Cutting Edge Metals, LLC
History
In November of 2021, we met with the McMinnville Economic Development Partnership to discuss a few business ideas and see what aligned well with McMinnville’s vision and goals. In our discussion, my husband and I chatted about a brewery, CDL Truck Driving school, and CNC Machine shop focused on contract manufacturing. The meeting was exciting, invigorating, and all three business ideas were welcomed.
That afternoon, a door closed, and well, it wasn’t just a window which opened, but a whole set of new doors with CNC Machine shop rising to the top.
On November 10th, 2021, Cutting Edge Metals was conceptualized. We spent countless hours on our business plan, starting with our Core Values. Every decision, concept, plan, thought, conversation, which followed, was done with consideration of our Core Values. Safety, Integrity, Excellence, and Honesty every step of the way. Knowing we wanted to be ‘Better than Agreed’ and set a new level of conducting good business in CNC Machining. Our goal to open for business was June of 2023. In August of 2022, we had power to the machines and issued our first payroll to employees.
Since August 2022, we have continued growing our business, expanding into new fields of business ranging from components for semiconductor to metal cabinet door fronts going into NFL locker rooms, we follow our core values, conduct good business, and provide CNC services of metal and plastic products designed by our customers.
Our goal is to continue to grow and expand in the McMinnville community, and our phase three of business is to open a vocational program specifically focused on machining and manufacturing. Where classes will be held in the evening, and on the job training labs to be conducted during the day. Providing both book learning and hands-on experiences for the students.
Cutting Edge Metals is here to stay, being a part of our great community, and helping to grow McMinnville by providing jobs and education. We support our local manufacturing companies with machined parts and over-flow capacity to other area machine shops. No job is too small, or too big, we are here to help.
Meet the owners:
Lori Robertson:
Lori Robertson has been in manufacturing for more than three decades. Her career included being a machine operator in plastic injection molding, leadership roles in gasket manufacturing, using Six Sigma and Lean Manufacturing in precision optics, running machine shops in Aerospace, Defense, and Medical markets, and now owning and operating Cutting-Edge-Metals, a CNC Machine Shop. Following the upward path in her career, she worked full time while raising a family and going to school to get her business degrees. November of 2021 brought forth an opportunity for Lori to make the leap into opening her own machine shop, and she embraced the challenge.
Hear Lori chat about CEM getting started by clicking here!
Dennis Robertson:
Dennis Robertson spent 28 years in the transportation and logistics, and another six years early in his career in manufacturing. In his last 11 professional years, he was the Logistics Supervisor at the Xerox campus, working for XPO Logistics, providing customer service to Xerox in Wilsonville and New York. He managed drivers, dispatchers, and office personnel, while navigating supply chain logistics for Xerox in their West to East Coast drayage program. In 2019 he left the workforce, and has since then been busy with our 47 acres in McMinnville.
