Company History

A Remarkable Journey

For many of us in the fast-paced 21st Century, it is hard to imagine the patience and perseverance — and far-sightedness — it must have taken to start a business in 1941. The country was recovering from the Great Depression and another World War was on the horizon.

And yet two friends, both master mechanics, who worked together in the tool room at the Bendix Aircraft Company in South Bend, Ind., took a look around and saw that Bendix was growing quickly and that they were in need of outside suppliers - fast!

These friends, Elbert "EC" Rogers and Wendall "Wink" Nace, purchased a hand screw machine, rented half a garage, and started Precision Piece Parts, Inc. They continued their work at Bendix (now Honeywell) and used their spare time to build their new company. Soon they purchased some used automatic screw machines and, in a surprisingly short time, became one of the few suppliers in the country to produce cold-rolled threads required for aircraft cylinder head studs and other fasteners.

Elbert even earned the nickname "PD" after the pitch diameter of a straight thread. He ran "the shop" and Wink ran "the office." As times and machinery changed, the automatic screw machines were eventually replaced by state-of-the-art CNC machines. Of course, the machines weren't the only things to change.

We are confident that the company's founders would be proud to see the company and its employees today. Honesty, integrity and the ability to see things from customers' perspectives - all values that began on day one - are still in place. Familiar faces and new faces at Precision Piece Parts continue to reflect the ideals of "EC" and "Wink" - two remarkable men who left a remarkable legacy.