Key to efficient raw materials use is the reduction of waste - from the start of the manufacturing process. Before we even load a block of titanium on a CNC machine, we develop efficient tool paths with our Mastercam software to reduce wasteful cuts and get the absolute most out of the raw material.

Then, throughout the manufacturing process, we seek opportunities to reduce waste. From delivery driver routes to efficient packaging and partner work and, most importantly, our team members’ time, we maximize the use of every resource.

Here you can meet Bear the Wonder Dog, who loves to “guard” our materials!

By developing efficiency into the entire manufacturing process, we’re able to get more out of our raw materials than traditional methods. With commodity price volatility these days, we are focused on making sure that any leftover pieces of titanium or steel or aluminum are put to use on another project or used for R&D and apprentice training.

This philosophy of Re-use is directly related to our Reduce and Recycle strategies. We find opportunities for re-use everywhere. We re-use delivery packaging for shop floor processes, we re-use leftover pieces of raw materials, and we re-use tooling for different metals and machines.

Modern machine shops recycle the "chips" that are the result of machining blocks of metal into precision parts. Those chips, or shavings, increase and decrease in value as the commodity markets change, but it’s always worth something. And we know, for example, that recycling aluminum can save on the order of 19 times the energy of making new aluminum from bauxite. So it pays to recycle - and it saves energy.

We work closely with regional materials recyclers to make sure metal shavings, metal packaging, and even some spent tooling is accounted for and placed into their process with the goal of creating a circular process to recycle as much as we can.

With multiple CNC machining facilities, we’re somewhat dependent upon the local electricity and gas utilities for the “mix” of power sources we rely on for our industry. In the case of our Tacoma, WA facility, we get our electricity from Tacoma Power, which is proud to deliver nearly 98% carbon-free power to us, and we’re proud to use it!

We work with our local utilities to implement energy efficiency projects, like installing high quality LED lights, which also improves productivity. We also get help from the utilities and local governments with energy efficiency rebates so we can deliver better value from our supply chain to our customers every day.