Mike MacArthur

Mike MacArthur's first career didn't involve carbide at all: he trained wild animals for movie and television productions. It turns out that working with animals that outweigh you and have their own opinions is excellent preparation for manufacturing — you learn patience, preparation, and deep respect for anything that pushes back. After that, the toughest machining problems feel almost tame.

He joined RobbJack in February 1995 as a tool grinder, and over the next 31 years held just about every position in the building — including an extended run as applications engineer and later as Vice President of Sales and Engineering. That path means the person leading RobbJack has personally ground the tools, solved customers' machining problems at the spindle, and carried the line into the field.

The build-it-yourself streak doesn't stop at the shop door, either — Mike designed and built his own house. When your president reads blueprints for fun, precision tends to follow.

Today, as President, Mike leads a team of employee-owners in designing and manufacturing precision solid-carbide cutting tools in Lincoln, California — and in backing every tool with the applications know-how to prove it in the cut. Under his leadership RobbJack pairs 67 years of American carbide craftsmanship with a modern digital toolbox: machine-aware speeds & feeds, free CAD on every standard, a competitor cross-reference, and guaranteed test tools.

His standard for the company is one he learned long before the front office — it works on the shop floor, and it worked with the animals: customer service isn't a department, it's everyone's job.