JG Machine Celebrates 50 Years in Business

Courtesy Photos (from left to right): “Under New Management” John and his wife Margaret in 1965 at their wedding,, John Graney and his children, from left to right: Susan Kinneen, Mike Graney, John Graney and Sarah Jane Sullivan, and JG Machine President John Graney.

Wilmington-based JG Machine is celebrating half a century in business. Rich in history, the business, 50 years after it all began, continues to be a family affair with owner John Graney, 74, working alongside three of his children at the precision machine shop located on Concord Street in Wilmington.

“Having family working together means having a level of trust that everyone is working hard for the betterment of the business as a whole,” Graney says.

JG Machine caters to many local businesses and handles everything from duplicating a part for an antique tractor, to bushings for a printing press, to parts that make up cryogenic lab equipment.

Graney’s pride and joy is a medical device he’s helped develop over the past 15 years. The Boston Kpro (Keratoprosthesis) is a highly polished plastic lens that functions as an artificial cornea, restoring sight to hundreds worldwide. It’s being used by Mass Eye and Ear to cure blindness from corneal diseases and injury. And it’s manufactured right here in Wilmington.

Today, JG Machine is building an ATLIS Device that is used in ALS research to help find a cure.

“It looks like a piece of gym equipment, but with the proper electronics, doctors and researchers are able to collect valuable data in hopes to find a cure for this debilitating disease,” Graney says.

It all began more than half a century ago and to hear Graney’s story is to take a step back in history.

Fifty years ago, John Graney was working at Avco in Wilmington in their model shop. It was 1965. They were working on early space capsules for the Apollo Mission and other experiments related to and at the height of the advancement of the space program.

That same year, he married his wife Margaret. While the two planned a lengthy honeymoon and looked forward to traveling across the country with a 15-foot travel trailer, stopping at National Parks along the way, his boss didn’t like the idea of him being gone that long so Graney left his position to keep his honeymoon plans intact.

Graney came back from his honeymoon unemployed, but not for long.

“I had a couple of machines I had been storing at my parents’ home on Mishawum Road in Woburn,” he says. “Friends in the business caught wind and offered me some contract work. My father, Arthur Graney was also a machinist and encouraged me to pursue an independent business, as this was once his dream.”

And he did.

In 1967, Graney moved to a room behind Rexall Drugstore in Woburn center. During the next few years, Sweetheart Cup of Wilmington was his biggest customer. By now he and Margaret had three children. Three years later, in 1970, Graney purchased a 1,500-square-foot building on Sullivan Street in Woburn.

“I employed many machinists over these years and trained many curious young people to become skilled in machining,” he says.

From 1970 to 1980, Graney and his wife added four more children to their family. As they grew, they would work alongside their father in the shop.

Graney’s eldest son, John II worked for him for many years as a skilled machinist and now has has his own successful shop, Surface Solutions in Woburn.

JG Machine remained on Sullivan Street in Woburn until the business outgrew the building and an upgrade needed to be made.

“In 2011, we renovated a 10,000-square-foot building on Concord Street in Wilmington,” Graney says. “And, in 2012 we moved into a bright, open and clean shop where our business can really shine.”

Today, what JG Machine offers its customers is that intimate knowledge and expertise.

“We meet and advise many individuals with ideas that a larger machine shop may overlook,” Graney says. “These people are inventive do-it-yourselfers, either with a product they are looking to develop, a machine part they need replicated, or an idea to improve an existing product.”

In addition, professionals seek JG Machine out to help with the development of products and devices.

Today, Graney, who has no plans to retire, works daily alongside three of his children. Daughter Susan Kinneen is the head of operations, daughter Sarah J. Sullivan is purchasing and customer service, and son Michael Graney works in quality control and inspection. All three are Wilmington residents.