by Rick Griffin
Santee-based Quality Controlled Manufacturing Inc. (QCMI) recently celebrated its 35th anniversary. The company was founded in October 1978 by William (Bob) Grande in his 1,000-square-foot garage. The East County-based precision manufacturer has grown to more than 100 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, Grande 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. Among QCMI’s recent awards: QCMI received its fifth consecutive UTC Supplier Gold Award; Inc. magazine nationally recognized QCMI as one of its Inc. 5000 companies; Better Business Bureau of San Diego presented QCMI with a Torch Award for Marketplace Ethics; San Diego Society for Human Resource Management honored QCMI with a Workplace Excellence Award in the under-150- employee category.