What Custom Engineering Company does

Custom Engineering Company is a privately held U.S. contract manufacturer specializing in large-scale industrial metal fabrication, certified welding, and CNC machining. Founded in 1954 and headquartered in a 200,000+ square foot facility in Erie, Pennsylvania, the company designs and builds heating platens, hydraulic presses, pressure vessels, machine bases and skids, structural weldments, and large components for industrial OEMs, U.S. Department of Energy and Department of Defense customers, and operators in power generation, oil and gas, construction, forest products, and rubber/composites. Technical capability is anchored in 160,000 lb crane capacity, 15' x 60' CNC machining, a five-face double column machining center, a Motoman EA1900TN robotic welding cell, FARO laser tracking, and more than 180 ASME Section IX-qualified welding procedures executed by 30+ certified welders.

The company operates a project-based B2B job-shop model with no recurring revenue and no publicly disclosed pricing; all engagements are quoted on a per-project basis against customer drawings and specifications, with multi-year contract cadence. Customer acquisition is driven by direct enterprise field sales, trade-show presence (notably AISTech), industry publications, downloadable marketing materials, and inbound quote requests through the company website. The go-to-market emphasizes certifications rather than price, with an active stack that includes ISO-9001:2015 (maintained by NQA since 1997), ASME U/R/S stamps, NAVSEA MIL-STD-248/278, ITAR/DDTC registration, NADCAP, AWS, AQS-AC7004, NIST 800-171, and National Board NB/R certificates — collectively the gating credentials for defense, naval, aerospace, and pressure-bearing work.

Custom Engineering Co. is the largest operating company within Custom Group Industries, a privately held diversified manufacturing group that also wholly owns Lamjen Inc. (precision CNC machining, since 1968) and Venango Machine Company (exclusive heated-platen and hydraulic-press platen manufacturing, since 1954). The group structure allows cross-selling of platen and machining capabilities into Custom Engineering's fabrication projects. Day-to-day leadership is led by President David Tullio, with no PE, VC, or public-market ownership identified in available sources. The company was recognized by RFQUSA in 2025 as a Top Manufacturer in Welding & Fabrication, the most recent external marker of commercial visibility.

Name

Custom Engineering Company

Legal name

Custom Engineering Co.

Website

https://customeng.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1960

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Custom Engineering Company is a privately held U.S. contract manufacturer in Erie, PA, specializing in large-scale metal fabrication, certified welding, CNC machining, hydraulic presses, heating platens, and pressure vessels for industrial OEMs, defense, and energy customers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Metal Fabrication

NAICS

Metalworking Machinery Manufacturing (3335), All Other Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing (33299), Machine Shops (332710)

SIC

Miscellaneous Fabricated Metal Products (3490), Fabricated Plate Work (Boiler Shops) (3443), Metalworkg Machinery & Equipment (3540)

akta.pro primary industry

Metal Forming & Fabrication Machines (Presses, Bending, Shearing, Stamping) (IMAHADAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Steelwork & Fabrication Facilities (Plate/Section Processing, Welding Lines) (IMAJALAH)

Keywords

• Industrial metal fabrication
• Contract manufacturing services
• CNC precision machining
• Certified welding services
• Pressure vessel fabrication

Headquarters

HQ city

Erie

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Contract Manufacturing Services: B2B contract manufacturing providing large metal fabrication, machining, welding, and assembly services. Revenue generated through project-based quotations for custom industrial components. No recurring revenue; purely transactional job-shop model for medium to heavy metal components.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Custom Engineering Company is an integrated contract manufacturer specializing in large-scale industrial metal fabrication, precision CNC machining, certified welding (GMAW, FCAW, SAW, GTAW, SMAW), ASME-certified pressure vessel fabrication, custom hydraulic presses, and heated platen manufacturing. Operating from a 200,000+ sq ft facility in Erie, Pennsylvania with crane capacity up to 160,000 lbs, the company delivers single-source project-based manufacturing for industrial OEMs, defense, aerospace, power generation, oil and gas, construction, and forest products customers.

Product overview

Custom Engineering Company is a fully integrated contract manufacturing and machining company specializing in large-scale industrial metal fabrication. The company's product portfolio centers on four interconnected core offerings: heating platens (including steam, thermal fluid, and electric variants) and hydraulic presses (custom-designed up-acting, down-acting, C-frame, and 4-post configurations) as primary manufactured equipment products; complemented by metal fabrication services for weldments, base plates, skids, and structural components; precision machining capabilities for finishing fabricated parts; and certified welding services using multiple welding processes. The company also manufactures ASME-certified pressure vessels. These products and services are designed to work together as an integrated manufacturing solution, enabling customers to source complete fabrication projects from a single supplier.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Heating Platens Design and manufacturing of controlled temperature platens (steam heated, thermal fluid/hot oil, and electrically heated variants) for industrial press applications, serving rubber, laminating, plywood, and composite wood panel manufacturing customers.
• Hydraulic Presses Custom design and manufacturing of specialty hydraulic presses (up-acting, down-acting, C-frame, and 4-post configurations) used for foam fabrication, hot form pressing, high-pressure laminating, and composite material manufacturing.
• Metal Fabrication Large-scale metal fabrication of weldments, base plates, sole plates, skids, platforms, and structural components for industrial customers, with capacity to handle components up to 160,000 lbs.
• Certified Welding AWS-certified welding services using GMAW (MIG), FCAW (Flux Cored), SAW (Sub Arc), GTAW (TIG), and SMAW (Stick) processes, with over 180 qualified welding procedures supporting structural, pressure vessel, and defense work.
• Precision Machining CNC and manual precision machining services (turning, milling, boring, drilling, tapping, threading, reaming, grooving, and grinding) for large-scale components, including capability up to 15' x 60'.
• Pressure Vessels ASME Section VIII Division 1 certified pressure vessels manufactured to contain gases and liquids for petrochemical, oil and gas, chemical, and food processing industries.
• Machine Bases & Skids Custom industrial machine bases, sole plates, foundation plates, and skids for mounting heavy equipment such as gas turbines, compressors, and generators in demanding industrial environments, with project weights from 2,500 to 130,000 lbs.

Quantifiable outcome

• Temperature uniformity up to +/- 3 degrees on heated platens
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Lamjen Inc.coreOthersPrecision CNC machining sister company under Custom Group Industries. Since 1968, LAMJEN Precision Machining has been a leading CNC machining manufacturer concentrating in specialty machined components for oil and gas, petrochemical, power generation, food, pharmaceutical, and other industries. Specializes in CNC milling, turning, boring, drilling, grinding of stainless steel, alloy steel, carbon steel, aluminum, titanium, bronze.
• Venango Machine Co.coreOthersWorld's largest and oldest exclusive platen manufacturer since 1954. Specializes in engineered heated platens, hydraulic press platens, and compression molding platens for rubber, laminating, plywood, and particleboard industries. Serves composite, automotive, and chemical industries. Key contract manufacturer supporting metalworking industry in Western Pennsylvania, Eastern Ohio, and Western New York.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• BTD Manufacturing: Minnesota-based contract metal manufacturer providing laser cutting, CNC machining, forming, welding, powder coating, and assembly to industrial OEMs. Highly comparable mid-sized, multi-capability contract fabricator with similar B2B project-based model and integrated service offering.
• R&B Wagner: Wisconsin-based contract metal fabricator and finisher with capabilities in laser cutting, machining, forming, welding, and finishing. Similar mid-sized B2B contract manufacturer profile serving industrial OEMs with a comparable mix of services.
• Metaltek International: Metal casting and fabrication provider serving industrial customers across power generation, defense, oil and gas, and general industrial markets. Comparable multi-process manufacturer with similar industrial customer base and project-driven revenue model.
• Astro Machine Works: Custom machining, fabrication, and assembly provider serving industrial customers across multiple end-markets. Comparable contract manufacturing model combining precision machining, fabrication, and welding under one roof for OEM customers.
• Graham Corporation: Batavia, NY-based fabricator of critical equipment for the defense, nuclear, and process industries, including ASME-stamped pressure vessels and heat transfer equipment. Closely comparable in defense/nuclear certification posture, pressure vessel fabrication, and precision welding for regulated end-markets.

Broad incumbents

• Mestek: Diversified manufacturer of metal products including HVAC equipment, coil processing, and industrial fabrication. Overlaps with Custom Engineering's metal forming and fabrication capabilities, particularly in heating/platen-related adjacencies, but operates across multiple unrelated verticals.
• Worthington Enterprises: Diversified industrial manufacturer with significant pressure cylinder, steel processing, and consumer products operations. Overlaps with Custom Engineering in pressure vessel / cylinder manufacturing and metal forming, but operates at much larger scale across many unrelated product lines.
• Precision Castparts Corp: Berkshire Hathaway-owned manufacturer of complex metal components and investment castings for aerospace, power, and industrial markets. Competes for adjacent large-component, high-specification industrial work but at materially larger scale and broader product portfolio.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/customengco
• Facebookfacebook.com/CustomEngineeringEriePA
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/custom-engineering-co
• Instagraminstagram.com/customengineeringco

Compliance9 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Custom Engineering Company