From a strategic standpoint, QSM’ s investment in equipment is well beyond machining. While they have 30 CNC mills and punch presses, the other half of the work is with sheet metal— forming and bending, and complex assemblies. They also have 3, 4, and 5-axis machining and draw forming, which Chuck explained,“ If you take a balloon and pull it over your fingers to stretch it, metal reacts in the same way; we hold the material on the outside and push the tooling through it to get it to conform to shape.” Additionally, they do stretch forming, which includes stretching and bending metal over a die. They also perform brake forming of titanium, machining, sheet metal work, and the assembly of complex systems. According to Chuck, fewer people do these processes, so there is less competition, but the end product is highly desired in the aerospace industry. Chuck added that they have twice the equipment as their competitors and do a wider variety of things. These types of projects may help the company further expand its commercial operations.
The Girtz’ s purchased the raw land in Sumner, Washington, 30 years ago and started building their first facility. They’ ve invested in three facilities on the site so far, and are now leasing another nearby site.“ We’ ve been growing continuously,” Chuck shared.
Right now, they have about 90 employees. They’ ve ranged from 80 to 110 employees over the last five years. Chuck stated that the market has been variable, which caused challenges for the entire regional aerospace industry. This uncertainty affected hiring— they were hesitant to hire more employees until he was sure of a steady workload forecast. However,
10 NORTHWEST AEROSPACE NEWS