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| ​Experts in Manufacturing of High Strength Steel and Non-Ferrous Parts for Aircraft... ​A Disabled Veteran Owned Business

If you require some of the most mission critical parts, with extremely tight tolerances, whether it is for defense/military aircraft or for commercial aircraft, or it is for medical equipment, CM Manufacturing, Inc. is worth contacting. The company, based in Missoula, Montana, today supplies parts as a Tier 1 supplier to such demanding customers as the Department of Defense, Boeing, and Lockheed, to name a few. ​
CM Manufacturing, Inc. was founded by Richard Johnson, a retired Airforce Veteran who served in Vietnam. Richard was injured while serving our country, and so the company is a designated Disabled Veteran Owned Business. ​
After retiring from the Airforce, Richard went to work for The Cleveland Pneumatic Tool Co., as it was then called, and the company made drills, valves, and couplings. The company was later acquired by BE Goodrich. During his tenure at the company, Richard learned the intricacies of Government Procurement, and he worked on a daily basis with the Defense Center Management Agency (DCMA). He additionally expanded his knowledge of landing gears, government specifications, and how to process parts. ​
In 1984, Richard launched his business, called CM Manufacturing, Inc., in Cleveland, OH. Both Richard and his wife, Collette, were the sole employees of the entity, which brokered precision parts to the Defense Industry. While the company was successful from the onset, the largest obstacle the company faced was ensuring that high quality parts were consistently produced and were delivered on time, since CM Manufacturing had to rely upon external suppliers to actually produce the parts.
Richard and Collette's son, Ken Johnson, went back to family roots in Missoula, Montana, where Collette had grown up, to attend college. At The University of Montana, he earned a degree in Finance. ​
​Both Richard and Ken entertained the idea of going into business together with the business Richard had founded. They agreed to terms and it was decided that CM Manufacturing, Inc. would relocate to Missoula, Montana, and it would expand with a machine shop of its own. Controlling quality would entirely be under the control of Richard and Ken.
In 1997, Ken and Richard joined as partners, Richard with 51% ownership, and Ken with 49%.The company opened its machine shop in a 4800 square foot facility, and purchased a couple of CNC machines.
Since moving to Missoula, Montana, and establishing an internal machine shop to manufacture parts for their customers, Ken says the company has grown by 500%.
Today, the company has tripled its facility, and operates two shifts with more than 20 employees. The company works on a daily basis with extensive nondestructive testing requirements, chrome plated, cadmium plated and painted parts, and they are well accustomed to working with all the major aircraft manufactures specifications. ​
CM Manufacturing averages 250300 individual contracts per year with the aerospace/ defense giants, and they manufacture more than 70,000 parts per year, that range in size from .5" to 20" (1/4" to 14" diameter). ​
Their machining material capabilities include: Steel, Stainless, Aluminum, Forgings, Inconel, Copper, Bronze, PH30 and Delrin.
Five years ago, partners Richard and Ken made the decision to certify to the rigorous IS09001/ AS9100 standard. Ken says, "We were one of the first job shops in all of Montana to certify to this standard, and even today, I believe we are one of 2 or 3 shops in the state who are certified." ​
Today the company's report cards are exemplary, with a 100% quality rating, and Silver status with Boeing on On Time Delivery. Ken credits the entire team with consistently producing quality parts on time. The team is both seasoned and loyal to the company, with the average tenure per employee of 7 years.The company additionally utilizes some of the latest manufacturing technology and products, including the JobBoss MRP system, and their automated programmable CMMs. ​
Ken says that the first machinist he and Richard hired determined the machine tool builder who would ultimately become CM Manufacturing's builder of choice Mazak. ​
"We purchased some entry level machines when we first opened the machine shop", Ken said. "They served their purpose initially", he continued, "but when you are machining some of the most difficult, tight tolerance parts, we needed more machine. Our machinist was very accustomed to the Mazak machines, and he felt they were the best machines in the market. We looked at a few competitive machines, and ultimately determined that our machinist was right Mazak was the best choice for us. In 1998 we purchased our first Mazak lathe."
Since then, CM Manufacturing admits they don't entertain other machine tool dealer's products. "We buy strictly Mazak", Ken said, "and we buy from Smith Machinery in Salt Lake City. Their service and support is outstanding. They even provide all of the maintenance services on our machines", he added. ​
The company's latest Mazak machine purchase was the INTEGREX® JSERIES II. Mazak developed the new Integrex jSeries to greatly simplify the operation, programming, and machine setups all at an extremely reasonable price integrex® is the merger of a high powered turning center and a full function machining center to produce parts in a single setup. It works to eliminate multiple setups, fixtures, tools, handling and waiting time, which simply add to your manufacturing costs. In addition, DoneInOne machining brings dramatic reductions in lead time and efficient lot sizes to satisfy customer JIT and cost demands. Part accuracy is improved by eliminating multiple setups.
Two experienced machinists at CM Manufacturing were trained by Smith Machinery's Applications Engineer, Ben Anderson, for one week of onsite instruction. The two are also planning to attend Mazak's one week training seminar in Florence, KY, next month. ​
While the Mazak Integrex® has only been installed and operational for 3 months now, Ken says the benefits are enormous. "We added 30% capacity immediately with the machine, and it is so quick. Because we can complete a part in one process, we expect that our setup time is reduced by 15%, our run time is approximately 10% faster, and our scrap rate is lower, since we aren't moving a part from one machine to another. For job shops that are space constrained, the footprint of the Integrex® should be 40% less than purchasing a lathe and a mill."
​
For more information on CM Manufacturing, a superior
​Disabled Veteran Owned precision machine shop,
​call them at 406-543-4450 or visit www.cmman.com.
Article courtesy of A2Z Metalworker
41 West Guest Avenue
Salt Lake City, UT 84115
Phone: 801-263-6403
Fax: 801-263-6404
Email: smc@smithmachinetools.com

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