DM Squared’s owner Derek Parker might not be a self-taught machinist but when it comes to building a business as a self-taught shop owner from early on in his mid-20s, he exudes the same passion to be successful and a love for the work that he is doing – namely machining components – as he did then.
“I was amongst the latter intakes of apprentices to be trained by Atlas Aircraft Corporation (also known as Atlas Aviation), at the time a well-known South African aircraft manufacturer. It was a division of the South African government-owned defence conglomerate Armaments Corporation of South Africa (commonly known as Armscor) and it manufactured aircraft and various avionic systems for the South African Air Force (SAAF) locally,” explained Parker.
“The company would later be incorporated into what we now know as the Denel Group. We had a fantastic apprenticeship that was recognised worldwide. We learned to respect the manufacture of components for the aviation industry and general engineering. Quality and accuracy was of the utmost importance and this discipline that was instilled in us from an early age would set us up for the rest of our lives.”
A general view of DM Squared’s 500m² under roof facility in Meadowdale just outside Johannesburg
“When the company was renamed Denel, shortly after South Africa’s independence, I continued to work for them. However, I always had the yearning to start my own business with an obvious bias towards machining as this was what I was trained to do and I already had some experience. This happened in 1998 when I established Derek’s Machining.”
“The point of starting a jobbing machine shop on my own was not the prospect of profit, but the chance to commit myself to manufacturing challenges in my own way. I think if I was in it just for the money, I wouldn’t have kept doing this. I’m in it for the challenge. If you take care of delivering quality components and service the money side will fall into place.”
“Derek’s Machining was a real engineering and machine job shop. I wasn’t flush so I started off with the basics in terms of equipment. I got involved in everything – from the shop floor to dealing with clients and the auditors. As I had a background in CNC machining technology and knew the advantages of CNC machines, I could not wait to acquire my first one.”
“The company progressed successfully until 2009 when it went through a transformation or should I say I went through a transformation. My father – Gary Parker – had been running his own pump manufacturing company since 2002. The company was manufacturing its own range of submersible industrial pumps. He asked me to join him and together we began the journey that took the company to new heights.”
Owner Derek Parker
“I continued to run Derek’s Machining as well but the focus was on my father’s company which had the potential to become a recognised manufacturer and supplier of submersible pumps. I was young and had the energy.”
“We were designing our own pumps locally, enabling the company to meet specific customer demands in Southern Africa and internationally. All the pump ranges had their own significant branded names and there were variants within each brand, depending on the industry that the pump would be operating in.”
“We built the company to have its own state-of-the-art machining facility, equipped with computer numerical controlled (CNC) equipment to accurately manufacture its products to high standards, with flexible turnaround times.”
“We would proudly exhibit at Electra Mining every second year as the mining industry was very important to us. But so were the chemical, power generation, sewage and waste water transportation, paper and forestry, construction and animal and organic waste transportation industries.”
One of the recent purchases is a DN Solutions DNM 4500 high productivity vertical machining center that has a table size of 1 000mm by 450mm and is able to accommodate a workpiece of 600kg and is equipped with a Fanuc I-Plus controller. The XYZ travels are 800mm by 450mm by 510mm and the spindle power is 18.5kW and 12 000RPM
“With good relationships established with suppliers, we offered very good lead times on delivery and we also had a well-equipped service centre to cater for the aftermarket. Our development department used the latest technologies to create good-quality products to optimise the pumps and processes to reduce costs for customers.”
“The company was achieving a yearly growth of more than 30%, which made us vulnerable to an acquisition, which did happen in 2022.”
“I stayed on with the new owners for a while but as is generally normal with these types of setups the thinking of new management is not always the same as the previous owners so I decided to leave.”
“With a five-year restraint, but still with a passion for machining, I had to find a new challenge and begin from scratch. Derek’s Machining was still in existence, as I had kept it separate to my father’s company. But so as not to seek any conflict or legal ramifications I changed the name to DM Squared in 2023 and began trading.”
“I would say 80 per cent of our machining is done on EN8 and EN9 steel with the remaining 20 per cent on materials such as stainless steel and aluminium.”
“I have just completed 2 years and I can see we are now starting to make a few inroads. It is like having a second chance, which I am grateful for because not many do, especially at my age.”
“Besides the type of components that we now machine, the biggest change has been the number of staff that I have to manage every day. That number has drastically been reduced and has become more manageable and efficient.”
Four new DN Solutions CNC machines
“We started off small with a few second-hand CNC machines but have now started to ramp up a bit. Over the last year we have installed four new CNC machines – all of them DN Solutions machines supplied by Puma Machine Tools.”
The components that DM Squared have been machining are hydraulic fittings, valve blocks, couplings, split bearing bushes, hammers, spray nozzles, conical washes and similar
“The first new CNC machine we purchased is the popular DN Solutions DNM 5700 milling machine. It is equipped with the latest Fanuc 0iM control, a directly-driven, Big Plus (BT 40) 18.5kW/12 000rpm spindle, a 30-position ATC and a 1 300mm x 570mm worktable, a 510mm Z-axis with a 1 000kg table load. This was in installed in 2024.”
“We also purchased a DN Solutions Puma DNT 2100MB horizontal turning center, a heavy-duty, box guideway machine with a 10″ chuck and a powerful 15.5 to 18.5kW/4500RPM spindle. The machine has a swing of 650mm, a machining length of 550mm, a turning diameter of 400mm and a bar capacity of 82mm.”
“We also added a DN Solutions Lynx 2100L turning center, a high-precision heavy-duty cutting machine with a turning diameter of 350mm, a turning length of 550mm, a chuck size of 8″, a powerful 15kW/4500RPM spindle and a bar working diameter of 65mm. This machine also has live tooling which will allow us to perform milling, drilling, and other operations on a workpiece while it’s held in the lathe’s spindle, eliminating the need to transfer the part to a separate milling machine for these processes.”
More often than not runs are 100 or less components but DM Squared have had to machine 7 500 of the same component
“The second vertical machining center we purchased is a DN Solutions DNM 4500 high productivity vertical machining center that has a table size of 1 000mm by 450mm and is able to accommodate a workpiece of 600kg and is equipped with a Fanuc I-Plus controller. The XYZ travels are 800mm by 450mm by 510mm and the spindle power is 18.5kW and 12 000RPM.”
“In total we have 8 CNC machine with 6 of them being lathes/turning centers. At this stage it is a good mix for us.”
“Even at the previous company I worked for I liked DN Solutions machines and after a visit to the factory in Korea I was very impressed with what I saw. This is why I have purchased the brand again.”
“Machine shops work in a very complex world these days, as the demands to get product to the customer on time and with the greatest quality is becoming more important every day. Many machine shops struggle to get jobs done on time for various reasons, so it is important to look at how you structure your shops to meet demand and cause the least amount of stress in the shop.”
“One of the main criteria that you have to think of initially is that job shops can’t do everything, and that’s OK. You can grow and then add other tasks, operations and functions that clients require. Don’t take on as much as you can and a much wider variety of work until you are ready. This is what we have done. More often than not our runs are 100 or less components but we did have a 7 500 run and it was stressful. That component required turning and milling operations.”
DM Squared have 8 CNC machines with 6 of them being lathes/turning centers
“As you grow your cash flow improves and then you can get those machines that do it done-in-one. There is plenty of work out there that only requires two or three axis machining so you don’t need to stress. If you have an attitude of ‘If we’re not going to do it, somebody else is going to do it,’ you will soon find that the company is putting resources into jobs that aren’t as profitable as they should be.”
“Today you have all the software and systems available that can work out your exact costs. You should not have to rely on a thumb suck.”
Autodesk Fusion
“Talking about software I deployed Autodesk Fusion into DM Squared from the beginning. We faced numerous challenges in our early stages and the company needed a robust solution that would allow us to produce high-quality components efficiently.”
DM Squared uses Autodesk Fusion for its design and machining software
“Pricing paid a big part in our decision. With no prior experience in using Autodesk Fusion, I had to learn quickly. Key challenges included aspects such as the fact that we relied on manually inputting G-code into the CNC machines. This process was time-consuming, prone to errors, and limited the complexity of parts that could be produced.”
“Working with power stations and hydraulic systems meant dealing with intricate components, such as valve blocks that require precision machining. Traditional machining methods resulted in excessive tooling costs and inefficient machining strategies. As an evolving business, DM Squared needed to rapidly scale its operations without compromising quality or efficiency.”
“To overcome our design challenges, we turned to Baker Baynes for Autodesk Fusion software and the comprehensive training. I had been using Autodesk Inventor at the previous company so I had a bit of experience. But when you don’t have a design or drafting department you have to jump right in.”
DM Squared is a job shop but has a core amount of clients that it machines components for on a regular basis
The implementation of Autodesk Fusion provided several transformative solutions. These included automated CAM programming. Fusion’s ability to generate G-code automatically eliminated the need for manual programming, drastically reducing time spent in front of machines.”
“What once took hours of manual input can now be completed in minutes. The ability to optimise machining paths has significantly reduced the time required to complete jobs. These advanced machining strategies have also minimised tool wear. We’ve been able to extend the lifespan of expensive tooling components, saving on replacements.”
“Fusion’s digital prototyping capabilities have allowed DM Squared to transition from physical sampling to virtual models, reducing material waste and speeding up the design validation process. I can import client designs into Fusion and get straight to work – no more wasting material on physical samples.”
“DM Squared’s workflow has led to significant business cost savings and of course better delivery times, which has changed our relationship with clients dramatically. So yes, we are very happy we have invested in Autodesk Fusion.”
“The components that we have been machining are hydraulic fittings, valve blocks, couplings, split bearing bushes, hammers, spray nozzles, conical washes and similar. Most of them are assembled with other components to make a product or assembly. But this is done by our clients.”
“I would say 80 per cent of our machining is done on EN8 and EN9 steel with the remaining 20 per cent on materials such as stainless steel and aluminium.”
“We operate from a 500m² under roof facility in Meadowdale just outside Johannesburg and all of our operations are run according to ISO 9001:2015 standards which we are working on to get certified.”
“Data-driven manufacturing to optimise operations and reduce downtime, including AI co-pilots, predictive analytics, and real-time feedback is no longer theoretical, it is happening all over. I would love to deploy the modern trend in my shop but we are nowhere near that type of need or spend. Likewise, automation is not just for large shops, automation can help even the smallest shops solve labour challenges and become more profitable and efficient. But again, we are not there yet.”
“We have spent a reasonable amount on equipment so we can vouch for our quality. Over the many years, I have come up with a number of rules and keys that I work with to help keep sanity in the shop. When buying equipment, you need to start thinking about purchasing duplicate equipment. I don’t need to explain why.”
“Standardising processes is an obvious one as is maintenance. Standardising processes also presents an opportunity to better schedule jobs that flow through the shop, thereby reducing the number of tooling and fixture changes when transitioning from job to job. Wherever possible automate.”
“These are just some of the basics to having a successful machine shop. There are many other rules and key decisions that will help, but these can set a shop on its path toward being successful.”
For further details contact DM Squared on TEL 011 609 8650 or visit www.dmsquared.co.za
