When your customers’ lives depend on your products, you take extra care in manufacturing each piece.

That’s one reason AO Precision Manufacturing LLC of Daytona Beach, Florida, pays so much attention to quality, says president Stephen Koch.

The Daytona Beach company makes the internal parts for M16s used by the U.S. military. “People’s lives depend on our product being perfect the first time and every time,” Koch says. “The workmanship has to be precise.”

The company’s attention to producing mistake-free parts is one of the reasons it was named Manufacturer of the Year for 2009 by the Volusia Manufacturers Association. Other reasons included a strategic plan for growth, employee involvement, and customer satisfaction, according to Jayne Fifer, president of the association.

“AO Precision is an excellent example of what a company can do with very clear objectives,” she says. “They truly deserve to be awarded 2009 Manufacturer of the Year.”

The company has recorded double digit growth for six years, including a 38-percent jump in 2009.

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