By Taylor Boyd
Worley Machine Enterprises, Inc. is the busiest they’ve been in years according to office manager Carin Belcher.
Started in 1972 by Donald Worley on his farm, the company moved to its current location in 1984 to get the power supply it required for production.
Since its creation, the building has been expanded nine times to its current size of 66,000 suare-feet. Belcher said the company wants to continue expansion but is unable to do so because of the geography and flood areas of the Woolwine area.
Belcher said the company focuses on large-scale manufacturing.
“We’re a production company, so we run high volume. We don’t like running just one or two things, we like running 100 things,” she said.
Belcher said when the company first started, it primarily relied upon manual work, but quickly shifted to Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machines to help with the excessive amount of production needed. It currently uses about 50 machines – 95 percent are CNC, and the newest is a Mazak 5800 Horizontal Machining Center.
Machinists at Worley Machine Enterprises create parts for the automotive, gas and oil, power generation, and heavy equipment sectors.
The company entered one of its first big contracts in the mid-1970s with ABB Enterprise.
“We still do work for them. We’re doing a Navy contract with them now for aircraft carriers, and we do the components that go in the transformers,” she said.
Worley also makes pipeline rings for Fomas Group, tow motor parts for Crown Equipment, gear components for Rexnord Industrial Services, and power switch components for Pascor Atlantic.
Chris Worley, operations manager, said the company also does work in the automotive, heavy equipment, power generation, and gas and oil sectors as well as tier two contracting work for the U.S. Navy.
A recent addition to the Worley Machines contract roster is the Cascade Dye Casting Company.
Belcher said suspension supports and work pumps to go into Toyota and Ford cars are produced for the company.
“For the supports that go under the Toyotas, we are shipping 480 a day, and they are 16,000 behind and they are sending trucks daily,” she said, adding the company also ships 160 water pumps a day for Ford Raptors.
The machine shop creates and ships between 35,000 and 50,000 parts each month. Belcher said, adding a truck is sent out at least once a week, and other companies send their trucks for pick up multiple times each week.
Because of the large demand for parts, Worley Machines is looking to expand its now 35-person team and is currently accepting applications for experienced machinists. To apply, visit Facebook.com/WorelyMachineEnterpriseInc, or visit the company for an application. For more information go to www.worleymachine.com.
(Editor’s note: This is part of a continuing series of stories about Patrick County’s manufacturing sector.)
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