Compass Precision Operating Company Adds Two Swiss Machines
WESTFORD, MA – June 13, 2023 – Bergeron Machine proudly announced Tuesday that it has installed and started up two additional Swiss screw machines at its Westford, MA facility. Both were purchased to support increasing customer demand. Since April, Bergeron Machine has been an operating company of Compass Precision, a Charlotte-based manufacturer of custom, close-tolerance metal components for mission critical applications.
These two machines were ordered before Compass acquired Bergeron, installed just before the transaction closed, and became fully operational last month. One unit is a Citizen Model A-20 CNC turning center while the other is a Miyano Model BNA4252 precision lathe.
“It is unusual for machine shop owners to make commitments for new equipment, then sell before reaping the benefits,” explained Bill Canning, Compass VP and COO. “But Mark Kelly and Sidney Kuo (Bergeron’s former owners) believed strongly in the company’s future and were absolutely committed to satisfying customer demand. What a great legacy for us to carry on.”
“With this new equipment, we now have twenty-seven Swiss machines plus three small mills,” said Bergeron General Manager Dave Herbst, Sr (pictured in foreground above, with his son Dave Herbst, Jr. operating the new Citizen machine in background). “I will put our Swiss machining capabilities and capacities up against anyone.”
Bergeron’s equipment base is exceptionally modern for a machine shop started seventy-five years ago. In addition to the new Citizen and Miyano machines, the shop also has seven other precision Swiss turning centers acquired in past six years.
“One of the things that attracted me to Bergeron was the capability of its equipment,” stated Dave Giampa, who joined Bergeron as its President in early May. “Mark and Sid bought one or two new machines practically every year since 2016. Not many companies in our business can say that.”
“We were fortunate to begin supplying a new multi-year, multi-million dollar order shortly after we acquired Bergeron, added Compass CEO Gary Holcomb. “One of the components involved was the first part ever run on our new Citizen A-20. What a way to start.”
Bergeron’s penchant for investing in CAPEX meshes well with Compass’s culture and operating style. All of Compass’s operating companies, now numbering eight including Bergeron, have made healthy investments in new equipment, processes, and systems to drive the company’s growth.
“When I am out talking to customers, they all want to know about our overall capabilities,” said Compass VP of Sales Jim Miller. “When they learn about all our new machines, it is a game changer. We pursue ‘making the tough stuff,’ and have the modern, differentiated capabilities to back up that statement.”
Bergeron Machine specializes in small diameter (1/8 inch to 1 ¼ inch), mission critical components, typically with complicated geometries and requiring exacting surface finishes. Many of its parts have extremely tight tolerances, are often long and slender in shape, and made of difficult-to-machine materials like Inconel, Monel, and titanium. The firm operates from a modern 14,700-square-foot facility in Westford, Ma, a suburb of Boston. It has about 25 employees and supplies customers locally and around the country.
Parent company Compass Precision was founded in 2019 based upon the simultaneous purchase of three precision CNC machining companies in North Carolina – Advanced Machining & Tooling (Salisbury, NC); Quality Products & Machine (Charlotte, NC); and Tri-Tec Industries (Charlotte, NC). Compass added Gray Manufacturing Technologies (Denver, NC) to the fold in August 2020, then acquired Douglas Machining Services (Winona, MN) in March 2021. Since then, Compass has purchased R&D Machine (Oldsmar, FL) in April 2022; Strom Manufacturing (North Plains, OR) in July 2022; and Bergeron Machine (Westford, MA) in April 2023, bringing its number of operating companies to eight.
For more information about Bergeron Machine and Compass Precision, please contact Gary Holcomb, Compass CEO at [email protected].