Featured Merchants

October 8th, 2009

The Technical Mind
by lyle e davis

My dad was one of those guys who could take anything apart, fix it, and put it back together again and not have any pieces left over. Old Bumblefingers here, I have a hard time screwing in a light bulb. I’ve always admired folks who could fix things . . . who could build things . . . who could create beautiful items out of raw material. Such a person is Keith Gerland of Gerland Machine in San Marcos. The man is amazing.

It must be genetic. His dad was a pattern maker. Keith, though he never finished high school, is pretty much self taught. He attended a machinist’s school in Denver, Colorado, and finished the two year accelerated class in record time.

“I just seem to have a natural aptitude,” he says. “I’m good at math. I’ve always been able to look at a problem, figure it out, and come up with a solution. That’s probably why we’ve been able to attract so many clients that deal in electronics and the research type of problems. A number of our clients work with complex laser equipment. We’ve built integral parts for their machinery, lab machines, . . . whatever they need, we build.”

Gerland works with military precision so it’s natural that he has contracted with companies that work with the military. While he doesn’t have to worry about working with top secret stuff, he supplies equipment that becomes part of the end result . . . which often may well be top secret.

“On experimental military itmes, we’ll help design the parts in order to get better functions. Usually our clients come to us . . . occasionally we’ll go to their facility to view the challenge. We’ll study it, then come back here and work out a solution.”

Gerland has been in his present location since 2001 and has developed not only a steady list of impressive clients but also an impressive staff that supports his company. That staff has the finest machining equipment you can imagine. “It’s all part of our commitment to quality,” says Gerland. “We have the top equipment, highly trained technical staff, and the place is so clean you could eat off the floor.” (True. I’ve seen their machine shop and their impressive array of lathes, and other computer controlled precision equipment. The shop was spotless). “We expect, our clients expect, only the finest in quality material. That is what has made us successful. We work on both prototypes and new product development in a variety of disciplines. We workon laser, underwater propulsion, military and medical industires. They all seem quite happy with out work and our pricing.”

“You have two types of people,” he says. “One type gets a college degree, then picks out a career. The other type goes into a trade, learns all they can, practices the profession, invests in himself, in top drawer equipment, works their way up to the top, using their natural talent and natural work ethic. We’re the second type."

For information on Gerland Machine, go to their website at: http://gerlandmachine.com/

They are located at:

120 N Pacific St, Suite L 12
San Marcos, CA 92069
(760) 744-0821

Machinist Jose Penalosa	Machinist Scott Hook at Haas Machine