Their shop is in an “ itty bitty ” little border town according to Theisen . He said that he and his brother Adam were raised outside of town . Now he lives two minutes from their facility , which he said is good and bad . The town has 1,200 residents and Aaron said that there used to be several gas stations , but now they go into Bellingham for food and gas . The town borders Abbotsford , British Columbia to the north .
Once they started the business , both their Dad Arnold , and Mom , Eileen , got involved in the business as well . Aaron ’ s wife also serves as a bookkeeper for the company . They started the business in Arnold ’ s shop , which Aaron said was three-quarters dirt floor and exceedingly small . When they could not get power to the CNC machine , which was frequent , they ran it off a generator . Eventually as the business grew , they had four machines running off generators producing aerospace parts .
At that point they declared , “ It ’ s time to get a real shop !”
Both Aaron and Adam had worked at ProCNC in Bellingham , ( now Trulife Engineered Solutions ), where they picked up tools of the trade .
Adam said that is where they learned how to take excellent care of their equipment , put the customer first , and understand what it means to hold quality certifications . The equipment they have in the shop now is in excellent condition and Adam said , “ We maintain it well .”
The company strives to create an environment focused on safety and quality .
Rob Rainwater , a machinist who works for the brothers said that he enjoys working there because of the family commitment and the flexibility .
He said he came there from ProCNC / Trulife as well . “ They offered me opportunities that I wouldn ’ t have had — the programming , quoting lathe work , and the flexibility to work early in the morning or late at night , as long as the work is getting done .”
Rainwater added that they ’ ve been operating like an “ AS9100 ” shop for as long as he can remember . It was during the pandemic that Aaron decided to finally finish the certification process . He said he wasn ’ t sure about starting the process during the pandemic , but said , “ I didn ’ t know if it was a good time or bad time going in . It turned out to be a tremendous time to get all of the details worked out ; it couldn ’ t have come at a better time .”
AUGUST | SEPTEMBER 2021 ISSUE NO . 22 27