When Ryan Mongillo states that “there just isn’t much” his business, Crew Machining LLC, “won’t do for its customers,” he means it.
A veteran of the U.S. Army, he served 5 years as a military police officer, including a year in Iraq. The youngest truck commander in his platoon, Mongillo was responsible for a gun truck and three-man fire team. He earned a Combat Action Badge and Army Commendation Medal for maintaining a calm, mission-based demeanor while under significant pressure.
That experience served him well when, last week, he worked 110 hours to meet the demands of both his day job as rotating shift superintendent at American Refining Group Inc. and his customers at Crew Machining.
“I went to the shop for four hours, worked 12 at ARG and on my days off was at the shop 16 and 20 hours a day,” he said, calling it “short-term pain for long-term gain.”
There also isn’t much the company can’t do, Mongillo said. He explained they started out looking to make small, sophisticated parts but have since pivoted in response to demand for larger items.
“I recently completed a 56-inch and 113-inch, 8-inch by 8-inch square tubing for a company. It’s not quite what we thought we were going to do, but it’s working out quite well,” he said, adding that those smaller, more intricate pieces are “still in our envelope.”
He said, “A couple of local companies have seen that, and have really been treating us well. January was very slow, February started to get busy and March has just been crazy.”
Hence that 110-hour work week.
Assisting Mongillo as owner/operator around the shop at 40 Holley Ave., Suite 5, are Chief Operating Officer Nathan Brooks and logistics specialist Andy Brooks.
Mongillo added, “Tor Swanson at Swanson’s Fabrication has been instrumental to getting us up on our feet — he’s been a blessing to have.”
Nathan is experienced with many applications from large quantities to single-part orders to small, precise assemblies, and has gained practice in machining tight-tolerance parts in several materials including aluminum, tool steel, preheated material, stainless steel and some alloys.
Their current slate of equipment includes a Haas ST-10Y with a robotic cell, Haas VF-3 vertical milling center, Haas MDC-500 vertical milling center, Monarch 16.5” swing lathe, and a Hardinge speed lathe. They also offer third-party program writing and can consult on overall plant operation.
All three studied at Bradford Area High School and recently helped the student-run manufacturing company, Parkway Industrial, with its Christmas ornaments made to benefit, in 2023, the Era’s Less Fortunate (E.L.F.) Fund. They also assisted in negotiations with Haas for the school program’s new lathe, purchased recently with a Pennsylvania Department of Education Competitive Equipment Grant.
“They were able to help us out with some of the machine programming and setup — great guys to work with,” said Parkway Industrial advisor Sean Reams.
According to Crew Machining’s website, “We are a veteran-owned company and community-based team. Our members are engaged in the community, helping with many youth sports, including Little League baseball and Bradford High School varsity wrestling. We take great pride in our work and proudly place our name on every piece leaving the shop.”
Follow Crew Machining on Facebook and LinkedIn. For more information, visit their website, crewmachining.com, contact Mongillo by phone at (814) 596-2847 or email at ryan@crewmachining.com.
“I can’t always get to my phone but if you leave a message I’ll get back to you for sure,” Mongillo said. “We try to help out whenever we can. Inside or outside of the shop, we’re happy to do it.”
