Quabbin, a new manufacturer that recently moved its facilities to Forest Road in Wilton, specializes in a niche industry – creating parts needed to create and repair water control methods for dams and water and sewer facilities. They have the facilities and equipment to do it on a scale few other manufacturers do, which was a key part in netting their biggest and most prestigious project yet: parts that will be included in the repair of the iconic Hoover Dam.
Quabbin is a partnership between Quabbin Inc. and Amherst Tool, a merger between the two companies, each of which were looking to take on new, bigger projects.
Currently the company has been focused on creating parts for water control gates like those found on dams. It’s a niche industry, but one that’s in high demand.
“The amount of work we have is significant, and we expect it to continue to bloom,” said Steve Geiger, one of the presidents of Quabbin and Amherst Tool. Much of the dam infrastructure in the United States was constructed back in the 1950s, Geiger said, and that infrastructure is now at the point it is in need of repair or replacement. But few companies are making the parts needed for the job. That’s where Quabbin and Amherst Tool step in.
“What is unique about us is our capability. We can do things you won’t find in the average machine shop,” Geiger said.
Joe Kustron, who started Amherst Tool as a one-man machine shop in 2014, and eventually grew it to an eight-person operation, said he wanted to continue to grow, but needed someone with the business expertise to help run a larger operation. The partnership with Quabbin Inc. seemed the perfect way to continue that growth, Kustron said.
“I knew it was too much to handle on my own, as a shop guy. I didn’t expect to grow as big as I did,” Kustron said. “We had the same goal of wanting to grow, and we could handle this niche business.”
In addition to their work on small, local dams, the company has also secured a five-year contract to create equipment that will be used for replacing existing parts within the four intake towers at the Hoover Dam in Nevada.
With the new partnership between Quabbin and Amherst Tool also comes the opportunity to break into new markets. The company has interest in creating parts for the aerospace and medical device fields, as well as its current water control specialty.
One of the things standing in the way of that expansion is the need for workforce, a pinch that employers across the state are feeling.
Currently, Geiger said, the company employs 22 people, but is projected to grow, and Geiger said he’d like to get up to between 30-40 employees – and some of those, the company could hire now, if there were people to fill the positions.
“We’re trying to build a culture of an old-school machine shop,” Geiger said. “But still modern. This is an industry that can still provide a full career for people.”
Ashley Saari can be reached at 924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.