Dearborn

What Dearborn does

Dearborn, Inc. is a privately held, family-controlled precision machining services provider headquartered in Berea, Ohio, operating continuously in deep-hole drilling since 1947 (originally as Howard Dearborn, Inc.) and incorporated under its current form in 1967. The company offers an integrated portfolio of gundrilling (up to 600:1 depth-to-diameter ratio, up to 32 feet deep, hole drift under 0.001 inch per inch), trepanning, CNC turning and milling, honing (microfinishes down to 8 RMS), precision straightening, pattern drilling, and secondary finishing services (passivation, anodizing, chrome plating, etc.). Its core technical differentiator is the proprietary, trademarked Borecentric® process — a tube-drilling technique that maintains bore concentricity without removing OD material, reducing waste on expensive alloys such as Inconel, titanium, and zirconium. All equipment is designed and built in-house because commercial machinery cannot meet the company's tolerance specifications.

The company serves six primary regulated verticals: Aerospace (engine shafts, landing gear, actuator components), Nuclear (reactor core components for the U.S. Navy nuclear submarine program and commercial reactors, including beryllium and hafnium parts), Medical (cannulated surgical instruments, cochlear implant and stent tubing), Steel (temperature probes, hardened rolls, molybdenum drilling), Oil and Gas (downhole drilling hardware and fracking components), and Composites (pultrusion dies). It holds ITAR registration, AS9100, and ISO 9001:2015 certifications, qualifying it for defense, aerospace prime, and other safety-critical work. Revenue is generated on a project-based custom-quote model with no publicly disclosed pricing; customers engage through direct sales representatives and RFQ submissions via email or phone. The company employs 51–100 people at a single Ohio facility, with no disclosed venture or institutional ownership, and leadership includes a CEO (Peter C. Holmes), President (Joanna Dearborn), and a small direct sales team.

Name

Dearborn

Legal name

Dearborn, Inc.

Website

https://dearborninc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1967

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Dearborn, Inc. is a privately held, family-controlled precision machining services provider in Berea, Ohio, offering proprietary deep-hole gundrilling, Borecentric® tubing, trepanning, honing, and CNC services to aerospace, nuclear, medical, oil and gas, steel, and composites customers since 1947.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Berea

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Precision Machining Services: Dearborn generates revenue through providing precision machining services including gundrilling, trepanning, CNC turning, CNC milling, honing, precision straightening, and pattern drilling. Services are project-based with customers submitting RFQs for specific components. The company provides full-service precision machining from initial planning to final shipment, handling entire projects in-house to eliminate subcontracting delays.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Dearborn, Inc. is a precision machining services provider specializing in deep-hole drilling and finishing operations for industrial customers. The company offers gundrilling, trepanning, the proprietary Borecentric® tube drilling process, CNC turning and milling, pattern drilling, honing, and precision straightening on exotic metals, alloys, and superalloys for aerospace, nuclear, medical, oil and gas, steel, and composites manufacturers.

Product overview

Dearborn, Inc. is a precision machining service provider offering a unified portfolio of deep-hole drilling and finishing services. The core offerings include Gundrilling (deep hole drilling up to 600:1 depth-to-diameter ratio), Trepanning (larger diameter drilling with core preservation), Borecentric Tubing (proprietary curved-tube drilling), CNC Machining (turning and milling), Pattern Drilling (tight-tolerance sequential holes), Honing (precision surface finishing), Precision Straightening, and Additional Services (grinding, plating, finishing). These services are offered as an integrated full-service precision machining solution, eliminating the need for clients to manage multiple subcontractors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Borecentric®: Proprietary process that follows the curve of a tube while drilling and maintains incredibly tight tolerances. Originally developed for the nuclear industry for tube hollows for nuclear fuel tubes.

Products and services

• Gundrilling

Quantifiable outcome

• Depth-to-diameter ratio up to 600:1 in gundrilling applications
• +5 more outcomes

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Tegra Medical: Tegra Medical provides precision contract manufacturing for medical devices, including implants and surgical instruments. Comparable in serving medical OEMs with tight-tolerance tubing and machined components.
• Hitchcock Industries: Hitchcock Industries provides precision machined components for aerospace and defense, including complex flight-critical parts. Comparable in serving aerospace primes with high-tolerance custom manufacturing.
• Norman Noble: Norman Noble is a precision machining services provider specializing in medical device and aerospace components from difficult-to-machine alloys. Highly comparable in serving regulated OEMs with ultra-precision tolerances and exotic material expertise.
• J&E Precision Tool: J&E Precision Tool provides precision deep-hole drilling and CNC machining services for aerospace, medical, and industrial customers. Directly comparable to Dearborn in gundrilling and precision boring capabilities.
• Micro Precision Industries: Micro Precision Industries provides precision CNC machining for aerospace, defense, and industrial markets. Comparable in offering tight-tolerance custom machining with capabilities in exotic alloys.
• Decatur Precision Technology: Decatur Precision Technology provides precision CNC machining and grinding for aerospace, medical, and industrial customers. Comparable in serving similar regulated industries with high-precision custom manufacturing.
• Eldec Corporation: Eldec (a Crane Co. business) manufactures custom inductive products and precision machined components for aerospace and defense. Comparable in producing high-precision parts from exotic alloys for regulated industries.

Emerging players

• Proto Labs: Proto Labs provides digital on-demand manufacturing including CNC machining for rapid prototyping and low-volume production. Comparable in offering custom precision manufacturing services, though focused on shorter lead times and digital ordering.

Broad incumbents

• Precision Castparts Corp: Precision Castparts is a major supplier of complex metal components for aerospace, power, and industrial markets. Comparable as a broad incumbent in precision metal manufacturing, though with much greater scale and scope.
• Magellan Aerospace: Magellan Aerospace is a larger aerospace manufacturer providing complex machined assemblies and engine components. Comparable as a broader aerospace precision machining incumbent, though much larger in scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 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 Dearborn