Precision Process

Precision Process manufactures chemical processing equipment for a wide range of applications, including electroplating, electroless plating, anodizing, electroforming, electropolishing, electro-chemical deburring, phosphating, black oxide finishing, cleaning and etching.

Origins of Precision Process (PPE)

• Precision Process has its origins in several chemical process equipment manufacturers. In the 1970s and 1980s, a California-based company named Robins and Craig manufactured a wide array of automatic hoist lines and reel-to-reel plating systems.
• Shortly following the death of one of the owners, one of the remaining principals, Douglas Stewart, left and formed Stewart Technologies Inc. (STI) in Phoenix, Arizona. STI specialized in manufacturing automatic hoist lines and reel-to-reel lines, as well as wire plating systems.
• American Plating Systems (APS) was a California-based manufacturer of automated hoist lines and semiconductor wafer plating tools. The company was owned and presided over by Ken Lowery. The company thrived in the 1980s and through the 1990s manufacturing automated hoist lines, in particular, fully-enclosed barrel plating systems. Original development of PPE’s hoist control software, Automotion 8000, occurred at APS.
• Following the retirement of Ken Lowery at APS, the assets and intellectual property of APS were acquired by STI in Phoenix. This included the Automotion 8000 software code. Some of the engineers at APS also became employees at STI.
• Precision Process (PPE) was formed in 1996, manufacturing reel-to-reel plating equipment for its sister company Precious Plate, as well as automatic hoist lines. PPE purchased the assets and intellectual property of STI.  Some of the employees from both APS and STI also joined PPE.