Lynchburg Machining’s Rapid Growth as a Xometry Partner in Under 3 Months
The Virginia-based shop utilized Xometry’s job board to fill gaps in production and fill excess capacity, and is looking to increase their size and workload even further.
Jason Rice was working as a lead CNC Machinist before deciding he wanted to start his own shop in 2014. This led to the founding of Lynchburg Machining, which grew into a mammoth 20,000 square foot facility with 19 machines in 4 years.
Relying on previous relationships and word of mouth, the shop quickly gained customers within major industries including nuclear maintenance, aerospace, and defense. Despite this success, they found that in between periods of work, they would have lapses in production with machines that weren’t always running. “Our biggest challenge when it comes to finding more work is getting our foot in the door with that first opportunity,” said Greg White, Operations Manager for Lynchburg Machining.
White began researching ways to increase work between big jobs when he discovered Xometry. His goal was to find customers faster and more efficiently, and he knew Xometry would be the beginning of an incredibly beneficial relationship.
Now, Lynchburg Machining takes jobs with Xometry as frequently as they are able to. They are constantly looking at the job board and appreciate being able to take jobs on their own schedule, only when they need to.
“I can say hey, I’ve got 5 minutes, I’m going to check Xometry. We can immediately click accept on a job without bidding and see all the details we need to start working right then and there," said Courtney Evans, Business Operations for Lynchburg Machining.
Xometry’s job board gives all of the files and requirements that are necessary to begin the job, so no partner has to wait for any further steps. “We love the platform and how it processes jobs. It’s very easy to use and self-explanatory.”
Advice to Other Shops
For other shops hoping to enter a growth mode similar to what Lynchburg Machining is in now, they recommend utilizing Xometry to find stability in their production.
The Lynchburg Machining team views the three most important aspects for keeping business stable to be:
- Filling gaps in production
- Keeping machines running whenever possible
- Increasing production through multiple venues
When Lynchburg Machining was only relying on their regular customers for business, they had slow periods in production where machines had downtime when they could have been running.
“Xometry provides us with stability to fill gaps in production so we can continue to expand,” says White.
While their initial thought was to use Xometry to fill gaps in production, Lynchburg Machining now views Xometry as a main customer of theirs. Now there are always jobs in the lineup, and they always have a back flow of work to keep the machines running.