Northwest Aerospace News April | May Issue No.14 | Page 28

A
nother employee, David Hiner, is a
Swiss lathe programmer/set-up operator
that has been with Teton for just over 10
years. He said, “I joined Teton because I
was getting married and was looking for
work after giving up on college. I had
worked a summer previous and enjoyed
working there.” He said he has stayed
because they have been flexible with his
schedule and he likes the work environ-
ment.
“The parts are interesting, and the people
are friendly,” said Hiner.
When hiring, Franklin said, “We would
love to have people with set-up expe-
rience with CNC machining. We give
people a basic math test skewed to detail
orientation. If they sound like the kind of
people that will fit with the organization,
we hire them.”
Like most regional manufacturers,
though, hiring workers with experience
can be a challenge. In Payette there is
competition for employees with nearby
Seneca Foods (387,000-square-foot facili-
ty) and Idaho Power.
Teton Machining doesn’t have to worry
about securing recurring business, Frank-
lin explained, due to a “proven process”
they have developed. He said that the
proven process is based upon relationship
development with the customer and effec-
tive clear communication, and pricing.
Because of this process, Franklin said,
“It’s rare that we wouldn’t have repeat
business. We provide parts for their
finished product. If you can be consistent
in producing results you can do the same
thing over and over. We are developing a
process of documentation for replication
to increase the quality of production for
our customers.”
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NORTHWEST AEROSPACE NEWS