A new machine can increase a manufacturer’s capacity. But getting that machine to deliver its full value requires much more than signing a purchase order.

The equipment has to fit the application. It has to be configured and installed correctly. Operators need the right technical support. Service resources and replacement parts have to be available when something goes wrong. And as production evolves, the manufacturer may need automation, applications expertise or another solution altogether.

For Pinnacle Machine Tools, a purpose-driven machine tool distributor, that is where the relationship begins.

Founded in 1998 by Don Roberts, Dennis McCurry, and Jerry Edwards, Pinnacle has spent more than 25 years building relationships with manufacturers across Tennessee, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle. What began as a Mazak distributor has grown into a broader manufacturing resource representing brands such as Mazak, C.R. Onsrud, Cosen Saws, AIMS Metrology and RoboJob.

“Selling a machine may begin the relationship, but Pinnacle’s value to the customer should continue throughout the life of that equipment,” says Terry Peer, vice president.

The company now operates across four core areas, machine sales, aftermarket Parts & Accessories, service, and applications. Offering applications engineering, project management, installation, automation support and technical resources, while also investing in accounting, operations, and marketing systems to better communicate and serve its customers.

Pinnacle’s Parts & Accessories business is one example of how that thinking translates into action. What began with a small group of beta customers after IMTS 2024 developed into a dedicated effort to make Pinnacle a resource customers can turn to more frequently, rather than only when they are ready to buy another machine.

  • Selling a machine may begin the relationship, but Pinnacle’s value to the customer should continue throughout the life of that equipment.


The same philosophy is shaping its growing service organization. As equipment sales grow, the company is adding personnel and building the capacity to support installations and non-warranty service to complement Mazak’s growing organization. The objective is straightforward. Growth in sales should be matched by growth in the ability to support what has been sold.

That approach gained new momentum in 2024, when longtime owner Dennis McCurry retired and Terry Peer joined Jerry Edwards as a 50 percent owner. Edwards who is one of the most respected Mazak salesmen in the country brings deep continuity with Pinnacle and its customer relationships, while Peer brings 28 years of experience from Mazak Corporation. Together, they began shaping the infrastructure for the company’s next chapter.

That chapter is defined by Purpose Driven, an initiative introduced to employees and their spouses in 2026. Its premise goes beyond growing revenue or market share. Pinnacle wants growth to create something useful for the people connected to the business.

That means creating opportunities for employees and their families, becoming a stronger resource for customers, building genuine partnerships with manufacturers and using the company’s success to make an impact in its communities.

The philosophy is already influencing how Pinnacle thinks about growth. Rather than expanding its manufacturer lineup simply for the sake of getting bigger, the company sees opportunities to deepen its existing relationships through stronger sales capabilities, parts, service, applications and automation.

The result is a company positioning itself for a role that reaches beyond the traditional machine-tool sale. For its customers, the value is not simply in finding the right machine. It is in having a company equipped to help make that machine, and the manufacturing operation around it, work harder.

After more than 25 years in the industry, Pinnacle is not trying to become a larger distributor for its own sake. It is building the people, capabilities and relationships to become a more valuable one.