When one of my mentors in this industry emailed me in December to let me know that he had just left his office for the last time at the company he had been with for 48 years, it struck me how much impact he has had on so many people in this industry. Those who know him will appreciate that he included the exact minute of his departure, not because he couldn’t wait to bust out, but because of the well-known attention to detail he brought to running and growing his business over several decades.
 
I first met Roy Otto, former owner of Machine Tool Supply in Eagan, MN, about 25 years ago, when he was the chair of a publications committee for the state’s tooling and machining association. He has been a teacher without seeming like one to many people in this industry and beyond. He …