Precision Components Manufacturer Gains Space Beach Presence
CHARLOTTE, NC – January 9, 2024 – Compass Precision announced Tuesday that it has opened a satellite sales office in Long Beach, CA, where an increasing number of emerging space companies have headquarters or major facilities. Itself founded in 2019, Compass is a Charlotte-based manufacturer of custom, close-tolerance metal components for mission critical applications.
“Long Beach is arguably the epicenter of the space industry, just as San Jose, CA once was for semiconductors,” explained Jim Miller, Compass’s Vice President of Sales. “Long Beach is increasingly referred to as “Space Beach”, a nickname reminiscent of San Jose’s “Silicon Valley” moniker. Space is an important and rapidly growing market for Compass. We want to be in the middle of it.”
Long Beach has a long tradition of housing companies in the aerospace and defense industry, including storied firms like McDonnell Douglas and Boeing as well as their vast supplier base. But over the past five years, the focus has shifted to space as companies like ABL Space Systems, Rocket Lab USA, Relativity Space, SpaceX, SpinLaunch, and Vast Space moved in or established facilities.
“The space industry is one of the largest markets Compass’s serves,” said CEO Gary Holcomb. “And the fastest growing. We already supply several Space Beach firms and want to do more.”
As part of its establishment, Jim Miller himself will spend a quarter to a third of his time working out of Compass’s new Long Beach office going forward. As the company continues to grow, it intends to increase its direct sales resources, including those housed in Long Beach.
“By my spending more time in Southern California, as well as up and down the West Coast, we believe Compass can significantly grow its position as a leading manufacturer of custom precision components for space craft, launch vehicles, and satellites,” stated Jim. “I will be the focal point between these West Coast customers and our eight manufacturing facilities, seven of which are in the Eastern or Central Time Zones.”
Like many of the space companies it supplies, Compass has grown significantly since its founding. It started with three locations, all in the Charlotte, NC area. It completed one add-on acquisition in 2020, one in 2021, and two in 2022. In April 2023, Compass added its eighth CNC shop. In addition, the firm has spent aggressively on new CNC equipment. It has invested in excess of $10 million to add more than twenty-five new machines across its network of shops. Compass refers to these shops as operating companies because of the decentralized nature in which they are managed.
“We have a manufacturing presence on the West Coast in Strom Manufacturing, a great shop just outside Portland, OR,” explained Bill Canning, Compass’s Vice President and COO. “Most of Strom’s customers are in the Pacific Northwest. We would like to add customers and business elsewhere, particularly in Southern California. Jim is leading our efforts on behalf of Strom and all of our operating companies.”
“Jim is the perfect guy to establish our Long Beach sales office in addition to all his other sales responsibilities,” said Gary. “Jim grew up in Long Beach and has maintained many connections there, even after he and his wife April moved to Charlotte three years ago when he joined Compass.”
“I am very excited about this next chapter in Compass’s growth story,” added Jim. “Our physical presence in Long Beach will make it easier to connect with, and serve, an increasing number of West Coast customers from our network of facilities scattered throughout the country.”
For more information about Compass’s new Long Beach office, please contact Jim Miller, Compass Vice President of Sales at [email protected]. For general information about Compass Precision, contact Gary Holcomb, Compass CEO at [email protected].