Solar Atmospheres of Michigan Inc., formerly known as Vac-Met Inc., successfully reached its first milestone in the relocation phase. Solar Atmospheres has invested over $5 million in new equipment with all new utilities. The installed equipment includes two vacuum furnaces, an air tempering furnace and a freezer. As a result, the company was able to host its first AS9100D audit at the facility in Chesterfield, Mich. This quality management system audit for aviation, space and defense organizations, which incorporates ISO9001 standards, passed with zero findings.

After purchasing the company one year ago, the goal was to build a new facility with no impact on the existing customer base. Bob Hill, president of Solar Atmospheres of Michigan, said, “We wanted to keep the 42-year-old Vac-Met business fully operational during our relocation phase. Therefore, to bring both business units under one roof, we needed to configure a new ‘mini-business’ to satisfy AS and Nadcap requirements. Today, we can begin running commercial work only in Chesterfield. After our upcoming Nadcap audit, we will start processing aerospace work. Following that milestone, we will begin to relocate nine existing vacuum furnaces from our Warren and Fraser (Michigan) plants to the new facility.”