Northwest Aerospace News June | July Issue No. 3 | Page 51

INLAND NORTHWEST AEROSPACE CONSORTIUM SPOTLIGHT
Steven Thompson, Ray’s grandson, is current president of
Thompson Precision and continues the family legacy of
being on the cutting edge of manufacturing technology. The
tractor barn has been replaced by an unassuming but mod-
ernized facility with room for future growth. The company
has an ongoing commitment to investing in advanced pro-
duction equipment to maintain their competitive edge. Their
Makino a61nx horizontal machining center with an MMC2
automated materials handling system is highly automated
and capable of operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Its complex programming needs require highly skilled
employees, another component of Thompson Precision’s
success.
“We like to say that we don’t have ‘operators.’ All of our
people are high level machinists,” explains Steven Thomp-
son. “We believe in hiring the best and giving them the best
equipment to use.”
Thompson backs up their production capability with an
AS9100-certified quality process, assuring the highest
quality of parts, delivered to the exacting demands of their
customers.
The company has carved a successful niche with 3-D
printing and additive manufacturing. Although they have
their own 3-D printing capability for prototyping purposes,
they have specialized in post-machining of parts that are
made by the metal additive manufacturing process. Because
additive manufacturing can create parts with unique geom-
etry that cannot be fabricated by any other process, Thomp-
son has developed an expertise in dealing with extremely
complex parts, as well as understanding some of the unique
properties of additive materials.
One of the more interesting market sectors, according to
Steven Thompson, is for components that are part of rocket
engine assemblies.
“The modern day space race is at full speed,” he says.
“There is some incredible technology being developed and
we are well positioned to be part of that.”
“One of the reasons we’re located in Montana is because
of the excellent people. The local labor force is here is very
mechanically inclined and the people possess a ‘can do’
attitude that is key to our success.”
Thompson Precision has seen rapid growth of their business
over the last few years, but according to Steven, they still
have plenty of capacity, and are willing to look at high-vol-
ume production, as well as product development and small-
run requirements.
The company currently makes a number of different parts
for this industry, including complex injectors, ignitors and
manifolds. Thompson Precision, Inc.
While some companies might have a concern with being
located in a part of the world that has a relatively low pop-
ulation density, Steven Thompson sees their location as a
positive for his company. [phone]
1885 Whitefish Stage Road
Kalispell, MT 59901-6754
www.thompsonprecision.com
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