A local business is one of seven in the country selected for a new federal award launched for strengthening advanced manufacturing and critical U.S. supply chains.
Bulloch County-based ShaloTek Inc., which specializes in precision manufacturing, advanced CNC machining, and automated production for aerospace, defense, industrial, and consumer sector customers, will receive money as part of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s inaugural Critical Suppliers Prize Competition. The announcement, which was made late last week, said the company will receive “non-dilutive funding” to support the ongoing expansion.
ShaloTek currently operates 34 CNC machines on a 24/7 production cycle. Its facility uses 3-axis and 5-axis CNC machining, precision turning, wire EDM, robotic loading and unloading, automated production cells and so-called “lights-out” manufacturing, which allows automated production to continue with limited human intervention.
The Critical Suppliers Prize Competition is a new SBA initiative created to address bottlenecks in manufacturing and the supply chain bottlenecks, specifically those affecting industries considered important to U.S. economic and national security.
But while the impacts of the award are expected to help a national issue, the impacts of the funding and subsequent expansion are expected to positively impact the local economy.
Specifically, the award will accelerate the company’s U.S. manufacturing expansion, including 15,000 square feet of manufacturing space, nine new state-of-the-art machines, and advancing automation and production technologies designed to “significantly increase capacity for complex, tight-tolerance components serving critical U.S. industries.”
The SBA identified Shalotek as an award recipient expected to create capacity for future hiring as production grows. The federal agency said ShaloTek’s expansion will help automate and scale production of critical components used in defense platforms including drones, submarines, and missiles while also contributing to efforts to return strategically important manufacturing to the United States.
“This award represents an extraordinary opportunity for ShaloTek to accelerate what we have been building, highly automated, scalable advanced manufacturing here in the United States,” Travis Brewer, co-founder and CEO of ShaloTek, said in a news release. “We extend our sincere thanks to Administrator Loeffler for this recognition. The additional capacity will allow us to invest aggressively in technology, automation and equipment while increasing our ability to serve customers whose missions depend on precision, speed and reliable American production.”
The facility operating in unincorporated Bulloch County is positioned to play a role in a much larger national effort to expand American manufacturing capacity.
“American manufacturing capacity is increasingly a national security issue,” Chart Westcott, ShaloTek Executive Chairman said in a news release. “ShaloTek has invested heavily in the equipment, automation and people required to manufacture sophisticated components domestically. This funding allows us to move significantly faster and help build a stronger and more resilient American industrial base.”
