On this episode of Rottler Featured Series, join us in El Paso, Texas at Mike & Son’s Machine Shop.

Family owned and operated, Mike & Sons is an automotive-specific machine shop, focusing on engine rebuilds for everything from daily grocery getters to classic cars and performance work.

Machinist Chris Palumbo told us that as a family operation, every engine they work on they treat with care as if it were there own personal engine. To get the quality of work they demand, Chris and his father-in-law, Mike Garcia, rely on a quartet of Rottler machines including an SG9 seat & guide machine, an HP6A (precursor to the H85AX) hone, an EM69ATC engine machining center, and a classic Rottler F2.

Chris tells us he needs precision to maintain modern standards and the EM69ATC delivers. It has “endless capabilities,” he said.

Mike backed him up on the quality of the Rottler equipment too. “Once you see the quality of the work the machine turns out… when I saw the first cut Chris made with the [SG9], I said ‘I should have bought this a long time ago,” he said.

If you’re down in El Paso and you need engine work, you can be sure that Mike & Sons will deliver. Check out their story!

On this episode of Rottler Featured Series join us at East Holmes Auto Repair and Holmes Performance and Machine in Millersburg, Ohio.

Co-owners Steve Troyer and Casey Butler founded East Holmes in 2016. Today they’re a full service automotive performance and industrial machine shop with a particular focus on work trucks and fleet vehicles.

Knowing that many of their customer depend on the vehicles and equipment to get their work done, East Holmes puts attention to detail on everything they send out the door. “We want to give our customers peace of mind,” Troyer said.

As part of that dedication to quality, one of East Holmes’ first investments was in an H85AX automatic hone. A short time later they added an EM79 engine machining center that gives them the ability to machine everything from a 4 cylinder block all the way up to Cat C15s, Detroits, and even bigger blocks.

“Often times there’s promises made but not promises kept. That’s not true with Rottler,” Troyer told us. “If they say they’re going to do it, they do it.”

“And its not just the machines, it’s the relationships we’ve made with other people in this industry through Rottler. That’s just been huge,” Butler added.

Here at Rottler, we’re proud to call East Holmes a customer and partner. Check out their story!

On this episode of Rottler Featured Series, join us at one of America’s premier auto racing engine building, rebuilding, testing, design and development facilities, Ed Pink Racing Engines in Van Nuys, California.

EPRE conducts engine design and development on a large variety of engines. Recent projects include a 2 valve 4 cylinder 2.7-liter methanol fueled racing engine and 4 valve engines developed for off road truck racing.

Other engine projects at EPRE vary from the rebuilding and updating of 900 hp turbocharged race engine for GTP vintage racing, Cosworth DF Formula One and Indy engines, and Cosworth XD Indy engine for vintage racing. They’ve also done the design evaluation of a motorcycle engine and contributed to the development of road racing engines for use in South America.

To get all this work done, EPRE depends in a trio of Rottler machines, including an S7M surfacer (now the S85 series), an F67A CNC (now the F69A), and an EM69HP CNC Engine Machining center. According to head machinist Gianni Jeong, these machines have allowed them to double their weekly output while producing work that meets, and often exceeds, manufacturer specs.

We’re pleased to play our part in this legendary shop’s story!

Rottler Equipment in the Shop

On this episode of Rottler Featured Series join us at R&L Engines in Dover, New Hampshire.

R&L Engines is a 6,000 square foot state of the art engine rebuilding and machining facility that works on everything from vintage engines to high performance auto and marine motors.

Owner Leo Crossetier started R&L back in 1981 and later invested in his line-up of Rottler equipment because he got too busy and could no longer stand in front of a machine for hours a day. These days Leo and team have an assortment of specialized machining and fixtures, including the Rottler F69A Multi-purpose CNC, H85AX automatic hone, and SG9MTS seat & guide machine, that allow R&L to do high performance engine blueprinting that produces results far superior than the original manufacturers.

Leo’s team told us what they like the most about their Rottlers is that the machinery makes even the most difficult and time-consuming jobs accurate, repeatable and easy.

“Rottler machines do exactly what they should every time,” Leo said.

For our part here at Rottler, we’re happy to help the team at R&L do what they love! Check out the video!

On this Episode of Rottler Featured Series, join us at Heinlein Diesel and Machine in Rogersville, MO where we meet up with owner Tyler Heinlein.

Heinlein’s main focus is working on light duty diesel pickups, doing transmissions, engine repairs and performance upgrades. He started the business back in 2015 as solo operation with a couple of work bays and some basic tools.

These days he’s still a one-man shop, but he’s got a whole team working for him in the form of a trio Rottler machines — and H85 hone, an F69 multi-purpose machining center, and a SG9MTS seat & guide machine.

“I’m not a guy who came from CNC machines, but Rottler makes it easy,” Heinlein said. “I have no problem using the RPath software.”

When it gets down to it, it’s Rottler’s “set it and walk away” automation that’s the game changer. “The H85 hone paid for itself right away. That was real eye opener,” he said. “I’m doing the work of a team while still being one person.”

Check out the video!

For this episode of the Rottler Featured Series we’re in Kearney, Nebraska, home of BluePrint Engines where they’re building crate engines for every type of horsepower enthusiast in a state-of-the-art, 210,000-square-foot factory.

Founded in 1982 by owner and CEO Norris Marshall BluePrint made a name for itself designing and building small block and big block Chevy engines as well as small block Fords for the classic car and show markets. Marshall calls it a “niche” market, but his company has put out more than 120,000 engines in the past decade using all new components designed and built by BluePrint. That’s a pretty good-sized niche!

These days BluePrint is also building EPA-certified industrial engines for gas-powered machinery and has a successful line of crate engines for the performance market.

Walk BluePrint’s factory floor and you can’t help but notice banks of Rottler red and black-striped machines working alongside BluePrint staff to churn out these in-demand engines. One section, features and entire cell of H85AXY automatic hones, all humming away on BluePrint blocks while one operator works nearby.

“Every block we do comes through these hones,” Marshall told us. “They’re fully automated; people only load and unload the block. One person can run several machines, so it’s a very efficient use of labor,” he said.

Having those kinds of efficiencies in his manufacturing facilities allows BluePrint to focus on engineering new innovations rather than laborious processes. That, in turn, allows the company to turn out higher quality products that deliver affordable, reliable horsepower to his customers.

Marshall notes that they’ve had Rottler machines on their factory floor for over 15 years and continue to invest in new, more advanced equipment like the H85AXY that can roll block over automatically. “We keep innovating just like Rottler does,” he said.

Check out the video!

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Event Overview

The Engine Performance Expo returns for 2025!

Returning for a fifth season, the Engine Performance Expo is a unique event providing hands-on education, live demonstrations, and Q&A sessions with the Performance Engine industry’s leading manufacturers, suppliers and engine builders.

This year’s event will be held live at Rottler Manufacturing’s global headquarters in Kent, Washington alongside Rottler’s annual Open House celebration. Numerous industry guests will be on hand for demos and tech seminars, and the Rottler-sponsored NHRA Pro-Stock and Funny cars will be on display!

Attendance at this event is limited, so make sure to register early to reserve your spot!

In this episode of Rottler Featured Series, we’re in McCool Junction, Nebraska home of Donrich Machine a full-service machine shop focused on agricultural and industrial diesel and gas engines.

Corey Schlegelmilch, owner of Donrich Machine tells us he bought the business about 20 years ago, starting out as a one-man shop in a 2,000 square foot building with a handful of equipment. Since then, he’s grown Donrich into a thriving business with a team of employees and a new 7,200 square foot facility.

Being located in America’s heartland it’s no surprise that a good portion of their business is servicing the workhorse diesels that keep the water flowing and the crops growing in the farm fields of the Midwest. Donrich services a lot of engines like Cummin ISXs, CAT C15s and Detroit 60s. To get that work done quickly and done right, they’re using the Rottler EM79 engine machining center along with the H85AX automatic hone and an S80 series surfacer.

According to Corey, one of the big advantages using Rottler equipment is the ability to work on a diesel and then switch it up to machine gas V8 with near zero downtime. Plus, with the increased speed and accuracy of Rottler’s CNC technology, he knows it’s going to be spot on with the machining specifications.

We asked one of Corey’s machinists and told us what he appreciates about the Rottler equipment is anyone can learn it. It only takes a few minutes to master and, unlike other machines, you don’t need to stand there and watch it to make sure it’s working. “You hit the button and walk away,” he said. “You’re free to go work on something else.”

Corey summed it up pretty well. “I’ve been using Rottler equipment since I started in this. They always build a good product, they support it, and you know they’re going to be around for a long time,” he said.

He’s right too. Thanks to customers like Donrich Machine, we’re celebrating our 102nd anniversary this year and we’re looking forward to 102 more!

Check out the video. And, if you’re in Donrich’s part of the country and in need of service on your ag equipment, make sure to give them a call!

On this episode of Rottler Featured Series, join us in Niles, Ohio at Ross Racing Engines where owner Tony Lombardi runs a multi-generational engine building business that’s built a following among drag racers and custom hot rod enthusiasts alike.

Tony’s dad started the business back in the 1970s doing the machine work for his own dragster. Word spread, however, and soon the shop was building engines for racers nationwide. These days Ross Racing Engines builds just about every type of performance motor there is — circle track, offshore boat, super stock, top fuel, and everything in between.

As a driver, Tony started racing stock dirt track before jumping over to drag racing, but these days where he’s really made a name for himself is as an engine builder. He takes those hard core, classic hot rod engines — Olds, Hemis, Buick Nailheads, you name it — and totally rebuilds the interior with modern parts good enough to drive coast-to-coast (which many have done).

Ross Racing Engines has done hot rod engine work for some of the biggest names in the business including Roseville Rod & Custom and Galpin Ford, and Tony’s shop is lined with ribbons and trophies, including many national championships like the NHRA Nostalgia Top Fuel Championship just this past year.

As a shop with a reputation for outstanding quality, naturally, Ross Racing Engines is also a Rottler-powered shop. They have an H85AX automatic hone that Tony credits for helping deliver three national championships. “My cylinders are very straight, true, and round” thanks to that hone” he says.

As for the future and his retirement plan, Tony says they’ll find him face down in the shop one day because he’s going to build engines until he can’t build them anymore. That’s great news for everyone (except maybe the last guy he builds an engine for)!

Check out Ross Racing Engine’s story in the video!

For this episode of Rottler Featured Series we go to Bolivar, Tennessee, home of Choate Engineering Performance; one of North America’s leading specialists in diesel engine performance, parts, and remanufacturing.

Over the past decade, Choate has made a name for itself taking factory diesel engines – Cummins, Powerstroke, Duramax, you name it – and re-building them to run longer and perform better than when they first rolled off the factory floor. As part of that dedication to durability and performance, the company not only builds better diesels, but manufactures its own engine parts, making it one of the most respected and successful diesel specialists in the country. (They build over 500 diesels a year!)

Naturally, Choate is a big Rottler customer, and their facility floor features a full suite of our CNC equipment including seat & guide machines, hones, engine centers, and multi-purpose machining centers. As Choate & company note, one of the main advantages of standardizing on Rottler engine building equipment is every machine in the line-up uses the same interface, so once a team member is trained on one machine, he’s trained on all of them — a huge time and money saver. (It doesn’t hurt that one guy can manage multiple machines simultaneously either!)

Not content to rest with past success, Choate is now expanding into the high horsepower and heavy-duty diesels used in mining, oil and gas, and marine applications. As a result, there’s a new Rottler EM104 machining center on the shop floor giving them the ability to re-man the big diesels like 3516 Caterpillars, Waukeshas, AMDs, and MTUs, with the same speed, performance and precision Choate delivers in its on-highway diesel rebuilds.

We’re proud of Rottler’s partnership with Choate Performance Engineering and looking forward to many more years of helping deliver new quality standards in diesel performance and parts manufacturing.