When most people think of machine shops, they conjure up images of dirty men standing over engine lathes with smoke filling the air and metal debris flying everywhere. They think of dirty machines and oil-covered floors. They picture guys stacking metal parts in the corners of cramped garages.

Well, owner Tony Staub’s shop was in a garage at one point, and there probably was smoke in the air and stacks of parts in the corners. But that was a long time ago. For some reason, the image of a machine shop from 1978 still represents the manufacturing industry today. A tour of Staub Incorporated, or any other advanced manufacturer, would certainly change your mind.

This is a machine shop? Where’s the mess?

We’ve worked hard to control the variables in our shop environment. At Staub Incorporated the floors are gleaming and every tool and piece of equipment has its place. Each machine has an advanced mist collection filter system, which keeps nearly all coolant mist out of the air. Machining happens behind the closed doors of each machine, and metal chips are fed into bins with a conveyor system. We regulate the shop temperature and keep a strict equipment maintenance schedule. Tony has found that these details have been integral to his company’s growth and continued success.

A trained chimp could work in a manufacturing.

We’ve got a lot of really smart people. In order to work in an environment like this, you can’t be just anyone off the street. Some of our employees have been in manufacturing or machining for decades, while others came from nonindustrial backgrounds. Our diversity is not an accident. Tony looks for intelligence and interpersonal skills before considering mechanical abilities or work experience. This gives us a stable of smart people who can draw on varied experiences and points of view to solve problems and move the company forward.

Seriously? Robots?

Would you believe that in the back of this quaint plaza there is a troop of robots working around the clock? We have robots unloading, washing, and packing parts at both facilities. They don’t need breaks, they’re not afraid of the dark, and they never ask for a raise. Our machines are computer-controlled, and can run unmanned for up to three shifts. When our employees go home, production doesn’t stop. When they arrive at work in the morning, our people begin inspecting, washing, and packing the parts that were machined overnight.

Staub Incorporated is the epitome of advanced manufacturing. Our practices allow us to produce great quantities of intricate parts at a level of quality that can be matched by few other companies nationwide. This is 2014, and this is not your father’s machine shop.