SALISBURY — Advanced Machining, a Salisbury company that provides precision machining and tool-making services, has expanded to a 10,000-square-foot facility and increased its workforce by 20 percent.
Advanced Machining hosted an open house Friday at the new facility at 215 Forbes Ave. The business specializes in prototype and other types of production for industries such as power generation, aerospace, medical, defense and automotive.
The open house was sponsored in part by RowanWorks Economic Development. Visitors could see firsthand how the company is equipped with best-in-class machining and measuring equipment to produce tooling, prototypes and production parts.
Staff introduced their latest high-speed machining center for precision metalworking operations: the HSM 400 U, a highly automated, 5-axis machine tool that allows Advanced Machining to serve the most demanding industries.
Keith Felts, president, and Bobby Miller, vice president of operations, partnered to form Advanced Machining in 1985. Initially, the company specialized in the electrical discharge machining process but evolved to offer additional processing technologies.
In 2011, Advanced Machining was partially acquired by Atlanta-based ZP Enterprises, which invested in equipment and boosted employment by 20 percent. Felts and Miller retain ownership interest.
Felts and Miller hold degrees in manufacturing engineering and industrial management from Rowan-Cabarrus Community College. In addition, Felts holds a degree in drafting and design.
Before forming Advanced Machining, Felts and Miller served as applications engineers at ELOX Corp., a pioneer in the field of electrical discharge machining in Davidson. They helped customers use electrical discharge machining technology effectively, train new users and contributed to software development and improving process technology.