Journal Record: Aiming for success: Growth brings challenges for aerospace manufacturer Janeway Machine

• June 15, 2011
  
  

  By D. Ray Tuttle�
  The Journal Record
  Posted: 08:30 PM Monday, June 13, 2011

  SAPULPA – It has taken Janeway Machine Inc. 15 years to become an overnight success.

  “We hear that a lot,” said Kenny Janeway, company chief executive officer.

  Janeway and his wife, Tonya Janeway, who is the majority owner and company president, have been in business since 1984.

  In the beginning, the Sapulpa-based custom CNC machine and manufacturing facility focused on making sporting goods parts, specifically for archery, Tonya Janeway said.

  Computer numerical control, or CNC, machines use programs to automatically execute a series of machining operations.

  The couple saw an opportunity in the mid-1990s in the aerospace industry, Kenny Janeway said.

  “The aerospace sector was stable; they signed long-term contracts,” Kenny Janeway said. “The sporting goods industry was model-driven year to year.”

  But, as sporting goods manufacturers added capacity, Janeway decreased capacity.

  “As they bought machine capacity, we sold capacity,” Kenny Janeway said.

  Janeway Machine earned its first aerospace contract in 1999 with Nordam.

  The big break came in 2007, Tonya Janeway said.

  “We got our foot in the door when Spirit AeroSytems in Tulsa ordered a tooling cart,” Tonya Janeway said, referring to a metal cart that carries tools. “It was not our forte, but it was the one thing we had to do in order to get in with the buyers.”

  Then, Janeway earned industry certification and the company’s business soared. Employment has increased fivefold to 35 this year with sales topping $50 million, Tonya Janeway said.

  “We expected to grow our staff by a third over the next 24 months,” Kenny Janeway said.

  Today, Janeway Machine’s customer list includes not just aerospace, but oil and gas and the U.S. Department of Defense as well.

  The manufacturer makes parts at its 10,000-square-foot facility for several aerospace giants, including Wichita-based Spirit AeroSystems and Boeing.

  This year Janeway won a contract for 72 parts on the leading wing on the Boeing 787.

  “We’ve been able to weather the recession,” Kenny Janeway said. “As manufacturers ramp up plane production, we just turn out more parts.”

  In order to keep up with business, the couple brought in two more partners for more capital – Gail Rennells and Jeannell Ranis.

  “When it takes 35 cents operating capital for every dollar in sales, you need a resource to add additional equipment as needed,” Kenny Janeway said. “This gives us the resources to buy raw materials and be able to perform.”

  There is often a four-month lead time before a company pays on a contract, Kenny Janeway said.

  “That is why there are no small players because it is expensive to enter the market,” Kenny Janeway said. “From the time you execute on a contract, program the machine, buy raw goods, sample it, process it, assemble the hardware, prepare to source it, then sell it, it gets expensive. We were happy to bring them on and help us grow.”

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