• April 13, 2021
  • Register
  • Sign in
    • Forgot Password ?
    OR
    • Sign in
  • FAQ
  • Contact
  • About us
www.cnctimes.com logo
  • Editorials
    • NEWS
    • CASE STUDIES
    • INTERVIEWS
    • SUCCESS STORY
    • PRODUCT SHOWCASE
    • TECHNICAL ARTICLES
    • BLOGS
    • VIDEOS
    • NEWSLETTERS
  • Forum
  • EVENTS
  • INVENTORY
    • INVENTORY LISTINGS
    • AUCTION LISTINGS
    • WANTED LISTINGS
  • BUSINESS LEADS
    • BUYERS
    • MANUFACTURERS
    • DEALERS
  • SHOWROOM
  • JOBS
  • Register
  • Sign in
  • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Feedback

Information

Please login to give the feedback.

Information

Please login to give the feedback.

  1. Home
  2. Interviews
  3. MachineTools.com is exploring possibility to have partnership in India: Stu Carlin

MachineTools.com is exploring possibility to have partnership in India: Stu Carlin

29 January, 2017
  • Tweet
  • share via email
Your comment has been posted.
We have sent you a verification email. To verify, just follow the link in the message.
Some technical error. Please try again.

MachineTools.com is an international online marketplace that has been connecting buyers and sellers of new and used machines and tooling for more than 17 years. Before the company started in 1999, MachineTools.com Founder and CEO Stuart Carlin was running a fax advertising service for auctions and used machines when he realized that the Internet was quickly becoming the best and fastest way to connect buyers and sellers.

The day his office burned down, he decided that it was time to realize that vision, and with lead developer Joe Qin, the vision became a reality. The company has continued to innovate, adding the industry’s first mobile site in 2007, an iPhone/iPad app in 2012, and a totally redesigned website in 2013 – with a refresh in 2015.

In 2014, MachineTools.com extended its expertise in online lead generation for used machinery to new machinery, further helping buyers find the machines they need.

Early Days

Born in Chicago, Illinois, Mr. Carlin has been an entrepreneur since he was 10. “I had a little business with comic book and when I went to the university, I started a business of vending machines and had them installed in my campus. I majored in Accounting and worked for two years with accounting firm Ernst and Young, but never liked it. I worked only to make my parents happy,” Mr. Carlin told CNCTimes.com.

“Nobody in my family is an entrepreneur. While my father is a lawyer, my mother is a housewife. My family supported my idea of entrepreneurship, but not much,” he said.

Getting the Idea

When asked as to when he developed the idea of starting the business, Mr. Carlin said, “I quit the job in accounting after two years and was jobless. One day while I was walking my dog, I happened to meet a man whom I knew and he was a used machinery dealer in the metalworking industry. He asked me to work with him which I agreed and that’s how I got introduced to this industry. But, I always wanted to run my own business, so I left to sell ice-cream during summer. Then the winter came and I started fax business. I had a big list for auction and machine dealers of whom I had the database using Internet. I used to charge 25 cents per fax and paid 5 cents.”

Initial Challenges

After a year or so when the Internet got bigger, Mr. Carlin developed an idea to trade a site where he can list all new and used machines around the world. “However, there were many challenges as the people from machine tool industry thought that Internet was not viable for selling machines. That prompted me to create a website. I had an angel investor who gave me USD 1 million to start the website as he knew what I did and believed in me. Initially, nobody wanted to list the machine so I listed new and used machines free for a year and showed the industry that you can get the lead by using Internet. After one year, I started charging for the listing which the manufacturers paid. The biggest challenge was to make them believe that Internet can be used to sell the machine,” Mr. Carlin added.

Not the one to lose hope easily, Mr. Carlin overcame these challenges as he had content and needed visitors to get the business going. So he used Google adverts which charged 5 cents for a word. It later increased to USD 20 per word. He also used barter system wherein he used to give free articles in the magazines and gave them banners. This way he got visitors. “MachineTools.com was built right way with the help of machinery people as they told me about specifications. We then went to dealers and distributors to get the listings,” he said.

Business Model

Commenting on the business model, Mr. Carlin said it is still the same the way it was started. We worked on first hand and charged per machine. We didn’t charge commission and viewers loved that. On our site, one can see sellers name and call them which is not the case with our competitors. Our site is transparent. We generated revenue through advertising, listing fees, banners, email blasting and charging per lead for the new machine. We charged per machine for the used machine. In countries other than the US, our charges are 50% less because our penetration not much there while in the US we are very much known,” he said.

Even the US market was very hard when Mr. Carlin started as that was the era of recession. Initial six years were very tough, but the company got new channels and it embraced that.

Market in India

Talking about the Indian market, Mr. Carlin said, “We get a lot of people from outside coming to India. The market here is very big. The used machinery market know us, but new machine market is not much aware of our activities. The issue in India is getting revenue as we had a lot of traffic but not much revenue. To overcome this, we plan to change the pricing system. In the US, we charged USD 2 in 2000 for listing a machine which is now USD 20. In India, we might have to lower the pricing as cost of living is different,” he added.

About the IMTEX 2017, he said he is in awe of this exhibition as it is two times bigger than IMTS show in the US. In India, people are open to talking, are patient and walk around looking at you. He is impressed and plans to do lot more in India. “I am open to working with CNCTimes.com and Plant Manager and exploring that possibility,” Mr. Carlin added.

“People in India are tough negotiators, but the genuineness of an Indian lead is getting bigger. It is the fastest growing manufacturing country and my plan is to have local MachineTools.com. The other thing is this market is very price sensitive. In China and India, we need to change our pricing to make the website more viable. We plan to charge USD 2 per lead for a new machine. We give quality leads so I know that we can work hard in this market and increase our rate once we establish ourselves,” he opined.

Big Vision

Asked about his vision, Mr. Carlin said that MachineTools.com will come up with a new site in a month as he believes in updating the site every three years. The functionality will remain same but the design and look will be different. “It is really hard to become an entrepreneur as one can’t learn it. He needs to have it inside. It is a skill that has to be developed with passing time.  An entrepreneur should be a leader, visionary and possess risk taking abilities. I would encourage GenNext to try entrepreneurship. If they have those skills, they will succeed,” he said.

“India has always been an important market for us. Since most people speak English so language is not a problem and that is the reason behind Indians getting attracted to our site early. Earlier, MachineTools.com was only in English, but now it is available in 13 languages. I was amazed by the fact that Indians found us very fast and feel sad for taking 17 years to come to India. But now since I am here, it’s time to have a local partnership and do business in India. Initially, revenue will not be much, but it will increase once the size increases,” Mr. Carlin concluded.

  • Follow @CNCTimes

Captcha is required.
Sorry Captcha Unsuccessful!!

Comment(s)


  • S

    Shabbir Lokhandwala

    I am intrested in knowing more about your bussiness offer.


Latest Interviews

  • 25 May, 2020

    Short interview with Peter Mösle, Head of Sales of the Measuring Machines business division at Blum-Novotest

  • 30 April, 2019

    CNCTimes in conversation with, Ankit Sahu, Director, Objectify Technologies Pvt. Ltd.

  • 19 February, 2019

    CNCTimes in conversation with, Mr Frederick Mason, Sr. V.P. Marketing, Quality Vision International INC

  • 06 January, 2019

    Mr. Prashant Jain, Head-Demand Generation & FBS leader, Fluke Technologies Pvt. Ltd. in conversation with CNCTimes.com

  • 05 January, 2019

    CNCTimes.com in conversation with Mr. Rohit Trivedi, Director, N'liven Technologies Pvt. Ltd.

  • 04 January, 2019

    Mr. Gautam Chandu, Managing Director, Hariram Engineering in conversation with CNCTimes.com

  • 10 December, 2018

    Mr. Sean Yao, Territory Head, ZWSOFT and Mr. Anubhab Hazra, CEO, CADbro, India, in conversation with CNCTimes

  • 06 November, 2018

    Mr. Volker Nesenhoner, Chief Executive Officer, OPEN MIND Technologies AG, talks about hyperMILL & Indian Market

  • 25 September, 2018

    Mr. John Fox, Vice President, Marketing, Mainstream Engineering, Siemens PLM Software Inc, talks about Solid Edge 2019

  • 10 July, 2018

    Niraj Wanikar, M.D., CNCTimes P. Ltd. talks about Plant Manager – a revolutionary Production, Planning and Control software.

  • 10 July, 2018

    Mr Cyril Pereira, MD, Reed Triune Exhibitions, talks about AMTEX 2018

  • 10 July, 2018

    Mr. Benedikt Ruf, MD, GINDUMAC GmbH and Mr. Pankaj Patel, Country Manager, GINDUMAC GmbH share their views about AMTEX 2018 and the Indian Market

  • 10 July, 2018

    HMB International is getting overwhelming response at AMTEX 2018: Mr Gopal Bali, Country Manager Sales, HMB International

  • 10 July, 2018

    SLTL is a global leader in CNC laser services: Mr Maulik Patel, Business Development - International, SLTL Group

  • 21 June, 2018

    Indian customers shower trust on HAAS, and Phillips has perpetually strived to make this a reality.

  • 28 May, 2018

    Our consistent goal is to continually improve the quality, performance and reliability of our products: Revware Inc

  • 27 December, 2017

    The response from the customer's base in India is steadily growing: IMI Precision Engineering

  • 18 December, 2017

    Quality should be the focus, not the price when buying a CNC machine: Global CNC Automation

  • 18 December, 2017

    “Engimach helps you to reach the right audience.”:Macpower CNC

  • 18 December, 2017

    ‘Engimach has developed a lot over the years’: Beckhoff Automation

  • 11 December, 2017

    ‘Engimach is the best platform to showcase your products’ : Gravotech

Previous Next

Related Interviews

  • 25 March, 2017

    We aim to be the dependable partner of choice for our customers: Abhijit Kumthekar

    Category: Software
  • 28 January, 2017

    Mastercam sees a steady growth in the Indian market: Gene Welti

    Category: Software
  • 01 September, 2016

    Cloud capabilities in Solid Edge ST9 provide faster, flexible deployment options: John Fox

    Category: Software
  • 23 June, 2016

    PolyWorks has universal approach with focus on India: Patrick Castera

    Category: Software
  • 05 February, 2015

    Delcam’s vision is in line with leadership goals: Vineet Seth

    Category: Software

News

  • 12 April, 2021

    Strength of cold working steel

    Category: Software
  • 06 April, 2021

    Machine Swap through ESPRIT CAM

    Category: Software
  • 30 March, 2021

    IronCAD Mechanical 2021 is an add-on productivity module in the IronCAD Productivity

    Category: Software
  • 23 March, 2021

    CAMWorks releases new wire EDM module with single click model-to-G-code functionality

    Category: Software
  • 16 March, 2021

    Shapr3D moves from “Imagination to production”

    Category: Software
  • 09 March, 2021

    Mastercam Mill Developments Target a Streamlined Manufacturing Process

    Category: Software
  • 02 March, 2021

    Stock Automation by Esprit CAM

    Category: Software
  • 23 February, 2021

    Ansys Launches Moxie to Enhance System Model Validation Processes

    Category: Software
  • 23 February, 2021

    Mastercam 2022 Public Beta Released for Global Testing

    Category: Software
  • 23 February, 2021

    CADBRO 2021 - A collaborative CAD tool for all your "Design Review" needs Webinar on 26th Feb @11.30am

    Category: Software
  • 16 February, 2021

    CAMBRIO Appoints Sandeep Srivastava as Country Manager for India, South East Asia, and Middle East

    Category: Software
  • 15 February, 2021

    Powerful Selection Techniques in The New ESPRIT

    Category: Software

Case Studies

  • 16 December, 2019

    Lifting Devices Provider Cyrus Designs 20% Faster with ZW3D

    Category: Software
  • 14 February, 2019

    Zoom Technologies Chooses CADbro, a powerful 3D CAD Viewer, to Accelerate Customized Mold Production

    Category: Software
  • 23 March, 2018

    Teamcenter and NX help Avcon Controls streamline processes and optimize use of resources

    Category: Software
  • 06 March, 2018

    Harita Seating Standardizes on Altair Suite of HyperWorks™ for all CAE ApplicationsHyperWorks

    Category: Software
  • 26 December, 2017

    Swiss coffee machine manufacturer optimizes development and production with Solid Edge

    Category: Software
  • 22 December, 2017

    Addressing Design Development Challenges through Simulation Driven Platform

    Category: Software
  • 11 January, 2017

    Alphacam guides 5-Axis future for Cambridge Precision

    Category: Software
  • 30 December, 2016

    Manufacturing with a Progressive Edge

    Category: Software
  • 28 December, 2016

    Responding quickly to ship structural analysis needs with easy-to-use Femap

    Category: Software
  • 27 December, 2016

    It’s all in the family

    Category: Software
  • 19 December, 2016

    Manufacturing speed for Drag Boats

    Category: Software
  • 12 December, 2016

    Edgecam Waveform plays key role in two product launches for Fenn Tool

    Category: Software

Product Showcase

  • 06 July, 2019

    OPEN MIND Expands Functions in High-performance Cutting Module

    Category: Software
  • 14 May, 2019

    Versatile quick-change system for handling weights up to 50 kg

    Category: Software
  • 25 April, 2019

    hyperMILL® 2019.2 at Moulding Expo

    Category: Software
  • 02 April, 2019

    SprutCAM 12 release

    Category: Software
  • 02 April, 2019

    MeasurLink 9 Product Release

    Category: Software
  • 25 March, 2019

    OCTOLite™ Manual Semi-Automatic Inspection System from QVI

    Category: Software
  • 24 April, 2017

    OnCreate3D, First Full Cloud CAM App provides toolpath editing feature

    Category: Software
  • 03 August, 2016

    Single solution to manage thousands of product variants

    Category: Software
  • 16 December, 2015

    Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence presents the latest release of PC-DMIS

    Category: Software
  • 07 December, 2015

    ANSYS releases new versions of SpaceClaim and FENSAP-ICE

    Category: Software
  • 29 September, 2015

    Renishaw launches new CARTO software solution for calibration systems

    Category: Software
  • 17 October, 2014

    Delcam launches new PowerSHAPE Pro CAD for CAM

    Category: Software

Technical Articles

  • 05 October, 2020

    Use of Costing and Quoting in the Metal Fabrication Industry

    Category: Software
  • 03 April, 2019

    Digital Twins, The Birth of Constant Optimization: Siemens

    Category: Software
  • 09 June, 2017

    ESPRIT’s 2017 software update

    Category: Software
  • 23 January, 2017

    Taking the plunge in turning

    Category: Software
  • 03 April, 2014

    Reverse engineering and its importance in new product development

    Category: Software
  • 20 September, 2013

    Optimising Multi-axis CNC Productivity

    Category: Software
  • 14 September, 2013

    Reverse Engineering

    Category: Software
  • 14 September, 2013

    Solid Modelling vs Surface Modelling

    Category: Software
  • 14 September, 2013

    Virtual Machining

    Category: Software

Blogs

  • 11 April, 2017

    “OnCreate3D” First Full Cloud CAM app, introduces Stock Definition, modification and use in rouging toolpaths and many more features.

    Category: Software
  • 31 March, 2017

    HOW TO CREATE MACHINING OPERATIONS AND NC FILE OUTPUT FOR YOUR ONSHAPE MODELS

    Category: Software
  • 03 March, 2017

    Cloud computing – what is it ?

    Category: Software
  • 13 January, 2017

    What is Adaptive control in CNC ?

    Category: Software
  • 05 January, 2017

    2D, 3D and 5-axis Milling – where and how much are they used?

    Category: Software
  • 24 December, 2016

    CNC Milling – 2D, 3D, 5-axis milling

    Category: Software
  • 08 December, 2016

    CNC milling – chip breaking

    Category: Software
  • 28 November, 2016

    Cutting speed vs Feed rate – Milling

    Category: Software
  • 21 November, 2016

    Cutting speed vs Feed rate

    Category: Software
  • 10 November, 2016

    Reducing face milling time

    Category: Software
  • 03 November, 2016

    IOT and Industry 4.0

    Category: Software
  • 07 October, 2016

    Modular vs Quick change tooling

    Category: Software

Videos

  • 12th April, 2021

    WORKXPLORE Video for ‘Client Viewer Export'

    Category: Software
  • 04th March, 2021

    OPTIPOWER – One step added to toolpath Optimization.

    Category: Software
  • 23rd December, 2020

    Planning & Scheduling of Projects in WORKPLAN

    Category: Software
  • 16th December, 2020

    Simulation Analysis

    Category: Software
  • 09th December, 2020

    Variable feed rates & Spindle Speeds for Turning cycle

    Category: Software
  • 01st December, 2020

    RADAN Designer : Unfolding single parts and assemblies

    Category: Software
  • 25th November, 2020

    VISI Electrode

    Category: Software
  • 10th November, 2020

    VISI Flow - Efficient Plastic Injection Moulding Simulation Solution

    Category: Software
  • 22nd October, 2020

    Advanced options for cabinet modifications

    Category: Software
  • 12th October, 2020

    Cabinet Design to Production

    Category: Software
  • 07th October, 2020

    ALPHACAM - Feature based machining

    Category: Software
  • 07th October, 2020

    ALPHACAM - Nesting process

    Category: Software

Showroom

  • 29 March, 2019

    Tool Presetter India

    Category: Software

TESTIMONIALS VIEW MORE

We would like to express our sincere appreciation for your service to us.You have provided us best marketing platform through CNCTimes. We look forward to extending our contract with you for years to ...

Mr.Adil Atar, Ass.Mng.Technical Sales & Service: Precision Machinekraft

Dedication and determination is key to success and CNC Times team is evident to it - FARO Business Technologies (I) Pvt Ltd

Ms. Amrita Gokhale , FARO Business Technologies

Seminar was really very good, please let us know about future seminars. we would like to attend the seminar on "Machining of the material above 60 HRc like titanum"

Roshan Deshmukh, Design Engineer - Ashvini Magnets Private Limited

FOLLOW US

TECHNOLOGY FOCUS

    Machine Tools

    • CNC Lathe
    • Boring Machines
    • Drilling Machines
    • Spark Erosion
    • Wire Cut
    • Vertical Machining Centers - VMC
    • Horizontal Machining Centers - HMC
    • Grinding Machines
    • Gear Cutting Machines
    • Additive Manufacturing - RP
    • Multi-Axis Machines
    • Multi-Tasking Machines
    • Welding Machines
    • Presses
    • Laser Cutting
    • Others
    • IIoT

    Metrology

    • CMM
    • VMM ( Vision Measuring Machines )
    • PCMM ( Portable CMM )
    • Measuring Instruments
    • Probing Technology
    • 3D Scanners
    • Roundness Measurement
    • Surface Roughness Measurement
    • Contour Measuring Machines
    • Others

    Accessories

    • Workholding
    • Toolholders
    • Spindles
    • Coolants
    • Others

    Software

    • CAD
    • CAM
    • CAE
    • ERP
    • Inspection Software
    • Reverse Engineering Software
    • MES
    • Others

    Mechatronics

    • Robotics
    • Automation
    • CNC Controllers
    • Others

    Cutting Tools

    • Turning Tools
    • Milling Tools
    • Grinding Wheels
    • Drilling
    • Others

INDUSTRY VERTICALS

  • General
  • Automotive
  • Aerospace
  • Healthcare
  • Healthcare Engineering
  • FMCG
  • Consumer Durable
  • Defence
  • Electronics
  • Oil & Gas
  • Heritage
  • Heavy Engineering
  • Die & Mold
  • Plastic
  • Footwear
  • Jobshop

POLICIES

  • Payment Policy
  • Terms of Use

PROFILE

  • About us
© 2021 www.cnctimes.com
Developed & Maintained by CNCTimes.com