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Our Story

 

TURBOCAM started as a software applications company in Madbury, New Hampshire, in September 1985. While its mission was committed to paper and refined several years later, the ideals of creating wealth for people, supporting Christian service to God and people, and manufacturing valuable turbomachinery products were central in the startup.

The early years saw many software solutions for manufacturing within different applications, while at the same time TURBOCAM was developing expertise in 5-axis programming, primarily for bladed rotating parts. In 1987, TURBOCAM incorporated and bought a small BostoMatic 5-axis machine. One year later, the company grew and rented space in Dover, N.H., where it thrived for the next 16 years.

Photo of 1992 Office Staff – From left: Theresa Durning, Kit West, Marian Noronha, Esther Blouch, and Rick Diehl. Photo of 1992 Engineering Staff – From left: John Bressoud, Zafar Husseini, Steve Dolbec, Eliot Wilkins, and Vincent Pinto. Photo of 1992 Machine Operators – From left: Don Ratliff, Scott Dearborn (seated), Richard Bragdon, John Porter (seated), Doug Fisher, and Dave Champy, Sr.

In 1988, the company prototyped impellers for the smallest turbo air compressor in the industry, a 125HP machine, and helped to produce a highly efficient machine. Soon these game-changing impellers found their way into larger air compressors for several manufacturers. With better aerodynamic designs and improved dynamic balance, these impellers challenged the cast wheels that were traditionally used in the industry. These new impellers built on the metal properties of forged bar or billet instead of castings.

In 1990, TURBOCAM brashly contracted to make four stages of shrouded blisks for development of the Boeing 777 engines. The making of these incredibly difficult parts taxed every resource of the company in software, machine design and maintenance, and machining skills. Ten months later, the capabilities of the company advanced greatly preparing it for bigger challenges. During this same period, the company made two blisks and two stators for a small experimental aero engine. The customer claimed that the blades were perfect, with zero deviation from the nominal. Several engineers from that company later moved on to other employers, bringing more customers and projects with them as they continued to rave about TURBOCAM quality.

Manufactured in 1991, this integrally bladed rotor prototype was manufactured along with a series of parts for the Boeing 777 engine test stand. This particular part featured a ~14" outside diameter and over 50 arbitrary surfaced blades machined to a 1.6 µ-m (63 µ-in.) finish and a 0.05 mm (0.002") blade profile tolerance. Our successful work and partnership on this project helped put TURBOCAM on the map and allowed us to grow into new levels of capability and prepare us for the bigger challenges that lie ahead. Manufactured in 1988 for a leading American auto manufacturer, this challenging automotive torque converter turbine design was manufactured in steel and featured a 17" outside diameter and 36 arbitrary surfaced and high wrap blades. We continue to partner with this company today on many of their torque converter development projects. In 1988, TURBOCAM worked in close conjunction with a leading air compressor OEM to prototype and manufacture these Stage 1 and Stage 2 compressor impellers. The impellers and compressor design were a resounding success and we have since seen thousands of copies of these wheels leave our dock and enter into service. Over 20 years have passed, but we continue to manufacture and ship copies of these wheels every year and maintain a close partnership with the OEM to this day.

Instead of polishing parts by hand after machining, TURBOCAM employees machined parts so precisely that no manual finishing operations were needed. Even 10 years later, producing hundreds of parts annually, a single person did all of the deburring and polishing at the company. CNC Milling instruction sets grew from kilobytes to megabytes, along with the ability to manage all of that information. Impellers frequently balanced without corrective metal removal.

In 1989, TURBOCAM India was launched in Goa to meet demands for turbomachinery products in India, and to build a base for job and wealth creation. TURBOCAM Europe was introduced the next year in Fareham, England. Both companies received challenging assignments, developed skills, and attracted loyal customers in their respective countries and regions.

TURBOCAM Europe Ltd., manufacturing facility, Fareham, Hampshire, UK From 2001 to 2005, TURBOCAM India Pvt Ltd (TIPL) manufactured epoxy glass insulator segments for the Centre Europeene pour la Recherche Nucleaire (CERN). Over this time, TIPL manufactured over 50,000 insulator segments in about 100 different designs and had to overcome many challenges in tooling, fixturing, and personnel safety (installing filters and dust collection systems due to the epoxy glass dust).  These insulator segments were successfully used by CERN to build super magnets that split atoms and to conduct experiments to test theories of the origin of the universe. TURBOCAM India Pvt. Ltd., manufacturing facility, Salcete, Goa, INDIA.

Ten years later, a market developed for high volumes of turbocharger compressor impellers for truck and passenger car applications. TURBOCAM responded with its Automated Production Systems (TAPS) division, designed to work around the clock while fully unmanned on Sundays. Parts are changed robotically, and the process is continuously monitored to achieve the close tolerances and surface finishes needed for high performance turbomachinery applications.

In 2004, a new plant was built in Barrington, New Hampshire, and the division grew to make over 400,000 impellers per year. Similar numbers of turbine nozzles are also produced at TAPS. These products have enabled its customer to achieve goals of emissions reductions ahead of its competitors, and significantly increase market share.

TURBOCAM Int’l, manufacturing facility, Barrington, NH, USA A row of Mikron machines inside the TURBOCAM Automated Production Systems manufacturing facility. TURBOCAM Industrials shop floor, Barrington, NH, USA.

Today, TURBOCAM divisions have also sprouted in Taiwan, Netherlands, Romania, Japan, and South Africa. They supply a variety of products to the steam and gas turbine markets, manage complex supply chains, and are an international liaison. An affiliated company, CAMplete Inc. in Canada, provides software solutions, packaging some of the best manufacturing practices from TURBOCAM.

Bold and creative solutions to design and manufacturing challenges, combined with understanding economic constraints and international opportunities, have characterized TURBOCAM’s culture. No less significant has been the determination to follow the company’s mission: To honor God, create wealth for its employees, and support Christian service to God and to people.

500 mm diameter Inconel 718® blisk manufactured for the CF34-8C engine on the Bombardier CRJ700.  This part features two stages of compression machined from one solid forging with a combined total of almost 100 blades produced to an accuracy of 0.06 mm (0.0025") and a 0.6 µ-m (24 µ-in.) finish. TURBOCAM has manufactured this C20B turboshaft engine in production for over 10 years. It is commonly used on the Bell 206, Sikorsky S-76, and many other popular helicopter designs. Over the years, TURBOCAM has made pump impellers that keep the Space Station habitable, rocket turbopumps that take payloads into space, and others that maneuver spacecraft into useful orbits.

Twenty-six years after it was started, TURBOCAM parts fly on the Space Station and the Delta 4 rocket engine, provide the boosts for the cleanest and most efficient diesel engines, and produce a significant amount of compressed air around the world. The company has over 450 employees, and provides education, clean water, and opportunity for over 1,000 children in India, Nepal, and South and West Africa. Watch our website for the next 26 years as an energetic next generation of dreamers and doers emerges!