Productive communication: CMM Inspection

The following is an interview with Anderson Leveille, owner of Moscow Mills Manufacturing Services, a manufacturing, engineering and R&D firm located at the site of an 1820s gristmill near Stowe, Vt. The company is blending top-level machining skill and technology with collaborative engineering to produce complex parts and advanced balancing components and tooling.

Courtesy of Moscow Mills

The principals at Moscow Mills Manufacturing Services are (from left to right): Anderson Leveille, owner; George Allen, founder of Vibration Solutions; and Tim Bullard, electromechanical expert.

In 1995, Leveille opened Moscow Mills in a 17 ‘×20 ‘ room where he used a Bridgeport mill and LeBlond lathe to machine parts for snowshoes. Today, the 10,000-sq.-ft. operation serves customers in the aerospace, robotics, semiconductor, R&D and general industrial markets, handling projects such as prototyping large, titanium medical implants and machining small optical components. The shop’s equipment list has grown to include 3-, 4- and 5-axis CNC mills, a 7-axis mill/turn machine, a 5-axis wire EDM, CNC lathes, grinders, heat-treat and cryogenic processing capability, fabrication equipment and inspection equipment, including a 5-axis coordinate measuring machine.

A year ago, Moscow Mills absorbed Vibration Solutions LLC and formed Vibration Solutions North as a new division of the company. Together, the two shops employ 14 people. In addition to Leveille, Moscow Mills principals include Tim Bullard, electromechanical expert, and George Allen, founder of Vibration Solutions.

The interview, by Contributing Editor Bill Kennedy, focuses on the company’s focus, evolution and growth.

Kennedy: How would you characterize Moscow Mills’ machining work?

Leveille: Prototype to short-run production of extremely high-end stuff made of all kinds of exotic materials, like titanium, Inconel and PEEK polymer. We often have to reinvent the wheel on a component, hit the ground running and get it right the first time. For example, I’ve been e-mailed a solid model of a reasonably complex component at 9 a.m., quoted the parts by 9:15, received a purchase order by 9:30 and had the parts machined on the floor by 10 a.m. Depending on our customer’s requirements, it’s not unusual to go from art to part in a day. We foster an environment where preplanning is an art and a science, where all of the guys are involved.

Kennedy: How do you maintain that kind of focus within your team?

Leveille: I have a fantastic crew. We absolutely love what we are doing. They are almost artists in the way they understand and are creative. I would distill it all down to one fine point, communication, closely followed by mutual respect. Treat people how you wish to be treated. People like to be recognized for doing a good job. All of this stuff sounds simple, but 99 out of 100 people don’t express to anybody else what they are really thinking.