Page 40 - CNC West web Feb March 2022

APPLIED
PRECISION MANUFACTURING INC.
Article & Photos by Sean Buur
Brothers Erik (left) and Ed (right) Sicairos went into business together in 2000. It’s been a journey, but the path they walk now is the one they always imagined.
rothers/owners, Ed & Erik Sicairos at Applied for the automotive company B & M in Chatsworth, Ca. Precision Manufacturing Inc. (APM) in “I was 27, didn’t know how to run a business, but was South El Monte, Ca. have gone through a few great at machining and programming,” explains APM co-
different trials and tribulations over the course of their owner Ed Sicairos. “The idea was to pick up a mill and a
20+ year history. It is a cautionary, yet entertaining tale of machining, deceit, denial, fake falling outs, and a loco investor. In the last five years they’ve bounced back better, building the dream they imagined when they went into business together in 2000.
Since he was 24 years old, Ed Sicairos wanted to start a manufacturing company and be his own boss. He even convinced his younger brother Erik to go back to school and get the fundamentals of machining down so they could partner together in a shop. “I think he just wanted someone to take that ride with him,” jokes APM co-owner Erik Sicairos. “We planned it for over a year before pulling the trigger and striking out in 2003.” As Erik was learning the trade Ed was applying it as a manufacturing manager
lathe and for Erik to run them while we built a customer base and I still worked at B & M.” They crammed two machines into a small shop in City of Industry, Ca. with Erik doing the manufacturing and Ed programming from his job at B & M. Ed didn’t feel right about working on his own deal while on another company’s dime. He knew he just needed to commit 100% to the new endeavor, but it was a big step and a bigger pay cut.
Ed went to the owner Bob, the B in B & M and explained the situation and guaranteed he wouldn’t leave them high and dry, staying until his replacement was fully up to speed. “They seemed really happy for me,” explains Ed. “It was strange. Then I got called back into the office and it became clear why that was. They were
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