F-35 and Apache parts run on the Makino Mag 1 and GROB 750T respectively.
Notthoff Engineering Inc. began their journey as a WW2 job shop. This Huntington Beach aerospace specialist is the oldest parts supplier to Northrop Grumman and is one of the few remaining privately owned companies of its kind. Aviation has come a long way and it’s quite a legacy to have your parts on everything from the Grumman Hellcat to the F-35, not many businesses have those kinds of credentials.
“The Notthoff Family founded the company in 1941,” tells Notthoff Engineering’s CEO Kelly Kaller. “We started manufacturing for Northrop Grumman in 1943 and have continued to supply them ever since.” “Kelly’s dad and Bill Notthoff were great friends,” adds COO Arnie Juarez. “Terry Kaller had a small shop and did work for Notthoff Engineering, they hung out, they went to lunch together, so when Bill wanted to hang it up, he sold the company to Terry in 1993.” Notthoff started as a family business and remained that way until 2012 when Terry sold Notthoff to a private equity group, ushering in a new era. “We thought our fate was sealed,” explains Kelly. “The experience for us and for our customers didn’t go well. Fortunately, they wanted out after a few years and there was still enough of us left to resurrect our great heritage. I was given a year to put together the deal and it took 360 days, but in 2019 we regained control, washed away the stigma, brought back the Notthoff name, and have been humming along ever since.”
For customers and employees alike, it has been a change for the better since regaining ownership of Notthoff. Gone are the days of meetings after meetings to decide on when to have another meeting. Back are the days when customer service and open lines of communication are the rule and not the exception. “We’ve always been a good company,” tells Arnie. “That never stopped. The people who work here are dedicated, a second family to many of us. We only had 10 people when I started working for Terry in 1985 and Kelly started in the shop in 2001, before deciding office life was more his style. I trained his brother Mark Kaller who is now our GM around the same time.” “I didn’t like working on the machines,” laughs Kelly. “I got lucky that Arnie was out a few months so he never supervised me, or I would have been fired for sure. But my brother loves it, give him material and a print and he can make anything. We are a big company but operate like a mom and pop. Everyone wears lots of hats and we all take on many roles. We were able to get the company back because we have such a great team of people dedicated to making great parts together.” They went back to basics, running Notthoff the way it was intended, the successful way they’d been doing it for 80 years. “Parts on time and customer service,” confirms Kelly. “When you do that, the finances balance themselves out.”
The Brown & Sharpe Alpha Image 20-33-15 2000mm (X-axis), 3300mm (Y-axis), and 1500mm (Z-axis) Gantry CMM is a heavy-duty, high-precision solution for companies like Notthoff that require a significant working volume for measuring large parts or assemblies.
Notthoff are known primarily as a high precision manufacturer of structural parts like airframes for commercial and defense applications. It is rare that anything they produce is mechanical in nature. The exception is a couple rotational assemblies on planes and helicopters. Seventy-five percent of all manufactured items are made from aluminum with the balance being titanium and steel. They are tier 1 to all the major OEMs like Lockheed Martin, Northrup Grumman and Boeing. When they say Boeing, it’s Boeing Mesa, Boeing Seattle, Boeing Philly. “Each location has their own programs that we are involved in,” explains Arnie. “Seattle is commercial, Mesa is helicopters, St Louis is a bit of everything with F-15, F-18, T-7. Ribs, spars, floors, Bulkheads, longerons, stuff like that are where we thrive. Our parts are typically large, requiring vast amounts of material removal. In the last couple years OEMs are requiring these types of parts to be completed in one pass. For example, all the holes that we used to do as a separate op are now done at the same time, requiring specialty machine tools.” Notthoff are very diversified when it comes to equipment with 28 spindles spread out in four building for a total of 65,000SqFt. “We’ve got a lot of twin spindle machines, 3 spindle/5 axis gantries, mill turns, you name it,” touts Arnie. “Our Starrag EcoSpeed 2060 was new when you were here last, but since buying back the company we’ve added a Makino Mag1, a Grob G750T mill turn, the biggest Hermle they make, the C62U, and I just ordered another EcoSpeed, this time the model 1540. And to further support the latest machine tools we also just revamped and remodeled our QC department to accommodate our new Brown and Sharpe Alpha Image 20-33-15 gantry CMM.”
“The Starrag Ecospeed 2060, Makino Mag1, Hermle C62U, and Grob G750T are designed with high-precision machining in mind and share several overlapping features that are highly beneficial to aerospace manufacturing,” explains Kelly. “When looking at a capital investment of this magnitude each machine tool needs to meet basic parameters, but we have a list of must haves too:
Precision and accuracy for tight aerospace tolerances.
Multi-axis machining for complex geometries.
High-speed machining to reduce cycle times.
Thermal stability and rigidity to handle tough aerospace materials.
High-performance spindles for efficient material removal.
Advanced control systems to automate processes and improve efficiency.
Versatility in Material Handling to accommodate the large aluminum, steel or titanium slabs.
These features collectively allow manufacturers like us to produce high-precision, complex, cost-effective components, and at the same time ensuring that parts meet the performance and safety standards required for the industry. On top of that materials are very expensive and hard to get, so we have to make everything right the first time.”
“The best part of being our own boss again is the control,” explains Arnie. “If I need a new machine we sit down as a team and decide. It can take a day, or a week, but if the numbers make sense, we pull the trigger. No presentation at the quarterly meeting required. It is that kind of flexibility that has allowed us to pursue new programs and grow. We win the bid; we buy the machine to best to the job. The Hermle for example was specifically purchased to manufacture titanium parts for the Triton program. Like Kelly said we buy for flexibility, but each of our new acquisitions bring something different to the table while sharing similar attributes. Let me touch on a few key features of each.”
The C62U is the largest machine of this type that Hermle makes. Notthoff purchased it for a specific titanium parts on the Triton program. The rotary table allows for 360-degree 5-axis simultaneous machining.
Hermle – The Hermle C62U is a state-of-the-art 5-axis vertical machining center, specifically designed for high-precision, complex machining tasks in aerospace manufacturing. The C62U is well-suited for producing intricate components where tight tolerances and material properties are critical. The machine has an impressive work envelope, with X, Y, and Z-axis travels of 1200mm, 1300mm, and 900mm, respectively, and a rotary table that allows for 360-degree machining. The C62 is equipped with a high-performance spindle capable of speeds up to 9,000 RPM, providing excellent cutting capabilities on hard materials such as our titanium Triton parts. The Heidenhain control is amazing and allows for seamless 5-axis simultaneous machining, ensuring precise and efficient production of complex geometries.
Makino Mag1 – The Mag1 boasts superior geometric accuracy and surface finish, ensuring tight tolerances are maintained. Its rigid design, combined with advanced feedback control, helps maintain high precision over long machining cycles, which is especially crucial for manufacturing our complex aerospace components. One of the standout features of the Makino Mag1 is its modular design, allowing for easy customization and scalability based on our specific production needs. The Makino is designed for high-speed machining, with fast axis movements and rapid tool change capabilities. The Mag1 comes with an intelligent tool management system that reduces downtime by tracking tool wear and ensuring the right tools are always available. Makino’s system also helps prevent tool breakage or damage, further enhancing machining reliability and efficiency.
This EcoSpeed is about to be paired with a new 1540 model. Notthoff have found that when it comes to speed and precision the EcoSpeed is hard to beat. It is an impressive beast of a machine, especially when you walk right into the machining chamber.
Starrag EcoSpeed 1540 – You can’t touch this machine when it comes to outright speed and accuracy. With its advanced capabilities, it excels in producing the complex, high-precision structural parts we are known for. The EcoSpeed 1540 features a robust design with a travel range of 4,300 mm (X-axis), 1,600 mm (Y-axis), and 670 mm (Z-axis.) The 1540 is optimized for high-speed machining with a 30,000 RPM /120 kW spindle and rapid traverse rates up to 50,000 m/min, making it highly efficient for both roughing and finishing operations. An 8-hour run time is common for us on some of the larger parts and the EcoSpeed thermal management system maintains dimensional accuracy during our extended machining cycles.
The C62U is the largest machine of this type that Hermle makes. Notthoff purchased it for a specific titanium parts on the Triton program. The rotary table allows for 360-degree 5-axis simultaneous machining.
Grob G750T – The Grob G750T is a highly advanced vertical machining center that plays a key role in our manufacturing, particularly in the production of complex, high-precision components within its travel range of 1000 mm (X-axis), 1,100 mm (Y-axis), and 1,170 mm (Z-axis.) Its high-torque spindle can deliver up to 58 kW of power at 14,500 RPM for fast and accurate metal removal in all types of material. The advanced control systems allow for sophisticated 5-axis simultaneous machining. With its ability to handle high-volume production while maintaining stringent tolerances, the Grob G750T has been a great addition to the shop.
It’s rare for a company to come out the other side of a sale to a private equity group, let alone thrive from it. Notthoff Engineering is doing just that thanks to the ownership/management/employees who care about the company, care about the parts they produce, and care about the team they work with. They face the same industry challenges as everyone else. They struggle to find skilled people who want to learn and come to work, so they train them internally. Tribal knowledge is disappearing year after year and everybody from mom and pops to OEMs are struggling to adapt. Yet, somehow when asked if they still love aerospace, it was a united yes. Sure, Arnie and Kelly kid about how it depends on the day, but you don’t revive a company on the brink of being sold off for parts if you don’t love what you do. Arnie has a glass jar on his desk filled to the brim with a word synonymous to the word “care,” and he and the rest of the 60 people that make up Notthoff Engineering are showing they still have a lot of cares to give.