A machining skill Nick Ross developed in the U.S. Marine Corps helped him launch a manufacturing business of his own in Arkansas. Since starting Precision Technology of Blytheville in 2015 with his wife, Heather, Ross has grown the company into a specialty machine shop serving a range of industrial customers.
With assistance from the Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center, the couple secured financing and grew the business from a 7,000-square-foot shop in Blytheville into an 18,000-square-foot operation in Brookland.
The move allowed the company to add CNC machines and create dedicated areas for quality control, shipping, material storage and employee breaks, while improving production organization, lighting and front-office space. Additional opportunities include hiring a new lathe operator, who also handles deliveries, and potentially adding a robotic arm for production.
In this Q&A with Manufacturing.net, Ross discusses how Precision Technology plans to build on its growth through investments in equipment and automation, while managing rising material, tooling and labor costs.
Precision Technology's new Brookland facility. The 18,000-square-foot operation replaces the company's original 7,000-square-foot Blytheville location and provides room for additional CNC equipment, quality control, shipping and more organized production.Robert Bahn
Manufacturing.net (Mnet): What types of machining and fabrication work do customers bring to Precision Technology?
Nick Ross (NR): We machine everything from pins, bushing, rings, shafts, plates, hubs, bearing housings, coil car wheels, crane trolley wheels and adjustment bolts. Essentially, we can machine anything depending on the size of it. We are a specialty machine shop with intricate parts and tolerances. Our customers bring us a wide variety of items.
Mnet: What have been the biggest challenges in scaling the company?
NR: The price of material and tooling has been the biggest challenge. It’s a balanced act of trying to grow a business while the cost of everything continues to go up and having to explain why to those customers their jobs pricing is increasing.
Then having employee salaries to add in there. This is why automation is becoming more prevalent in the machining industry. Businesses must be looking at ways to make growth more affordable by using modern technology. We look at more purchases like a robotic arm and efficient machines with multiple capabilities that allow us to cut production time down and decreasing labor cost.
Mnet: How are you deciding which investments will deliver the greatest return?
NR: Before we make any investment, we will always have work for it. It’s hoping that investment stays as planned and gives you the return that you planned for. This year and next, I think the biggest investment we are expecting a return on is the construction of the new facility and the purchase of a new machine with bigger machining capabilities. We are hoping, through this expansion, that we have allowed the opportunity to be more efficient and machine more specialty parts.
