Santee-based Quality Controlled Manufacturing Inc. (QCMI) recently celebrated its 34th anniversary. The company was founded in October 1978 by William R. (Bob) Grande in his 1,000-square-foot garage. The San Diego County precision manufacturer has grown since then to more than 95 employees with three facilities totaling 98,000 square feet. QCMI provides complex machined- manufactured parts for the aerospace, Department of Defense and energy generation industries, including oil and gas, along with marine and heavy equipment customers.
Eight years after QCMI’s founding, the company had 10 employees and had expanded to 7,000 square feet. In 1991, QCMI received its first of several Total Quality Performance awards. In 1992, Bob and a team of more than 35 engineers, machinist and administrative personnel moved into a 27,000-square-foot facility in Lakeside. Then, in 2008, the company purchased a building on Abraham Way in Santee. This renovated, high-end 65,000-square-foot facility serves as corporate headquarters, with complimenting facilities of 27,000 square feet in Lakeside and 6,000 square feet in El Cajon.
QCMI celebrated a number of milestones in 2012. The precision manufacturer received its fourth consecutive UTC Supplier Gold Award. In addition, Inc. magazine nationally recognized QCMI as one of its Inc. 5000 companies, and the San Diego Business Journal ranked QCMI on its Top 100 Fastest Growing Private Companies list. Grande achieved a Most Admired CEO award from the San Diego Business Journal and went on to receive the Santee Chamber of Commerce Business Leadership Award.
