In this historic photo, from left, Jack Campbell, vice president of sales, stands next to the three founders of Penn United Technologies, Carl Jones, president; Robert Becker, vice president; and Charles Barton, secretary-treasurer. Barton, Becker and Jones found the company 40 years ago in a three-stall garage on the Jones Farm in Cabot.

In 1971, Charles Barton (secretary-treasurer), Robert Becker (vice president) and Carl Jones (president) founded Penn United Technologies, Inc., in a three-stall garage on the Jones Farm in Cabot.

The journey that began 40 years ago has left a trail of milestones and a story of success for this Butler County company.

Three years after Penn United was formed, they established the second Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) in Pennsylvania, with 23 employees.

Each additional year brought forth new challenges and triumphs. By 1996, Penn United reached 500 employees, three buildings and sales nearly $40M. The first 25 years in business had shown remarkable growth.

The 21st century brought the loss of their founding fathers; Robert Becker, retiree in December 2003; Carl Jones, CEO in October of 2006, and Charles Barton, retiree in December 2010.

Penn United also endured two economic downturns with sales dropping to a six-year low in 2002, climbing to a record high in 2008, dropping again slightly in 2010, and a strong recovery in 2011.

Moving into fiscal year 2012 with 550 employees, eight buildings and 550,000 sq. ft. of facility space, Penn United is ready to celebrate 40 years of excellence. Through tough economic times, Penn United employees have remained focused on customer satisfaction, market diversification and a commitment to quality.

The next 10 years are being approached with optimism, perseverance, diversity and determination, and learning from the past and embracing the future.

Penn United is a high precision manufacturing solutions provider, headquartered in Cabot since 1971.

Main market segments served include medical, defense, energy, electronics, automotive, and others requiring high precision manufacturing expertise.

Certified to ISO-9001:2008, Penn United provides high precision tooling and dies, metal stamping, precision machining, carbide die components, reel-to-reel electroplating, precision assembly, prototyping, container tooling, tungsten and silicon carbide wear components, custom automated equipment, and advanced manufacturing training.

This article was submitted by Penn United Technologies.