b'Industry BriefsMir: I had been at a small company,moved me up rapidly, and I workedby 2006. I thought, Thats long a cutting tools manufacturer, for 26hard from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day. Ienough to wait. We were both years. The guy who hired me startedwanted to learn. It challenged me. getting older, and I wanted to start me in QC. I had done technical draw- My boss told me he was goingmy own company by that point. No ings in college by hand but had noto sell me his company someday,hard feelings.clue about tools or anything. Hebut he just wasnt ready to sell yet CTE: How was FSC Cutting Tools Technologyabletoexperience PRECISIONrapid growth from the start? a Mir:InJuly2007,Ibought 60,000-sq.-ft. building on 4 acres. If TOOL BLANKS I had waited longer, I would never have purchased it, because of the financial crisis. That was God help-ing me out, I guess. I had been rent-ing a 1,500-sq.-ft. space before that When You Need Them. for me and my wife; we had no At the Right Price. employees and no customers at first.TechMet Carbides, North Americas #1By the end of Supplier of Precision Tool Blanks our second year in business, we had 15 employ-Featuring TMK-320, ees.IhadsoAfzaal Mirthe most widely used much room with the new building, 10% sub-micron grade I didnt know what to do with it. If I in North America had been in a smaller, 5,000-sq.-ft. building and grew the way I grew, Delivered from the size would have stopped me the largest inventoryfrom doing what I wanted.of solid carbide blanks FSC consumes about 25,000 sq. in North America ft. today, and other businesses that I own occupy the rest of the space. Once I bring in a planned machine Ships same day shop, the building will be com-from our North Carolina pletely occupied. But in 2007, when Distribution Center I started FSC, aerospace companies gave so much work to me. From my years working with aerospace, I knew a lot of people, and they trusted me. That was a big factor.CTE: How did you get into manu-facturing in the U.S. after you began your career as a pilot in Pakistan?Call877-872-0044 Visit www.techmet-carbide.com Mir: I came to the U.S. and was flying planes out of New York. My cousin, an electrical engineer, lived 12MARCH 2018IndyNews.indd 12 2/15/18 2:40 PM'