With more than 30 years in metal fabrication, Paul Krause brings a steady, confident presence to everything he does. As Regional Sales Manager for Muratec’s fabrication business unit, Paul supports customers across a vast and well‑established territory that includes British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky.

Muratec USA Regional Sales Manager Paul Krause highlights the features of the M2048 turret punch press on the trade show floor at IMTS 2024.

Paul is calm, direct and easy to work with—someone who puts customers at ease without ever applying pressure. His deep technical knowledge, honest approach and long‑term mindset have helped him build a mature, well‑developed territory grounded in trust and results. Customers appreciate his ability to listen first, then match the right solution to their operation—making him less of a salesperson and more of a valued problem‑solver.

In the Q&A below, Paul shares his perspective on the Midwest and Great Lakes manufacturing landscape, including industry trends, automation maturity, standout customer successes and where he sees future opportunities for Muratec USA solutions.

How would you describe your territory in terms of industry focus and customer maturity with automation?  The Midwest/Great Lakes region has a broad industry focus with a variety of industries present that focus on metal fabrication and machining/turning work ranging from light to heavy components and assemblies.  The end users here do represent a mature market, and that does include automation, although automation is also strong in other geographic areas.  But overall, the Midwest has always had a strong, leading edge manufacturing base.  About 14 states in the Midwest comprise a lot of the overall manufacturing in the U.S.

What makes your territory different from other U.S. regions when it comes to selling Muratec machines?  With a large manufacturing base here, there is also strong competition.  In fact, many machine tool builders have their U.S. presence headquartered in the northwest suburbs of Chicago.  That fact alone makes the Midwest especially unique.

Which industries have been most active in investing in Muratec machines recently and why?  By the numbers, the contract manufacturing/job shop industry has always led the way when it comes to active investing and market share. That large industry within the broader metal forming and fabrication industry consumes most of the fabrication equipment.

Contract manufacturers and job shops serve a wide range of specific industry segments.  Certain segments that have recently been stronger are construction equipment, conveying and material handling equipment and systems, power distribution and power generation products, air handling and atmospheric control systems builders (think the new data centers going up), architectural and construction sheet metal, food and beverage equipment, health and medical related equipment.

Paul Krause, left, a 30+-year veteran of fabrication, at FABTECH 2025, discussing the benefits of the Muratec MF30510HL with influencer Tony Gunn.

Which Muratec machines or automation solutions have performed best in your region and what’s driving that success?  Our turret punch presses typically perform very well, and customers comment on the reliability of our machines.  Not all customers have automation with a turret press.  But those that do use our automation are quite successful due to both productivity and reliability.  I have many good FS (2512 and 3015) installations in my territory.  The FS has a good design and is easy to maintain and keep running.  I do know that our FS customers have won business because of the productivity of our systems.

What industries or applications in your region do you believe are underdeveloped or overlooked for Muratec but could be a fit?  Our largest market by far is the contract manufacturing/job shop market, as opposed to a specific OEM industry like automotive or transportation, and power generation or data center, or food service equipment and office furniture.  Our typical customer and end user may serve all or some of those industries and many others.  The job shop market is not overlooked but we could develop that market more. 

Do customers here tend to gravitate toward higher levels of automation, or do they prefer more manual/standalone systems?  It is a mix of both, but the better shops are looking for more and more automation.  And I have seen that with our FS customers. 

Are there any machines in our lineup that you feel have untapped potential and have room to grow in your market?  There is more room to grow with automation and our combination machines.  And the M2044TC has some potential for being marketed as an ‘economic punch’ or ‘economic alternative’ for a certain segment of the market that needs forming and punching, but not enough to spend big dollars.

What’s a typical customer profile in your territory—small job shops, large OEMs, contract manufacturers, etc.?   All of the above, but more job shops and contract manufacturers.

Do you have any standout success stories where a customer used Muratec to solve a unique problem or improve operations?  One good example that I can think of is that we have a customer who added automation (FS3015 load/unload system) to an existing turret press (M3058TG).  And with the addition of that automation and the resulting productivity gains, our customer was able to win business from one of their existing customers who was actually making these parts themselves in-house.  The ultimate customer / end user is a well-known manufacturer of commercial and residential water heaters.

How open are your customers to adopting new technology like combination machines or add-on automation?  Customers and prospects are increasingly open to adopting new technology.  A combination machine is an expensive purchase and requires a more specific application.  But companies are looking to adopt add-on automation, new automation in many areas throughout their operations that also include forming and welding.  Customers are also increasingly asking about material and parts handling automation.

How does it feel to walk into a customer’s facility and know you’re offering some of the most reliable, precise machines in the world, often as a true problem-solver, not just a vendor?  I am very proud to represent Muratec. We have very good solutions for customers and a good variety of solutions when one looks at our different automation, combination and TPP products.  It is also very nice to be able to discuss with customers what we are doing in the areas of turning, but also in our other divisions, especially Clean Factory Automation and Logistics & Automation.