Creating a truc and a whatchamacallit in Sisters

The Sisters airport area is becoming a magnet for entrepreneurs. It is not a new phenomenon but a slowly developing trend that has attracted people who are willing to think outside the box when creating businesses.

David Crosier is the owner of Mountain EDM, a specialty machine shop that has found its home at the Sisters airport. Mountain EDM produces trucs, a slightly more elegant French word for thingies, framzits or whatchamacallits. Most of his work disappears into the insides of medical equipment and computer hardware, although more visible uses of his products are increasingly found in Central Oregon.

Crosier's move to Sisters was a combination of fate and determination.

"I worked for a company in the (Silicone) Valley, and he (the owner) wanted to move here and make me his partner in a new company. My wife and I came here, and once we saw the area, we both fell in love with it and decided we wanted to make it home," Crosier said.

Plans changed as time passed, but Sisters still remained the focus of interest for Crosier.

"My partner-to-be wanted to build in the Sun Ranch Business Park, but there were delays on this end for building, and then he was unable to sell his property in the (Silicon) Valley, so he had to put his plans on hold. But we decided we wanted to be here anyway, so we went ahead and moved here," he said.

"I looked for a space, and there was this heated space I could use here at the airport, and so I decided to go ahead and start my business on my own. It has been a real learning experience for me, but it has also been fun," he said.

Mountain EDM (Electrical Discharge Machining) primarily works with hard metals or those that would be impossible to machine with traditional techniques. One critical limitation, however, is that EDM only works with materials that are electrically conductive. Crosier's equipment is all computer driven and can manufacture with incredible tolerances that were unheard of a generation ago.

EDM can cut small or odd-shaped angles, intricate contours or cavities in pre-hardened steel without the need for heat treatment to soften and re-harden them, as well as exotic metals such as titanium, Hastelloy, kovar, inconel and carbide. The business makes trucs that fit in hard drives and inside medical equipment and other complex mechanical applications.

The whole dynamic of the business has changed as Crosier has integrated into the Sisters community.

"When I first started here, I was thinking I would sell everything into California. I have contracts with a company down there that refurbishes medical equipment and with some computer companies. But I am surprised that as many locals found out about what I do. I am building a good client base here in the area. I think there is plenty of work here as I become known," said Crosier.

Currently, Crosier is manufacturing parts for two companies in Sisters and one in Redmond.

"There are a surprisingly large number of specialty companies in this area that have been having things made out-of-state because there wasn't a source here for what they needed. Now that people are finding out that I can make these specialty parts, they would rather do business locally if possible," said Crosier.

Crosier's experience in manufacturing trucs goes back a long way. He has an assortment of tiny parts the size of a pea that have slots, holes and various portions profiled that come from his past.

"When I first started, I made parts for folding knives that were marketed under the Spyderco name. Then, I worked mostly with parts for medical equipment and parts for computer hard drives. It really doesn't matter what it is for, I can probably do it," he said.

Asked by The Nugget if working in such a specialized area while located in Sisters provided any handicap, Crosier replied: "The only problem with the area is infrastructure. A lot of specialty equipment requires three-phase electrical, and it is not everywhere in the area. The other thing is ordering supplies. You have to add a day to anything they tell you because you are in Sisters. If they say you will have it in two days, you need to count on three. Once you understand that, just planing ahead for the extra days isn't really a problem."