Rosene Machine in the News

Address: 2464 S. 54th Road, Firth, NE, 68358-7546
Telephone number: (402) 791-2350
Web address: www.rosenemachine.com
Owner, Location: Dennis Rosene , De Witt
Chief Executive on Site, Title: Dennis Rosene, President
Number of Local Employees: Seven

Products, Services

CNC machining of parts for manufacturers, product prototyping and development; manufacture of its own line of internal pipe cutters.

Company History

Started by Dennis Rosene in 1979, operating in the evenings. Became a full-time business in 1997, and incorporated in 2002.

FIRTH — A pattern that keeps repeating itself doesn’t have to be a bad thing.

Check out the pattern established by Rosene Machine Inc.

Knock on some doors, get a customer to hire the company for a job, perform that job satisfactorily, get more orders, buy new equipment, and add on to the building. Repeat ad infinitum.

That’s what’s happened with the specialty manufacturer and job shop since owner Dennis Rosene started taking on machining tasks for area businesses in 1979.

His company makes components for other manufacturers, and recently started producing pipe cutters for wells on its own behalf.

Rosene said the company pitches service, integrity and reliability as its strong points. Customer Dale Rempe, a senior engineer at Addax Inc. in Lincoln, would say that’s not false advertising.

Rosene Machine makes rollers for Addax’s composite drive shafts, Rempe said.

When Addax’s customers run into trouble, they look to Addax to help them out of it.

“It’s critical for us to do our job,” Rempe said. “We have to get good service from Dennis. They do a terrific job down there.”

At Beatrice store fixture maker Store Kraft Manufacturing, Rosene Machine also has a reputation as a supplier that comes through in the clutch and still exhibits good work quality.

Rosene produces parts for Store Kraft’s wood and metal showcase fixtures, said buyer Kathy Barnard.

“A lot of times, we don’t have the best lead times to give our vendors,” Barnard said. “They’re very good about working within a time frame.”

Rosene Machine typically works from a customer’s drawing, and uses computer-controlled machining centers to drill, cut and notch steel, aluminum or other materials into a part the customer needs.

“We make a lot of complex little parts,” Rosene said. Those include radiator cap removers and slide inserts for target pistols.

The company has several pieces of machining equipment, he said, and buys new machines when an expansion of the shop’s capability or capacity is necessary.

The newest machine is a Makino A51, which can load and turn parts while operating. The A51 is more efficient than other machines, because it’s always working: when one part is done, the operator removes it, and the machine simultaneously begins working on the next item.

The machine, Rosene said, reaches its potential, with “a very intelligent and thorough person” at the controls, he said.

While it’s been tough to find skilled machinists, he said, local trade schools and Norris Public Schools are trying to fill the gap with courses in machine tool technology.

John Seefus of Fairbury has been with Rosene Machine for four years. He said he enjoys his job because it allows him to turn raw materials into finished items, and because the company has created a relaxed atmosphere for the work force.

The pipe cutter came about, Rosene said, when well drillers asked him to come up with a better way to cut PVC pipe. They had been using wrenches, which couldn’t always be operated in the space around the pipe.

Rosene developed a pogo-stick-looking device with a rotating saw wheel at the bottom. The worker simply drops the cutter into the pipe and turns the handle. The wheel rolls around and cuts the pipe from the inside.

The company recently added adapters that will allow the pipe cutter to cut several different pipe sizes.

The Firth location has worked well for the company so far, Rosene said, but the company’s growth may someday necessitate a move.

Rosene owns a lot in Beatrice that he said would be the most likely relocation spot, but he also sees an advantage in staying where he is.

“This segment is under pressure to keep its overhead down,” he said. “Staying here is a good way to keep overhead down.”