By Russ Lawrence
Value-added manufacturing is one of the gold standards for economic development, but sometimes the aluminum standard is just as good.
The Ravalli County Economic Development Authority recognized that when they awarded a small grant to help SpaceAge Ceramics get on their feet in Hamilton last year, manufacturing ceramic guide blocks for band saws.
The ceramic is made from powdered aluminum oxide, which arrives at their manufacturing facility on Kurtz Lane near Hamilton in thousand-pound lots. That powder is formed into shape under eight tons of pressure, then baked at 3,000 degrees for eight hours. The baking shrinks the parts by about 18%, creating a very dense ceramic block that is almost diamond-hard, according to co-owner Ace Steele.
Steele teamed up with partners Mark Moreland and Jay Pohley to bring the business to Hamilton from its former home in Auburn, CA, where its founders were ready to retire. Pohley knew the owners, and pitched the idea of bringing the business to the Bitterroot to his partners. Steele and Moreland had worked together for decades at Rocky Mountain Log Homes, and were ready to try something new. The project appealed to the trio’s engineering and problem-solving skills, as well as the potential to expand the business through new marketing channels.
The ceramic blocks are used as guides for band saw blades, stabilizing them and preventing them from deviating from the cut. Many saws come with steel guides, but the ceramics have been proved to outlast the steel and to perform better, while keeping the cutting blade cooler. Not only do the guide blocks last longer and enable blades to make truer cuts, the blades themselves last longer due to reduced friction and cooler running temperatures.
The three were familiar with the band saws used at Rocky Mountain Log Homes and in sawmills, but soon found that the potential market included meat saws for butcher shops, as well has the saws used by woodworkers and other hobbyists.
The grant from the RCEDA “is certainly helping us,” said Steele, who explained that while no jobs will be created immediately, they will be working to develop potential markets that will allow the company to grow. They already sell directly to some saw makers, and to hobbyist catalogs, and hope to develop the direct-to-customer market.
The grant came via the RCEDA, but was funded by the Rural Business Enterprise Grant program, created to encourage business start-up and expansion in areas like Ravalli County.
Steele credits the development grant with helping them get established in their 3,200-square-foot manufacturing facility, leased from Ravalli County, and equipped with a vacuum system throughout to protect workers from dust particles as fine as two microns.
He also acknowledged the ongoing support of the company’s founders, who continue to mentor and advise them. The production process and specific usage are protected by patents, but the material itself has a variety of industrial uses. The name of the company is a reference to the alumina oxide ceramic’s use as part of the heat shield that protects spacecraft on re-entry, but its hardness also makes it ideal for honing blades, and it even has medical applications.
The markets for the guide blocks and thrust bearings aren’t just domestic, according to Moreland, who pointed out that the Hamilton facility is already shipping to Canada, Austria, Finland, and England.
Long-term, the trio expect to add three or four workers, as volume picks up with the addition of saw makers not currently using their products, and hobbyists fitting the blocks to their saws.
Steele said that the popularity of the ceramic guides as after-market custom features will make it easier to approach manufacturers, telling them that “your customers are already coming to us.” They can make samples on spec, or do custom work as well.
He thanked the RCEDA for their help in securing the grant, and expects the start-up capital will yield dividends as they expand.
To learn more, visit their website at www.spaceageceramicguideblocks.com.