Our History

In late 1979, Bill Kunz developed a pantograph machine for cutting shapes from steel plate.   He started out working out of his garage shop.  Over the years, his company, Torchmate, went on to become a leading manufacturer of CNC plasma cutting machines.  He sold the company in 2011 and retired.  More information on Bill's former company can be found here: https://torchmate.com/about-us 

Upon retiring, Bill focused on his long-term interest in vintage motorcycles.   He noticed that the only plasma or laser cut motorcycle shapes on the market were simplistic, cartoon-like shapes.  It was obvious to him that most of these designs were created by people who were non-bikers, or artists with no practical shape cutting experience.  Bill set about designing a series of bike cut-outs with as much detail as possible within a reasonably sized piece.   The photos at right were his first and last business locations.