Enco Milling Machines

No, Enco is no longer operating as an independent business, but the brand lives on through its parent company. In 2016, the popular machinery and tooling catalog supplier was fully absorbed by MSC Industrial Supply Co., and the standalone Enco website was shut down. However, MSC continues to manufacture and sell Enco-branded equipment, including milling machines, lathes, and bandsaws. If you are looking to purchase a new Enco mill or need replacement parts and customer support for an older machine currently in your shop, you will need to go directly through MSC Industrial.

Enco milling machines were historically private-label machinery sourced from manufacturing plants located in Taiwan and China and distributed primarily through MSC Industrial Supply. While the original Enco Manufacturing Company started in Chicago making lathe accessories, their later line of milling machines and shop tools relied on Asian import manufacturing partnerships.

Industry-leading brands like Bridgeport (and its modern clones), Haas, DMG Mori, and Mazak are widely regarded as the best milling machine brands for precision, durability, and advanced CNC or manual machining capabilities. For smaller workshops and toolrooms, brands like Precision Matthews and Lagun offer exceptional quality and rigidity.

Yes, MSC Industrial Supply Co. acquired Enco Manufacturing Company, operating it for years as a budget-friendly subsidiary and sibling catalog brand before fully absorbing and transitioning the standalone Enco brand into the primary MSC platform.

The two most common types of milling machines found in machine shops and technical schools are vertical milling machines (characterized by a vertically oriented spindle, with Bridgeport-style knee mills being the most iconic example) and horizontal milling machines (where the cutter is mounted on a horizontal arbor, ideal for heavy-duty slab milling and slotting).