B&W Precision was founded in 2019 by two crafty mechanical engineers who share a passion for manufacturing, a vision of delivering quality parts on time, and a zeal for spreading God’s message of hope and love while building lasting customer, employee, and vendor relationships.  We collectively spent 20 years teaching mechanical design and manufacturing skills at one of the nation’s leading research and teaching universities.  We worked in the aerospace, defense, and medical industries.  And now we decided to begin a new chapter in our professional careers, to chase a life-long dream of doing what we’ve learned we do best … helping others meet their design and manufacturing needs!

When COVID hit our shores, we were able to really dig in and help our customers meet their production challenges during a time when a lot of companies couldn’t, proving we could do what we originally set out to do.  And not only were we delivering good parts on time, but we were also using our diverse backgrounds in automotive, aerospace, and medical manufacturing to help our customers improve issues with their existing manufacturing methods.

Now we are looking to diversify by continuing our search for customers that value our working relationship more than saving a few percent on their final part cost.  We have a renewed dream of helping re-shore some of the manufacturing that has left our nation over the past few decades by partnering with customers and other shops that share that vision.  We also have a reinvigorated desire to continue raising awareness of how awesome and fulfilling manufacturing jobs can be, and to help educate the next generation who will walk in our shoes to help keep our nation competitive, thriving, and safe.  May God continue to bless that coming generation, our nation, and all our customers, employees, and partners with whom we’ve been so blessed to work!

Mike was born at a young age, and quickly realized he shared his father’s passion for designing and building.  His hard-working, loving father would bring home mechanical widgets from the local dump for Mike to disassemble and attempt to reassemble, as he started to learn how things worked.  In parallel his father taught him how to use a lathe and milling machine around the age of eight, because these machines proved pivotal for keeping the family vehicles, lawnmowers, and other ancillary items functioning.

As Mike watched his talented father’s hands glide thoughtfully over the pages as he created design sketches and technical drawings on a drafting table his company gave him for use at home, Mike knew from an early age he wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps … and be able to take a rough idea from the initial concept phase, through the myriad aspects of technical design … and finally, watch the idea come to life in the manufacturing shop.  

From that point onward, Mike watched his father like an attentive hawk … trying to absorb everything he was doing -- both in the drafting room, and in the workshop -- asking question after question, and not realizing until much later, how patiently and caringly his father answered every question he asked, even though they surely slowed down his progress.

Mike’s family did not have an abundance of material possessions but was richly blessed in love.  Mike and his sister were raised to understand the difference between needs and wants.  Their father worked hard every day of his career to make sure they always had what they wanted, and their mother lovingly sacrificed things she deserved so they could give their children some of the things they wanted.  

After Mike’s father told him the key to success if he really wanted to become an engineer was to succeed in school and get the best education possible.  After that Mike worked as hard to learn from each of his teachers and professors, as he had from his father, rarely receiving less than an “A” in any course he took.  He graduated with high honors from UF with an undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering, went on to study traditional manufacturing fundamentals under the world-renowned professor Jiri Tlusty, whereafter they went into business together building some of the highest precision diamond turning equipment on the planet, until Dr. Tlusty decided to retire in his early 80’s (no, that’s not a type, lol!).

While working under Dr. Tlusty, Mike realized not only that his passion for manufacturing knew no limits, but also that teaching was a very noble roll, and a duty for to whom much has been entrusted.  Consequently, Mike accepted a position in the Mechanical Engineering Department at UF, creating, staffing, and teaching what would quickly become one of the top three undergraduate manufacturing laboratories in the country.  In doing so, Mike was able to not only work with a terrific group of students every week, but he was also able to train and mentor and incredible group of TSs, who were largely responsible for the tremendous success of the class.

Up to this point, none of these achievements could have been possible without the incredible love and support of God, Mike’s amazing parents, Cynthia and Jim, his beautiful sister, Janet, the inspirational and talented teachers and professors who taught him, Dr. Tlusty, MAE Chairmen Drs. Wei Shyy and David Hahn, and the incredible friends and TAs who left their indelible mark on both his design lab and his heart.

As they say, all good things must come to an end, and so did Mike’s role in the design lab he helped create when he needed to take time off to help his aging father (who had developed COPD) during COVID, and was met with strong resistance upon wishing to return, in large to the high operational expenses of the laboratory that the previous chairmen cited above never batted an eye to meet.

Since one of the principles Mike’s parents taught him was to never stay where you’re not welcome, Mike subsequently left the university to pursue full-time a CNC manufacturing business he started about a year earlier with one of his former students and best friends, Aaron Wall, and the rest, as they say, is history!

Aaron was born grumpy and spent a lot of time with his Uncle Tommy, who could be best described as a cross between comedian Tim Allen’s character on Home Improvement and comedian Steve Smith character on the Red Green Show – a loving, huggable, rugged, back-woods ruffian who packed three lifetimes of learning, jokes, and loving into one action-packed life 😊.