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26 INLANDER DECEMBER 5, 2013
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still matters, because location impacts speed. By connecting local companies with each other, INWAC has given them crucial efficiencies. Marzetta turns a power supply for an airplane cockpit in his hand. Bare parts like these are sent to Inland Northwest Metallurgical Services for heat-treating or to Novation for nickel-plating, then back to Altek. Since they’re both nearby, the process takes days or even hours instead of weeks. “Prior to them committing to the aerospace industry, we had to ship this crap across the country to get plated,” Marzetta says. “It’s turned a competitive weakness into a competitive advantage.” That’s the story across the region: L&M sends seat braces to MultiFab, which attaches seatbelt brackets. MultiFab produces molded plastic specifically for UTC Aerospace systems to ship its brake pads. Marzetta likes the pressure of speed and quality. “We had this old company idea — we don’t do business with Boeing because it’s such a pain in the butt,” Marzetta says. “And I was like, ‘No, no, no.’ We need to look at that differently. We want to do business with Boeing because it’s a pain in the butt.” While “slow and fat and happy” competitors struggle and complain, nimble and scrappy manufacturers move up.
“They haven’t had to crawl and scratch their way into competitiveness,” Marzetta says.
POLITICS AND PROFITS
Part of being nimble and scrappy comes down to picking the perfect location. It’s why Titan Spring Inc. chose Hayden, Idaho. The manufacturer makes springs that go into everything from airplane seat pockets to Boeing satellites. One, a thick, 2-foot-long coil, is heading for the machinery of an airplane bathroom, while another, as tiny as a watch battery, will make up a crucial piece of a pacemaker. Just a few years ago, Titan Spring was locat-
“It’s turned a competitive weakness into a competitive advantage.” ed in the once-mighty aerospace hub of Southern California. But over the past two decades, California’s aerospace industry crashed. From 1990 to 2012, aerospace jobs in Los Angeles County fell from 130,000 to less than 39,000. “They’re the worst in the United States,” Titan Spring president Jim Glenn says about California. “They love to tax, they love to regulate. You don’t get anything out of them.” Torn between Spokane and North Idaho when fleeing the Golden State, he says overhear-