Tag Archive: Partnership

  1. Why Our Reliable Machine Shop Has Stood the Test of Time

    Comments Off on Why Our Reliable Machine Shop Has Stood the Test of Time

    The past several years have brought disruption and uncertainty to the manufacturing industry. Supply chain breakdowns, inflation, and tariffs are just a few of the challenges shops have faced. For customers, this volatility makes one thing clear: you need a reliable machine shop that can weather uncertainty and continue delivering great results for the long term.

    To survive as a precision machine shop, resilience has to be a part of your DNA. After all, for those of us who have been in this industry for decades, these challenges are nothing new. At Peerless Precision, our longevity isn’t luck. We’ve made it through tough times again and again with a strategic foundation, specialized expertise, and sheer determination. That matters more than ever today, when many shops are closing or struggling with succession.

    Customers can count on Peerless Precision to be here for the long term. Here are three traits that define our resilience.

    Capabilities Across Industries to Withstand Shifts

    When people look back at the volatility of recent decades, they tend to think of broad, economy-wide crises like the supply chain disruptions from COVID-19 or the 2008 Financial Crisis. But manufacturers can also face frequent, industry-specific (or customer-specific) fluctuations that many outsiders never see.

    That’s why Peerless serves multiple industries with a range of capabilities. No single downturn is enough to endanger us. We have the flexibility to adapt and continue.

    reliable machine shop

    As an AS9100 machine shop located in Aerospace Alley, aerospace machining will always be one of our core focuses. But we also serve defense, commercial optics, and medical customers, and we’re always open to new partnerships. That diversity of industries and capabilities allows us to persist through challenges and continue delivering for our customers.

    A Team Built for Stability and Growth

    A great team is perhaps the most critical factor in a shop’s success, but finding, training, and retaining talent is a constant challenge across the industry. At Peerless, we prioritize employee retention and create a culture of respect for our team.

    What does that mean in practice? Many shops, for instance, may quickly move to layoffs in slow times, but we avoid layoffs whenever possible. Our owner, Kristin Carlson, will take a pay cut before resorting to layoffs, because she wants employees to know they’re valued and stay ready to produce high-quality work.

    Of course, resilience can’t come from employee retention alone. We always try to cultivate new talent, tailoring our training so younger employees can contribute quickly and effectively.

    Ultimately, our culture leads to a team that’s adaptable in the face of disruption and change. Some of our employees have been with us since the days when manual lathes were commonplace and few shops offered CNC machining services, and today they’re running advanced 5-axis machining centers. That adaptability is critical to our longevity.

    Determination in Your DNA

    No shop can survive long-term without sheer determination at all levels. Panic in the face of difficulties will get you nowhere in this industry, because tougher times are always coming. Today’s challenges will eventually fade, but new ones will come soon enough.

    For Kristin, her (sometimes stubborn) determination is something she uses to her advantage. For her, resilience is equal parts deliberate planning and bold decision-making. When she took over Peerless Precision at just 30 years old, the business faced questions from employees and customers alike. With patience and determination, Peerless remained the reliable machine shop it always has been.

    Her philosophy is simple: “As they say, when you get knocked down, you can either stay down or get back up. Nothing has ever hit us so hard that we couldn’t get up stronger and better for the learning experience. And nothing ever will.”

    “As our customer, you can rest assured: we’ll always be here. We’re not going anywhere.”

    A Reliable Machine Shop for the Long Term

    When you’re choosing a manufacturing partner, you need one that can stand the test of time. Peerless Precision has the diverse capabilities, strong team, and sheer force of will to ensure our customers will have the support they need today and into the future. At Peerless Precision, everything in our history has made us the partner for your needs.

    Request a quote for your next precision machining project!

  2. From Declining to Delivering: Our Precision Machine Shop’s Relentless Commitment to Solutions

    Comments Off on From Declining to Delivering: Our Precision Machine Shop’s Relentless Commitment to Solutions

    At Peerless Precision, we have a lot of confidence in our abilities. Our precision machine shop has been in business for a long time now, and we know we’re good at what we do. So it’s a rare moment when a customer has even more confidence in us than we have in ourselves.

    For 10 years, a long-time defense industry customer requested a part that we repeatedly declined due to its complexity. When their incumbent supplier dropped the project, they were in a desperate situation.

    Committed to being a true partner, we stepped up to help. Find out how we overcame machining challenges to perfect this part and why we always go above and beyond for our customers.

    Why We Took On This Challenging Part

    Precision machine shop

    The part was not entirely new to us—in the image above, you can see a simpler version that we’ve machined for nearly 30 years now. This is a coldfinger weldment, a critical component in the sub-micro cryogenic cooling systems for thermal imaging, night vision, and infrared cameras.

    These titanium parts already push the limits of our precision CNC machining services with a 0.003-inch wall thickness. However, the new version the customer requested is even more challenging: we would need to machine a very small gear onto the shaft, and weld a cone with walls just 0.002 inches thick onto that gear.

    Initially, coming up with a way to successfully hold and manufacture a cone with a .002″ wall thickness—while also welding the cone and the shaft together to the strict drawing requirements—had us questioning our capability to handle the part. Despite our repeated declines over the years, they continued to request the part simply because they believed in us and trusted our results. They knew we often find creative solutions through our experience and our sheer persistence.

    Flattered as we were, we never quoted the part. However, when our customer told us they ran out of options, we committed to finding a solution to the project.

    Finding the Proper Partner to Complete the Project

    In our first attempts, we discovered that our in-house laser welding services couldn’t achieve the necessary precision due to the beam being too thick. We discussed the issue with the laser equipment manufacturer, and they performed trials at their own facility in Detroit, but they also were unable to achieve the necessary specifications.

    This is where experience taught us a valuable lesson: sometimes innovation means knowing when to collaborate. We found a micro-welding specialist in Massachusetts that specializes in jewelry manufacturing. After three rounds of testing, they consistently achieved the precise welds we needed. With our customer’s approval, we moved into full production.

    Why Our Customer Always Believed in Us

    The entire process, from our initial “yes” to final production, took a year and a half of problem solving. But that persistence paid off when we not only solved our customer’s machining challenge but also expanded our network and our capabilities for future projects.

    Persistence is a core value to us here at Peerless Precision, and we don’t give up easily when we’ve made a promise. And in this project, we learned once again that persistence is as important as technical abilities. Our customer’s confidence in us wasn’t just about our precision machining skills—it was about our track record of creative problem-solving and our unwavering commitment to quality.

    What Problem Can Our Precision Machine Shop We Solve For You?

    Whether you’re a new customer or a trusted, long-time partner, we want to help you solve your toughest precision machining challenges. Whether you need tight tolerance machining, optical machining or complex CNC machined components, our AS9100 and ITAR machine shop is ready to partner with the most demanding industries to deliver exactly what you need.

    Request a quote today and let’s collaborate on your next challenge!