Most stone machine supplier will hold on until conditions brighten. Some machine builders, along with U.S.-based reps of foreign companies, won’t, leaving owners with that dreaded piece of equipment in the backshop … the orphan.

The recent forced bankruptcy liquidation action against Advanced Industrial Machinery Inc. (AIM) means yet another brand of equipment without an active manufacturer – and, of key importance to machine owners, direct means of support. And, right now, shops need to keep current equipment going in the attempt to hang on for better times.

Fortunately, some of these machines are finding a new network of support. It’s not a stretch to say that some of these orphans are finding some interesting godparents to fix problems and supply parts, but there’s service nonetheless.