Last year, Astro undertook a number of changes that positioned us for even more groundbreaking developments in 2019. We greatly expanded our production capacities with improvements to our welding, fabrication, and machining departments, and we completely rebuilt our business structure to benefit our employees. We aim to continue building on these successes this year as we take our full-service custom precision machining capacities into the future.
BETTER MACHINES EQUAL GREATER EFFICIENCY
2018 marked a number of improvements to our production capabilities. We completed major construction to our building #2, expanding our welding and fabrication departments as well as our large machining facility. With these improvements, we are ready to handle much larger and heavier fabrication projects for our machine building customers.
We also installed a number of large milling machines to complement our five-axis gantry mill. 2018 saw a huge increase in demand for large machining orders, so we’re working to also install a large bridge mill with a size capacity of approximately 8 × 10 ft to better accommodate our clients’ needs.
Finally, we’ve expanded our production offerings into vertical turning with the addition of three Takisawa vertical turning lathes, which we incorporated into a production cell consisting of seven machine tools along with two new Nikon CMMs. We’re also continuously working to overhaul our internal processes and systems to make them more efficient, with emphasis on high-performance workflow in 2019.
OUR TEAM IS OUR BIGGEST RESOURCE
The work and success of our employees are the keys to why Astro thrives. Therefore, last year, we decided to transition to a 100% employee-owned company. This means that all of our employees get a share of the profits we make, leading to increased earnings and more motivation.
We place significant value in our team, dedicating time, energy, and resources to nurturing our culture and employee engagement. We find that this boosts our overall organizational health, catalyizing even higher performance for all aspects of our business and ultimately resulting in better customer satisfaction.
HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM ASTRO MACHINE WORKS INC.!
We’re looking forward to further growth and success in 2019 as we continue to implement these improvements and enhance our facilities. We’re constantly seeking new ways to enrich the array of services we provide, looking as always to welcome new customers while nurturing our relationships with existing clients.
In conclusion, from our team to yours, we wish you happiness and success in 2019, and we thank you for helping to make 2018 a great year for us.