From an early age, Nick Preece, the Founder and President of Preece Machining and Assembly, has been fascinated with the idea of tools, and making things. While an engineering student, he kept acquiring more and more tools and equipment to the point that he ran out of room for it all at his home, and had to rent a space to put it all. He then had to start taking in work to pay for the space rental, and a business was born in 2018.
Initially, he was working on product development projects for customers, in which machine work was just a portion, but within the first six months, the self-taught machinist saw things quickly grow into focusing on machining. He says of the process, “Lots of trial and error, and that’s what I really like. That’s what my hobby was, just ‘here’s a problem, let’s spend three weeks solving it’, I don’t really care what it costs me, as long I don’t lose a bunch of money. That’s how I learned, and then eventually we started to want to make money.”
As Preece began getting projects that needed more accurate, more advanced machines, he had to decide on whether to take the plunge into spending the money to upgrade and become a serious matching shop force. He did just that and hired his first employee within the first year. Since then, the company has gradually continued to grow, now counting eight employees on its roster.
The More Complex, the Better
The company focuses on complex, difficult-to-create products, and Preece says, “I think the difference with us is how much effort we put into every project. I would say we’re not a good fit for every single project. There are tons of projects we see that are just way too simple, and that are not going to allow us to do what we’re good at, and we’re not competitive on those. Where we are competitive is when there’s a lot of back and forth with engineers, and you have to have a really, really detailed QC plan, that’s where we’re really good. I think that’s our niche, and that’s where we’re competitive.”
Because aerospace and defense work generally requires the precision and intricacy that Preece Machining and Assembly excels at, that is where the bulk of their customer base currently is, although they serve a variety of other industries needing strict standards to be met. The company looks to further expand into the semiconductor and computer areas, as well, to capitalize on its expertise in complex projects.
The workload is a mix of low and high-volume projects, and the ITAR and ISO-certified company is seeking higher-volume work that still requires the precision they deliver. For various processes such as coatings, finishes, and the like, Preece relies on trusted outside vendors who can put forward the kind of quality efforts required.
Right Technology, Right Fit
Word-of-mouth, along with ongoing outreach to new potential customers to keep them updated on new certifications and capabilities, is bringing in work locally in Colorado and from all around the country. Virtually all the raw materials the company uses are domestically sourced, and Preece says supplies are generally good, and prices relatively stable.
In the competitive world of machining, the founder credits using the latest technology, including being completely paperless, to providing an advantage. Obviously, having the right people to handle the high-quality, precision work is an important part of the company’s success so Preece says about hiring, “We’re really particular about having the right attitude and work ethic, and then also having the skills. It’s gotten a little easier over the years, after Covid, but what’s really important to us is not only having the skills but also being a culture fit.” Preece’s brother has also joined the business as a partner and brought in an additional dose of business sense to help out.
This year, adding a new 5-axis machine has brought in new work and has the company looking toward expanding from their current 3,500-square-foot facility up to 10,000 square feet soon, quite a leap from their original 1,000-square-foot shop. In the meantime, Preece says they may need to move some 3-axis machines out of their current facility to make room for more 5-axis machines.
Diversifying the customer base is on the agenda, but Preece says, “One of the challenges is finding industries that can benefit from the ways that we’re competitive. We’re not going to be really competitive on commercial products that are super simple.” The more complex, the better, as far as Preece Machining and Assembly is concerned.
As the company continues to grow, the biggest issue for the founder is really just the classic small business growing pains in having enough work in different areas to hire specialized people, so that he doesn’t have to wear so many hats at once.
