From rocket parts to phone chips, A.R. Machining has been precision-cutting parts for 37 years. The Hutto-based business is family-owned and -operated—part-owner Matthew Dobias works with his brother, two sisters and various other family members at A.R. Machining.

Dobias’ father and uncle started the business together in 1979. Dobias’ now-retired father bought it out in 1995 and asked Dobias if he was interested in operating it in 2010, when he graduated from college.

“It was the right timing, and I jumped at it,” he said. “I started the process of buying [my dad] out in 2010. I haven’t looked back since.”

The company primarily machines parts for the aerospace and oil and gas industries. Using computer software, the machines can cut pieces with a precision up to one ten-thousandth of an inch—or one-tenth of the thickness of  human hair. Dobias said the company works mostly with metals such as aluminum or steel, though A.R. Machining can cut plastic, rubber and other materials.

“We’ll set up the software, cut a prototype, and do whatever it takes to make what you’re after a reality,” he said. “Give us a chance to make it happen.”

This is the company’s second time in Hutto. It originally opened in Manor in 1979, moved to Hutto, then to Pflugerville and back to Hutto in 2004.

“We bought a building in Pflugerville, and it was directly where they ended up putting the toll road,” Dobias said. “Moving to Hutto was originally a short-term thing, because they were able to push permits through for us. We were familiar with Hutto already, and in two years of being here the company expanded 450 percent.”

Dobias said A.R. Machining will always be in Central Texas, which he calls the best location for a company that services all of Texas. He said the company plans to stay in Hutto.

Dobias said he and the company operate by four pillars: “safety, quality, delivery and cost—in that order.”

With a location set, Dobias said he hopes to turn his attention to diversifying the company after the recent oil and gas downturn heavily affected A.R. Machining.

For a company at which the average employee has been employed for 12 years, downturns are difficult, and Dobias is determined to prevent dependence on one industry in the future.

“I hope to diversify locally and get into the technology and medical fields that are growing so fast around Central Texas,” he said. “I owe it to everybody here.”

And with so many family members and longtime friends in the company, Dobias said he values his “close-knit group” and hopes to see it expand over the next few years as they team up with growing industries in the Austin area.

A.R. Machining 632 W. Front St., Hutto 512-759-2003 www.armachining.com