Dave Henriksen and Zakery Karnes operate Aremco and produce components for the aerospace and mining industries. 

Karnes holds a finished component machined at his shop in Grand Rapids. 

A view of Aremco's CNC machine in use. 

Tools and materials at Aremco. 

Besides CNC machines, Aremco uses a wide-variety of manual tools. 

Dave Henriksen and Zakery Karnes operate Aremco and produce components for the aerospace and mining industries. 

Karnes holds a finished component machined at his shop in Grand Rapids. 

A view of Aremco's CNC machine in use. 

Tools and materials at Aremco. 

Besides CNC machines, Aremco uses a wide-variety of manual tools. 

In downtown Grand Rapids, there lies an unassuming garage. It doesn’t stand out and is marked only by a small sign on the door, but inside the doors, its proprietors are creating some of the most precisely-machined components used in the aerospace industry. 

Aremco is one of the few aerospace and ISO-certified machine shops in the Northland. Owners Zak Karnes and Dave Henriksen used a combination of Computer Numerical Controlled (CNC) and manual machines to provide prototypes and production run components. 

A CNC machine uses a program to control the operation of machine tools such as lathes and mills. It takes a raw material, such as metal or plastic, and cuts, grinds, drills, turns, mills, and/or shapes it into parts that meet exact specifications.

Henriksen is a master machinist and has decades of combined lathe and mill experience in precision. Many of their products have .0002-inch tolerances on diameters, bores and other features. Their products can be as small as 1/8th-of-an-inch in diameter and incredibly precise.

“It takes a lot of experience to be able to do it,” Henriksen said. “It’s not a run-of-the-mill machine shop.”

Besides lathe work, Aremco also has gear cutting/hobbing capabilities. They specialize in small tooth gear products and shafts. Henriksen also has 25 years of experience dedicated to CNC milling practices in the mining, powersports, firearms and the food and beverage industries.

Aremco has a long history. It was founded in 1961 in Chicago. Over the years, it moved to Minneapolis and then Grand Rapids. Karnes and Henriksen purchased the business in July 2021. 

Karnes said they primarily work with aluminum and stainless steel, but they also machine steel and exotic metals, such as oil-impregnated brass. Other materials include Delrin plastic and beryllium copper. 

Aremco is ISO 9001:2015 certified and AS 9100:2016 certified. These certifications ensure an organization has adequate quality management systems in place. Many aerospace manufacturers and suppliers will work only with certified partners. As a result, AS 9100 certification is important for any aerospace-related company.

Although they work mainly in the aerospace industry, the two owners are setting their sights closer to home and hope to fill machine hours with local customers in the mining industry. 

Karnes said they have the capability of milling and turning for local customers, such as plates, rods, bearing axles, and more.

“We’re looking at opening up to local markets,” Karnes said. “We’re working with a few local companies and we’d like to expand and hire additional employees.”

For more information, visit aremcomachining.com or email dave@aremcomachining.com.

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