Celebrating 80 Years of Innovation

In 1943, Blaine Vlier and William Coop founded our company in sunny Burbank, California, supporting American efforts in World War II by engineering parts for use in the military build-ups of bombers, fighter planes and battleships.

Over the eventful years since then, our company has proven itself time and time again as a trailblazer in precision-machined parts—from our flagship product, the Vlier Pin, in 1949, to our most recent creation, Posi-Hex^TM ceramic ball plungers. In celebration of our 80 years of innovation, we’re taking a look back at our long history of American manufacturing and setting the stage for the next eight decades and beyond.

Beating the Odds

According to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data analyzed by Investopedia, about 20 percent of new businesses fail during their first two years. This failure rate increases to 65 percent during the first decade, and by 15 years, only 25 percent of new businesses are still operating.

We know it’s rare for any business, not just ours, to make it to 80 years. But we aren’t surprised we’ve maintained our success for such a long period of time. From the beginning of our company’s history, we have leveraged our American ingenuity and created useful and important products. Designed to fixture small parts in tight, compact spaces, our signature Vlier Pin has played a pivotal role in countless manufacturing lines and applications.

Since the creation of the Vlier Pin, we have built an extensive catalog of over 3,300 precision-machined standard parts including spring loaded devices, quick release devices, leveling devices and mechanical components. The uses of our products are nearly limitless and serve the aerospace, defense, medical, electronics, automotive, industrial, marine, rail, recreational and appliances industries. In 2000, we became a Hutchinson company, which has proven to be a perfect fit as Hutchinson has extensive experience across all these industries and others.

Posi-Hex^TM Ceramic Ball Plungers

We are determined not to rest on the success of the past 80 years. It’s up to us to continue pushing the envelope and create valuable new products for all kinds of applications.

That’s why this year, we’ve introduced a brand-new product to our catalog: Posi-Hex^TM ceramic ball plungers. These plungers are self-contained ball and spring devices perfect for indexing, locating or positioning in medical, aerospace, oil and gas, marine and electric vehicle applications. Their ceramic makeup offers high-temperature tolerance, chemical resistance, longevity and other key benefits.

This plunger’s enhanced design also allows for easy installation and removal using only a hex wrench, significantly simplifying the assembly process for manufacturers.

Contact Us

Eighty years in, we’re still creating innovative products, and we intend to continue doing so as we move into the future.

If you’re interested in learning more about our Posi-Hex^TM ceramic ball plungers or any of our exclusive parts, reach out to us today.