West Engineering Co., Inc.

CNC Machining Careers in Ashland, Virginia

Large-Part CNC Turning | Precision Boring Mill Work | Defense & Industrial Contract Manufacturing

🔎 At a glance

Company: West Engineering Co., Inc.

Founded: 1919

Location: Ashland, Virginia, just outside Richmond

Shop Type: Custom job shop / contract manufacturer

Team Size: Approximately 35 employees, about 26 on the shop floor

Industries Served: Defense and industrial/chemical equipment manufacturing

Production Style: Low-volume, custom, large-part precision machining

Machining Capabilities: CNC boring mills, large-capacity CNC turning, horizontal and vertical milling, 5-axis and 4-axis work cells

Materials: Aluminum and steel

🏭 About West Engineering

Founded in 1919, West Engineering is a custom job shop in Ashland, Virginia, just outside Richmond, with more than a century of experience building precision equipment — the kind of shop that makes "things that make things." The company has grown steadily, from roughly $4 million to about $10 million in annual revenue, driven by a strong backlog that includes defense production work alongside established industrial customers. West Engineering's customer base includes DuPont, where the shop builds equipment used in Kevlar production, and multiple defense contractors, where it machines missile tooling, solid-propellant mandrels, and the handling equipment that goes with them. The shop is climate-controlled and intentionally small and tight-knit — the opposite of a corporate environment. That culture shows up in the numbers: turnover is low, and it's common to find machinists who have been on the floor for 20 to 50 years. When people do leave, it's typically younger workers moving into other regional industries, such as the local Dominion Power Plant, rather than dissatisfaction with the shop itself. With a growing backlog and continued investment in new equipment, West Engineering is a shop built around steady, meaningful work and long careers.

👍 Why you'll like working here

West Engineering is busy — busy enough that its most immediate need is an experienced large-part turning machinist to help keep up with demand. That kind of backlog means steady hours and real job security, not scrambling for work. The shop runs almost entirely on CNC equipment, with only a handful of manual machines still in occasional use, and it continues to invest: a new CNC boring mill is being commissioned now, and the team is evaluating additional turning capacity. Because the work is low-volume and custom, machinists here are trusted to run their own setups and programming rather than punch a button on a repetitive job — this is a shop for people who like solving a new problem every day. Tenure speaks for itself: with employees who've spent decades on this floor, in a climate-controlled shop with a genuinely tight-knit culture, this is a place people stay.

⚙️ What you'll be working on

The shop's large-part turning work covers parts up to about 111 inches long and roughly 10 inches in diameter, in both aluminum and steel, run on flatbed lathes for the longest pieces and slant-bed lathes for component turning ahead of welding. This is low-volume, custom work — you'll be setting up and programming independently rather than running the same part over and over. On the boring mill side, the work involves large, high-value weldments and complex setups across four boring mills. Horizontal and vertical milling rounds out the shop, including 5-axis and 4-axis work cells for more complex geometries. Two coordinate measuring machines support inspection on this work.

⭐ Shop highlights

Revenue growth: Grown from about $4M to about $10M in annual revenue

Defense work: Missile tooling and solid-propellant handling equipment for defense contractors

Large-capacity turning: Flatbed lathes handling parts up to about 111 inches long

Low turnover: Employees with 20-50 years of tenure are common

Growing equipment investment: New CNC boring mill being commissioned

🛠️ Machines & technology

CNC Mills: Horizontal and vertical milling machines, including 5-axis and 4-axis work cells (Mazak controls)

CNC Boring Mills: Four CNC boring mills (Fagor, Allen-Bradley, Fanuc, and G&L controls)

CNC Lathes: Okuma flatbed lathes (Fanuc-based) for large-part turning; additional CNC turning machines for component work

Other Equipment: A small number of manual machines remain in occasional use

📏 Quality & inspection

West Engineering supports its precision work with two coordinate measuring machines (CMMs) and a dedicated quality technician overseeing inspection on complex, large-part jobs for defense and industrial customers.

💼 Current CNC career opportunities

Large Turning Machinist

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