We bring machines out of the OEM’s inventory to our facility, add all the customer’s option here (such as probes, auto doors, rotary tables, and mist collecting systems) and test everything prior to delivery. Installation then takes only a few days, not weeks. This means less disruption in the customer’s busy shop, which can be costly. Our customers really appreciate this.”
As ABLE approaches its 35-year anniversary, they will host a large Open House event this October 19-21 running simultaneously with EASTEC at the Big-E. There will be machines and accessories under power, displays, demonstrations, catered food, and door prizes. New England Manufacturers are encouraged to drop in. However, those who pre-register at ABLEmts.com go into a drawing for a chance to win one of several $250 gift cards. [Registration allows ABLE to pre-make name tags and gives them a rough headcount for the caterer.] ABLE is located just two miles from EASTEC in Agawam, MA.
“Established in 1984, my company has been in business for 37 years. In the early years, we used many different machine tools and dealers to get the business started. In 2004, Makino approached us, suggesting we try one of their machines, thus directing us to ABLE Machine Tool Sales. We were blown away by the quality of service, the expertise of the sales staff, and the attention to detail the team at ABLE provided for us. Since then, ABLE has been our sole source for our machining needs.” – Tom P., President
Last Words
Managers at ABLE are always looking for new opportunities to serve customers in New England. They have technical staff and sales engineers located near customers in the six New England states so they can respond as quickly as possible to any need. ABLE is also known for selling dependable machine tools that maintain their accuracy and offer the most flexibility for the customer’s applications. “To this day, we service every machine we have ever sold in our 35-year history,” said Alan Lockery.
Associations
ABLE Machine Tools Sales is a member of the Association for Manufacturing Technology.
Honors And Awards
ABLE proudly displays more than 60 prestigious awards it has earned for sales and service to customers in their main entrance. Of note, ABLE has been honored three times as Doosan/DMTA Distributor of the year for Sales throughout the Western Hemisphere, and four times as Distributor of the Year for Servicing throughout the Western Hemisphere.
253 Silver Street,
P.O. Box 507
Agawam, MA 01001
Phone: 413-786-4662
President Alan Lockery (a.lockery@ablemts.com)
Vice President of Sales Mark Perreault (m.perreault@ablemts.com)
