Machine shop cuts hours due to 737 Max issues but also expands for new opportunities

It’s perhaps a scary time for a machine shop that does Boeing 737 Max work to be expanding, but that’s what Metal Arts Machine Co. is doing.

“We’re fully going ahead strong,” says Dustin Gray, vice president and general manager.

“It won’t hinder our future.”

That’s even though the company has had to cut hours.

“We have not laid anybody off,” Gray says.

Metal Arts, an aerospace and electronics components machining facility, began planning its latest expansion before the 737 Max issues. It’s now preparing to celebrate a grand opening of its new facility at 3921 N. Bridgeport Circle from 1 to 6 p.m. on March 6.

This is the fifth time the company has moved since Gray’s family founded it in 2003.

A sister company called Metal Arts, which does structural steel and some ornamental steel structures, still is at 3629 W. 30th St. That’s not far from where Metal Arts Machine used to be in 11,000 square feet across three buildings.

In addition to Metal Arts Machine’s new 24,000 square feet, there is a lot next door for future growth.

“We intend for this facility to be here and thriving for well over a decade and have no intentions for moving from it,” Gray says.

“I’m done moving.”

With the move, the company has a lot of new equipment as well, including some systems that can run around the clock unattended.

“They call it lights-out manufacturing,” Gray says.

He says the expansion is about being able to provide customer support through quality and speed.

“I feel that in this industry that’s kind of a lost art,” Gray says. “We knew what we needed to get done in order to make this successful.”

In addition to better serving existing customers with the move, Gray says there is a lot of room for new work as well.

“There’s still opportunities to be had. We just have to go out and find them.”