Our owners, Leland Licciardi and Kirsten Failing, recently joined host Paul Van Metre on Episode 140 of the Machine Shop Mastery podcast, part of the MakingChips network. The conversation covers how they acquired a Winsted, Connecticut machine shop founded in 1944, and what four years of rebuilding systems has meant for the precision turned parts…
Different Industries, Same Precision: Aerospace-Grade Turned Parts for Oil & Gas, Sensors, Robotics, Data Center Cooling, and More
Put a print for a hydraulic fitting next to a print for a sensor housing used in a data center cooling loop. Strip off the title block, and a sourcing manager would have a hard time telling which one came from a defense program and which one came from a commercial OEM. Both are small,…
Automation-First Swiss Turning: What It Means for Tier 2 Aerospace and Defense Suppliers in the Northeast
Look at the machine shops earning recognition in 2026 and a pattern shows up quickly. Before they buy a new machine, they ask one question first: how will we automate it? Modern Machine Shop’s 2026 Top Shops coverage highlighted exactly that mindset this fall, and machine builders are moving the same way. Haas, for example,…
Made in Winsted Since 1944: Celebrating Manufacturing Month at Fairchild Precision Parts
Every October, manufacturers across the country use Manufacturing Month to open their doors and show their neighbors what actually happens inside. For us at Fairchild Precision Parts, it is also a chance to look back at where we started and look around at where we are now. We have been machining precision parts in Winsted,…
Planning 2027 Production Now: Why Q4 Is When Smart Buyers Lock In Machining Capacity
Fairchild Precision Parts | Winsted, Connecticut | Manufacturing Insights Every fall, procurement teams work through the same list. Budgets get drafted, forecasts get pulled from the ERP system, and somewhere on that list is a line that reads “finalize 2027 supplier plan.” It is tempting to push that line to January, after the budget…
What IMTS 2026 Means for Precision Machined Parts Buyers — Not Just the Shops on the Floor
This week, roughly 90,000 manufacturing professionals and more than 2,000 exhibitors are moving through 1.2 million square feet of exhibit space at McCormick Place in Chicago for IMTS 2026 — the largest manufacturing technology show in the Western Hemisphere, running September 14 through 19. If you spend your days sourcing precision machined components rather than…
Record Aerospace & Defense Backlogs Are Straining Supplier Capacity — Is Your Machining Partner Ready?
Aerospace and defense demand isn’t the problem right now — capacity is. Commercial order backlogs at Boeing and Airbus have climbed past 15,000 aircraft, global defense spending has pushed above $2.7 trillion, and MRO and munitions programs are ramping at a pace few supply chains were built to absorb. Every industry outlook released this year…
The Skilled Labor Shortage in Precision Machining Isn’t a Hiring Problem — It’s a Knowledge Problem
If you’re a machinist, a setup technician, or an operator standing at a Swiss lathe or a mill right now, you’ve probably heard the phrase “skilled labor shortage” so many times it’s turned into background noise. But the numbers behind that phrase are worth a second look, because they say something specific about where you…
Precision Machined Valve Components: The Complete Turned-Parts Portfolio Behind Fairchild’s Fluid Control Work
Open up almost any hydraulic, pneumatic, or fluid control valve and you’ll find the same thing: a collection of small, tightly toleranced, turned metal parts doing the real work. The body. The poppet or ball. The seat. The spring retainer. The end cap. In valve after valve, across aerospace, defense, and industrial fluid systems, the…
Why Tight Tolerances Can Quietly Multiply Your Machining Costs
The Real Cost of Tight Tolerances: Why One Conversation Can Save Your Budget On a print, a tolerance is just two numbers after a decimal point. On the shop floor, it can be the difference between a part that comes off a Swiss lathe in a single pass and a part that needs multiple setups,…