On this episode of Rottler Featured Series we’re in Louisville, Kentucky home of Republic Diesel, a 114-year-old company providing engine machining services to the oil & gas, mining, marine and heavy equipment industries.

Republic Diesel President Matthew Gettelfinger tells us the company began in 1911 as a small machine shop but has grown to be one of the country’s leading servicers of big industrial diesel components – cylinder blocks, camshafts, cylinder heads, and the like.

With a focus on working on the biggest diesels from Caterpillar, Cummins and Waukesha, Gettelfinger tells us they embrace the challenge of machining the biggest engines and components back to original factory specifications. “The bigger, the better,” he says. “Rottler gives us the efficiency and accuracy we need to keep us with customer demand.”

As you can imagine, working on engine blocks that can weigh up to 20,000 lbs presents special challenges. That’s why Republic has been using Rottler equipment for nearly 40 years.
Republic sports five of the biggest machines Rottler makes including the EM105H CNC engine machining center capable of machining blocks as big as a V20, and the big daddy of them all, the EM109H capable of automatically machining monster blocks like the Cat 3616, Waukesha ATV, and Cummins QSK95.

Chris Edgins, machining foreman for Republic, tell us Rottler’s 3 axis machining capabilities were a game changer for them. They used to have to put the block on the floor and work on it manually, but now they can do the whole service right on the machine, slashing hours off the process.

Edgins adds that one of the other big advantages to using Rottler equipment is the ability to tackle specialty jobs. “Working with engineers from Cummins and Cat we’ve used the Rottlers to develop new techniques. They’re very versatile machines,” he says.

As a 100+ year-old company ourselves, we here at Rottler Manufacturing are proud to be a partner of Republic Diesel and help them in their mission to deliver innovation and highest quality machining services in the industrial diesel industry.

We’re kicking off our Featured Series in 2025 with a visit to Prime Machine, a truly world class integrated fabrication, welding, and machine shop located in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Prime specializes in big projects on parts and equipment that works in some of the most hostile and demanding environments known to mankind. From the oil sands of the Canadian tundra to the surface of Mars, Prime-built components are there helping to achieve the impossible.

With a reputation for building structures the size of a bridge with a watchmaker’s precision, Prime requires equipment that can help them meet standard that very few other companies on the planet can. Among Prime’s suite of truly impressive equipment are the biggest machines Rottler makes, including the EM109H multi-purpose CNC machining center.

The EM109H is a fully automatic system built for machining the monster high horsepower and heavy duty engine blocks from CAT, Cummins, EMD, Waukesha with microscopic precision. We couldn’t be prouder to see it on the shop floor next to other systems that have helped Prime succeed in machining some of mankind’s biggest, most ambitious endeavors!

Check out the video!