From its headquarters in London, Ontario, Attica Manufacturing provides quality CNC machined components, assemblies, and machinery to healthcare, packaging, automotive, defence, commuter rail, and food and beverage sectors – just for starters.
As well as its main plant in London, the company operates from a second location in Michigan, serving a growing array of markets and customers in both Canada and the United States for nearly 45 years.
Current President and second-generation owner Andy Mavrokefalos has led the family business since he was handed the reins of leadership by his father and company founder, Gerry Mavrokefalos.
Andy started learning the intricacies of his family’s business while still in high school, formally taking the mantle of president in 2002. Attica traces its proud lineage to 1976, when Gerry Mavrokefalos and several partners installed six machines in a small warehouse.
Today, that little warehouse has expanded into a 53,000 square-foot headquarters, and the total number of machines to over 40. The company has recently relocated to a larger facility in downtown London, Ontario, where it has begun new contracts to manufacture ceramic armour plating for defence contracts. A smaller facility opened in Michigan, just across the U.S.-Canadian border, in 2014.
Attica specializes in advanced computer numerical control (CNC) machining, able to operate at unprecedented degrees of precision. In addition, the company has been able to perform hybrid CNC/conventional machining, expanding its already substantial operational capacities.
Additional capabilities range from prototyping and production machining to assembly, mechanical design, jigs and fixtures, welding and fabricating, and CMM Inspection. The company also specializes in specific OEM requirements. A wide variety of CNC and other types of machines including knee/bed mills, lathes, grinders and welders ensure Attica is able to meet the requirements of the most varied and demanding jobs.
As a seasoned manufacturer, the company stands strong in the belief that it has held since day one – that quality comes before all else, regardless of order quantity. And thanks to Attica’s long experience in manufacturing, the company is able to provide a full range of in-house services, ensuring its ability to meet all potential needs of its clients entirely under one roof.
The company’s large and varied cadre of specialists includes over 75 machinists, tool & die makers, technicians, engineers, and technologists and squad of apprentices ready to take over the next generation of skilled industry labour.
In addition to machining, Attica is now moving into fabrication as well, aiming at being a one-stop shop for its clients. As part of this, Attica embraces what its staff terms ‘geometry’: taking on challenging work that other CNC shops are wary of, and putting together the most complex projects their customers may require.
This remains one of the company’s most important and unique offerings, backed up by its expertise and sophisticated hardware such as 5-axis CNC tools. Attica’s continuing message, illustrated throughout its long history and constant growth, is clear: ‘If your name is going on a part, you want Attica parts in it.’
This constant growth is evident not merely in the ongoing expansion of Attica’s factories but in the numbers of machines, which also increase at a consistent rate. The company acquired four new CNC machines earlier this year, even under the looming threat of COVID-19, enabling a higher and more varied output than ever before. Attica has boasted ISO 9001:2000 rating since 2003, further proving its mastery of precision machining techniques.
In one of the company’s most recent acquisitions, Attica formally installed a (literally) cutting-edge box guide-way Doosan DBC 130 II machine. This 110,000 pound (nearly 50,000 kilogram) behemoth boasts a high-torque spindle capable of generating 60 horsepower of continuous force at 2500 rpm to handle even the heaviest of cutting jobs. Further, a B-axis rotary table of between 1600 and 1800 millimetres handles large and heavy work pieces of up to 30,000 pounds.
Another recent purchase was two CMM DCCs, or coordinate measuring machines. Capable of measuring an envelope of up to 1500 x 3300 x 1350 millimetres (59”x 129.9”x 53”), with these machines Attica won a prestigious precision project – producing parts for Ford’s GT40 racing car.
With on-board PC-DMIS programming software and Datapage statistical software, these CMMs enable Attica to measure and produce even the most complex of parts with extraordinary accuracy.
When interfacing with clients, Attica uses a tried-and-true method to ensure product quality and client satisfaction.
A comprehensive needs assessment ensures all parties involved have a clear definition of the successful product, ensuring no miscommunication. With the project’s objective clearly in mind, Attica’s highly experienced specialists can offer recommendations to improve part economy and performance. The company prides itself on its high attention to detail and knowledge of the very latest in manufacturing techniques.
With these skills, even complex CNC part manufacturing, in the end, can be made to look easy.
Attica’s long history in and mastery of manufacturing have earned the company considerable acclaim, both within and without its industry. The company earned a Certificate of Recognition from the Economic Development Alliance of St. Clair County, Michigan, home to Attica’s secondary plant. In addition, Attica is a proud member of the London Economic Development Corporation, and uses its prominence and expertise to enhance the city’s growth prospects.
Finally, the company was nominated for – and was a finalist in – the American Society for Quality’s 2009 Quality Award, an enviable tribute to the company’s eminence within its industry.
But despite the fact that Attica has long occupied a prominent slot in regional manufacturing and fabricating, the company, like many others, is facing growing challenges in employment. Resolved to continue its expansion, the company has nevertheless been finding machines considerably easier to source than talented operators.
In addition to its ongoing apprenticeship program, Attica is taking a proactive approach. The company has launched a co-operative enterprise with local Fanshawe College, helping to foster and recruit the next generation of Canadian skilled labourers.
As the company looks to its future, it remains focused on continual growth, despite the challenges posed both by COVID-19 and a scarcity of qualified machine operators. Its two plants continue to provide top-quality machining and fabrication for all variety of sectors, and Attica’s cadre of experienced specialists are able to help clients with projects of any size and scale.
For any project, Attica Manufacturing can provide the highest quality of manufacturing excellence to ensure part quality for years to come.
