They say it's the moments in life that set you on
your path and define who you are. In 2010 I
thought I was on top of the world. With My
daughter being born that year I had it all. A boy
and a girl, a great job at a plastic mold injection
company specializing in pharmaceuticals, and a
loving wife who had been teaching middle school
math for 13 years.
 
In 2012 it all changed when we lost our
daughter. I struggled with living. The company I
worked for was beyond incredible. They did
everything they could to help me continue to
support my family. The problem was their end
product had to be exact and there were times
my mind was just not in it. So they would give
me simple tasks or offer me time off with pay. I
would walk around pretty much every day with
a heavy heart. I would go outside and cry and
try to keep it together. I still had my son at home
who was dealing with the loss like the rest of us.
I knew he needed me. It's the only thing that
kept me from going off the deep end. After a
year of that I needed something to keep me busy
at nights when I got home. You see our daughter

had drown in our back yard and that is all I
could see or think of every day. So in December
of 2013 I took a considerable amount of money
out of our life savings and bought a used CNC
mill. I had no idea what I was getting into. I had
not one customer nor the prospect of one.
 
I would leave work and spend an hour or 2
before picking my son up from daycare
knocking on doors. My wife asked me what my
plan was. She never complained about the
money I spent or the hours learning this old
machine. She just understood. I set a two year
goal to pay our savings back.
 
In April of 2014 I landed my first customer and
started working full time at home each night
along with full time at my job which I still held. 
Figuring out the companies name was simple.
Our beautiful little two year old girl’s name
was Abigail Rose Williams. ARW just made
sense.
 
At the end of 2014, and after many long hours, I
accomplished the goal of paying back the initial

investment. It was then I asked my wife if I
could quit my job and go full time on my own.
Not only did she agree, she encouraged me.
Having such a loving and caring wife by my
side, and realizing I could lose nothing in this
adventure that was greater than what we had
already lost, I went for it. I finished 2014 at my
current employer and started January 2015
working exclusively for ARW Machine.
​
In my first year I was working alone out of an
18 x 20 foot garage off the side of our house and
was able to replace it with a 20 x 30 foot
building and purchase a used CNC lathe. 
​
In 2016, now having a full time helper and at my
maximum capacity, I started thinking of a
commercial location. At the end of the year I
found our new site. The only problem was it was
75 miles from our house and we would have to
move to make it happen. Not sure when we
would do that I closed on the property and
figured I would let time guide me. 
​

In 2017 my wife quit teaching and took a major
leap of faith in me. We bought a 2017 Haas
VF4SS, had our original mill and lathe moved
out to our new location, and started our new
future. With my wife's masters degree in math and having the same drive and commitment as myself she came on as our account manager and so much more. 
 
This machine was more than our mortgage had
been. Not being able to afford a house we bought
a used single wide trailer to live in and moved
our family out to the country where we knew
nobody. It was not what I thought it would be. If
it could go wrong it did. We struggled with
almost every aspect of life the first 2 years out
here. Having been through the loss of our
daughter we knew we just didn't want to give up
so we buckled down and worked day and night
to keep the bills paid and to grow the business.
​
We use that determination to continue our
growth every day. We have a process that
requires every single part we make to have a
100% FAI. We require every dimension to be
written on the print once checked.
​

I have taught the importance of checking every
hole before shipping a part. What I had learned
from the various companies I worked for is how
upsetting it was to stop what I was doing to go
fix this or that. I tell my employees about my
experiences and explain how much happier our
end customer will be when they get our part and
have to do absolutely nothing to it but assemble
it.  Sit down, grab the necessary items to check
your thread depths and functions,
your tolerance features. This simple step saves
so much frustration and the quality speaks for
itself in the form of repeat work. 
​
I have grown as a machinist on my own and our
company is one that looks for challenges to help
incorporate growth and excellence.  Sure, we are
human and we all have made mistakes.
However, we strive to never let you, our end
customer, have to deal with them. We value our
customer’s time and business. We will go above
and beyond to make sure our customer gets
what they order. I would rather start completely
over on a project then send a part that is not

correct. It's the most important aspect of our
job.
 
There are so many choices for a customer to get
a part made and when you choose us we
are grateful. We are a company of only 3 people.
The true small business definition. The benefit
you receive from that is a team of people that
focuses on your part, yet a company that has
lower overhead and can be cost competitive. 
​
So when looking for a machine shop
to tackle your project please consider ARW
Machine. I love what I do. I love being
challenged. I am always willing to try anything,
yet I am open minded and realize I can learn
something every day. 
​
We are dedicated and determined to
be successful. We are grateful for our talent and
look forward to growing new relationships. 
​
We look forward to growing our network and
building a relationship with you.
​

Jeff Williams, Owner Operator

​

                 In Loving Memory of Abigail Rose Williams