Published 09/04/2026

How I Made It: David Wynn, Director of Technical Services for PMPA

Machining was not the career David Wynn chose; it chose him. Here’s a bit about his journey to an accidental career that became his passion.

How I Made It

Derek Korn

Editor-in-Chief, Production Machining magazine

I started my college career as a dual chemistry and biology major while working in my family’s machine shop. While attending college, I noticed that I had a passion for two things: machining and business.

It eventually occurred to me that I should be studying my passions. So after two years, I switched to a business degree and earned a degree in finance economics with a minor in accounting, all while working at my family’s shop.

After graduating college, I started moving more into the management side of the business. One professor urged me to get my MBA, so I re-enrolled in college. All my classes were at night, which enabled me to work full time in the shop. While I was an undergrad, machining was a fun hobby, but now it was becoming a career — being in a small family shop, you had to get your hands into a little bit of everything.

While studying for my MBA, I started working on my “masters in machining” at the school of hard knocks and real-world teaching by my grandfather. He had worked on Brown and Sharpe screw machines for several companies in the Chicago area. My grandfather got to see about everything one could do with a Brown and Sharpe. When it came to teaching, he demanded perfection. When I would grind a cutoff tool, he would send me back to the grinder if it did not have a mirror finish. I spent time learning flat die thread rollers, the burnishing machine and various other mechanical equipment.

David Wynn is the director of technical services for the Precision Machined Products Association (PMPA).

After earning my MBA, my grandparents were eyeing retirement and my dad and I decided to take over the business. I had spent seven years on Brown and Sharpes at this point, but my skill could not compare to my grandfather’s 60-plus years of experience. I challenged myself to find a way to produce the parts as efficiently or more so while maintaining quality. This is where the Precision Machined Products Association (PMPA) and Swiss-type machines enter the story.

For years I had collected old manuals from the National Screw Machine Products Association, which became the PMPA in the mid 1990s. The manuals were the holy grail of information in our industry. I called and talked with Miles Free, the now retired director of industry affairs for PMPA, and my dad and I decided to join the organization. My first PMPA Management Update (MU) conference was special because I met so many of the people who ended up mentoring me. The connections I made at that first MU have carried my family’s business to this day; they guided us into Swiss machines. It totally changed our business dynamic. The shop still runs Brown and Sharpes, but only when it makes sense.

I fell in love with the parallel processing of Swiss just like screw machines — Swiss just takes a different mindset. I also learned mill-turns, CNC lathes and spent a little bit of time on CNC mills, in addition to mastering the implementation of information technology throughout the business.

I recently stepped into the director of technical services role at PMPA. Working for PMPA is a fun and exciting journey. I get to meet lots of great people. I get to see the best manufacturing facilities in the world. My favorite part is helping our members solve their problems.

Machining was not the career I chose — it chose me.