Fifty years ago, Chappel Blaine Allen and his wife, Karen, turned the key and unlocked the doors of Cadiz Machine & Tool on Nunn Boulevard for the first time.
They had three employees, two active customers — and were wide-eyed after a recent move from Alton, Illinois.
Today, on its golden anniversary, Kentucky Machine & Engineering boasts 41 employees housed within three buildings on a 13-acre property, totaling 77,000 square feet of manufacturing space that’s quaintly kept along 590 Glenwood Mill Road.
Of those 41 employees, 11 of them come from the Allen family, in what’s been a legacy and clear message of customer service, county support and continued excellence within the steel and aluminum industry.
During Friday’s luncheon and celebration with current and former employees, as well as scores of local and regional dignitaries, KME CEO Steve Allen credited staff as the biggest reason for the company’s exponential growth and success.
In what Allen called an unprecedented achievement, more than 40 percent of KME’s workforce has been with the company 20-plus years. A handful of attending retirees held the same amount of experience before punching a clock for the final time.
More than 20 members of the Allen family and their close associates have worked within the organization over the last five decades — yet Allen noted that business stayed out, and continues to stay out, of the family home per mom and dad’s orders.
With business quickly growing from 1971-76, Allen said Cadiz Machine & Tool expanded to nearly 15 regular customers, and in 1976, the family brokered a deal to purchase a 7,500-square-foot facility that was formerly Viking Engineering on Glenwood Mill Road.
Once there, business boomed. KME now serves nearly 60 regular machinist customers across 23 states while shipping work to five foreign countries.
Allen vividly remembers those early days, when no job was off limits. If it wasn’t shotgun wads for Smith & Wesson, it was boat trailers for local enthusiasts. Diversifying was the answer.
So when did KME really take its big leap into a much larger industrial world? Allen believes it was in 1985, when the family decided it was time to purchase its first Toshiba CNC Boring Mill — which led to a deeper dive into the steel and aluminum industry.
In the last year, Allen said the company has spent roughly $300,000 on new equipment and upgrades — which will be a primary focus within the short-range plan.
Training on new industry standards and skills will also be a priority, Allen added, which includes partnerships with both Kentucky Alliance and Hopkinsville Community College to help create the next generation of workers.
Of the 41 employees currently at KME, 11 have served 1-to-5 years, eight have served 6-to-10 years, three have served 11-to-15 years, five have served 21-to-25 years, three have served 26-to-30 years, five have served 31-to-35 years, one has served 36-to-40 years, and one has served the company 47 years.
