Superior Machine & Welding, Inc.

About Superior Machine & Welding, Inc.

Superior Machine & Welding operates from a 10,000-square-foot facility on Ship Avenue in Anchorage, Alaska. The shop traces its roots to 1950 when Jack L. Whitmore purchased the original 3,400-square-foot operation and later reclaimed land from Ship Creek to expand. A 1964 addition brought the current footprint and added two Lodge & Shipley oil-country lathes and a five-ton overhead crane. Today the business is owned by Jantina Lunsford, a WOSB-certified woman owner and daughter of the previous proprietor, continuing the family-owned legacy. The shop provides full-service machining, welding, and custom fabrication. Machining capacity includes two large-bore lathes with 28-inch swing and 40-foot material capacity, a five-axis and a three-axis horizontal boring mill, three Bridgeport-style knee mills with rotary tables, a two-axis CNC toolroom lathe, a custom-controlled CNC knee mill, a 4×8 CNC plasma/oxy-fuel cutter, an 18-inch Blanchard grinder holding ±0.00038 inch, a 24-inch vertical shaper for internal keyways, and 40- and 160-ton hydraulic presses for straightening. Welding covers TIG, MIG, stick, and brazing on materials from mild steel and aluminum to exotic alloys such as Inconel, Hastelloy, and titanium; the shop is noted for cast-iron repair and aluminum TIG work. Customers span nearly every sector in Alaska: marine, heavy equipment, oilfield, trailers, wood-stove manufacturers, federal and military agencies, state and local government, corporations, and private citizens. The company emphasizes that local presence offsets higher pricing versus Lower-48 shops by eliminating shipping delays and providing rapid turnaround.

Equipment

• Lodge & Shipley Oil Country big bore lathes (2)
• 5-axis horizontal boring mill (manual, 38" XYZ travel, 3000 lb table)
• 3-axis horizontal boring mill (larger table)
• Bridgeport-style vertical knee mills with rotary tables (3)
• 2-axis CNC toolroom lathe
• CNC-adapted Bridgeport mill (custom in-house controller and motor)
• 4x8 CNC plasma cutter with oxy-fuel capability
• 40-ton hydraulic press
• 160-ton hydraulic press
• 18-inch HE&M horizontal band saw (48" feed, ±0.010" repeatability)
• 14-inch vertical band saw
• 18-inch Blanchard grinder (±0.00038" thickness tolerance)
• Dumore precision tool post grinder
• 24-inch vertical shaper (12" stroke, 4" taper)
• Lincoln TIG welders (2)
• Miller stick welders (2)
• Miller CPU-controlled power supply with steel/aluminum wire feeders

Company details

Location

Anchorage, Alaska

Company type

Contract manufacturer / job shop

Founded

1950

Ownership

Family-owned, Small business

Listed under

• Welding in Alaska
• Metal Fabrication & Machining in Alaska

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