Video: Emerging Leader Vinny Campellone Started Company During Pandemic

Emerging Leader Vinny Campellone’s confidence was built partially from his success transitioning from working as a machinist to opening his own machine shop. He is now focused on growing his company and looking for new opportunities for business.Learn more about Campellone here.

With an entrepreneurial mindset and a passion for precision machining, it is not surprising that Vinny Campellone began his own machine shop after working for other shops for 11 years. He started PenCo Precision (Wilmington, North Carolina) in 2019 and began getting jobs a month prior to the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Despite the pandemic, PenCo has been successful. “It was a huge risk but it immediately hit the ground running,” Campellone says. “We made sure our work would set us apart. We took the hard jobs; we had competitive pricing, great quality, desirable customer relationships, and we worked around the clock to make sure the foundation of PenCo Precision was built on impeccable standards. It worked for us — our first year in business was groundbreaking.”

According to his nominator, Aaron Lichtig, vice president of marketing at Xometry, Campellone’s hard work and partnership with Xometry enabled him to build his company during this time from a one- to two-person shop and doubled his number of machines.

Campellone made sure his company’s work would set it apart from its competitors. PenCo Precision took the hard jobs; it had competitive pricing and great quality. The staff worked around the clock to make sure the company’s foundation was built on impeccable standards. Photo Credit: PenCo Precision

Campellone and his growing team have ambitious expansion goals for 2021. His mission statement is, "To provide customers with the highest quality products in a timely manner but to do it in a cost-effective way. We strive to understand the customers’ processes and the challenges that come with them. Helping bring to life our customers' designs and visions is the goal in any of our customer relationships."

PenCo Precision’s customers echo this motto, providing positive feedback about his team's skill and customer orientation.

“My vision for the future of PenCo Precision is to continue to grow like every other owner wants but to continue providing our customers with the quality they deserve, building more business partnerships and expanding into areas other than machining," Campellone says.

To learn more about Campellone and his advice for machine shop management, as well as other 2021 Emerging Leaders, read, “Young Leaders Define Their Business Strategies.”