Bob’s Machine Shop
📍 Tampa, FL
As Bob’s Machine Shop evolved into one of the country’s premier manufacturers of jack plates for boats, their finishing equipment needed an upgrade. A new Performer ES Paint Booth from Global Finishing Solutions (GFS) with long-lasting GFS Wave exhaust filters has Steven Pelini confident in his company’s future, thanks to increased production, shorter lead times and improved efficiency.
Please introduce your business.
“Bob’s Machine Shop has been in business since 1978. We make a product called a jack plate. Our hydraulic jack plates are powered to lift the motor of a boat up and down. They help motors get into shallow water, with more speed and better performance.”
What services do you offer?
“We have our own machine shop, and we do all of our own CNC machining in-house in Tampa. We continue to manufacture our product 100 percent in America. We are all boaters, and we understand jack plates better than other people who are just making the product. It’s kind of our baby. I believe we have the best product.”
How has GFS equipment changed your processes and impacted your business?
“The performance of our Performer ES Paint Booth has been great. The booth is easy to use, and it works well. We spray eight or nine hours a day — using a rather thick paint with a retarder, as opposed to a hardener. It is a clearcoat that we put on every jack plate. Surprisingly, the GFS Wave exhaust filters in our paint booth last a long time. This is important, as the more time our technicians are on the trigger spraying, the more product we can get out.
Our previous paint booth had curtain-type filters, and we were changing them every week. It was a constant struggle with dirty filters. Every time you changed the filters, you had to clean the booth because it made a big mess on our floors. With our Performer ES Paint Booth, not only are we changing filters less frequently, but it is also easier to change the filters. And since the GFS Wave filters come in 20-inch-by-20-inch pads, it is easier to keep the environment controlled and change them without making a mess in the booth.”
What is the plan for the future of your business?
“We are going to keep looking at improving our jack plates and adding new features. We want to continue growing with OEMs and distributors. We are really focused on our growth and handling the success that we have had.”
