 Magazine Feature
Story
High-Tech
Mil-Spec
By Jay Winchester
Published: January 2009
Dr. Nancy Crews and Custom
Manufacturing & Engineering provide power and security
solutions for modern war fighters.
There is an element to armed conflict between countries
that tests the resolve of a nation. Many times, it also
tests the resolve and the resources of its industry. It
is one thing to go to war; It is quite another to go
prepared to win the conflict. In terms of innovative
technology and its applications to conflict, today’s
United States Armed Forces are better equipped than any
other force in our history and possibly the world.
Maintaining that type of combat advantage frequently
depends on the ability of corporate America to research
and manufacture advanced weapons and security systems
capable of assisting the efforts of the war fighter in
securing victory.
While the current conflicts in which we find our country
involved are taking place half a world away, there is a
company here in St. Petersburg that is hard at work
ensuring that our servicemen and women are properly
equipped with the latest in high-tech gear. That company
is Custom Manufacturing & Engineering, Inc. (CME;
www.custom-mfg-eng.com), and it carries out its
mission of creating products enabling its customers to
choose how and when to interact with their world under
the steady leadership of Dr. Nancy Crews, Ph.D., CME’s
President and Owner. “We focus on the research and
development tasks necessary to allow us to engineer and
manufacture equipment with military and security
applications,” says Crews. “Currently, our efforts are
concentrated on two main areas: power supplies for field
applications, and unattended sensor systems. Most of
these efforts are centered on providing solutions to the
Department of Defense (DoD), as well as the Army, Navy
and Marines. We are also targeting the Department of
Homeland Security. And we see other potential government
and civilian applications of these products, especially
in rugged environments.”
In terms of the power supplies, CME’s niche is providing
what it calls intelligent power, meaning providing power
sources that are both manageable, distributable,
efficient and transportable. Given the mobile nature of
an army in the field or a navy at sea, one can readily
understand the attraction of reliable and powerful power
sources. This is essential when forces encamp and
require power for a variety of applications involved in
sheltering, feeding and protecting personnel.
On the sensor side, CME’s efforts are focused on sensor
systems that can be applied in the areas of force or
perimeter protection and will function while unattended.
One CME product is a laser tripwire. When placed around
an encampment, any intruder who break the laser’s beam
by passing through it sets off alarms that trigger a
security and defensive response.
A second product in CME’s arsenal of high-tech gear is a
360° imaging sensor. This device is capable of providing
security personnel with a full omni-directional view of
all activities within and without the secure perimeter
of an installation. Images are transmitted to a central
command post where image quality and alerts can be
monitored.
 Since both products operate in an unattended mode,
personnel are freed for other tasks. Think about the
last World War II movie you saw, and remember how almost
any scene centered on a platoon’s encampment typically
featured sentries posted overnight for security
purposes. The laser tripwire and 360° imaging system
virtually eliminate such requirements, although the
human factor still plays a part. As one might imagine,
the ideal customer for CME’s products is the war fighter
who appreciates quality tech and its effectiveness.
CME’s veteran Engineering and Manufacturing staffs
enable it to quickly move products from the initial idea
phase all the way through the product phase.
As for the company itself, CME traces its origins back
to a spin-off effort of Lockheed Martin, one of the
world’s leading developers of mil-spec tech. “I was
tasked with assisting a downsizing and conversion effort
of a nuclear defense plant in Largo,” says Crews. “I was
chosen because of a background in both technology and
marketing. The effort was focused on converting that
facility to a civilian company and saving local jobs.”
Today, CME is staffed with approximately 70 employees,
half of whom are engineers. There is also a small office
located in New Jersey.
Dr. Crews started her career in chemistry, having earned
both her doctorate and undergrad degrees in that subject
at Virginia Tech and University of Florida,
respectively. After school, she took a position at
Eastman Kodak, working as a scientist. Although she was
well-versed in her chosen scientific discipline, she
found herself growing increasingly curious about
marketing. Deciding to move her career in that
direction, she ultimately became a program manager for a
family of company products.
While one might expect to find a woman running a
marketing company, it’s a bit of a surprise to find one
running a manufacturer of products with a military
application, especially when one tends to think of the
military as a predominately male organization. Crews,
herself the product of a military family, doesn’t see it
that way. “Today, there are more women in the sciences
and in the military than ever before,” she says.
“However, even though we can be considered a defense
contractor, our business challenges are the same as any
other business, and we face them every day.”
Among those challenges is finding good customers. “I
believe that the quality of your customer does as much
to define your organization as your personnel and your
products,” Nancy says. “In our business, we don’t always
have a direct path with the end user, in this instance,
the war fighter. However, we do have a better handle on
the challenges of finding those good customers than we
had early on.”
“Early on” was nearly 11 years ago. “It has been a fast
11 years,” Crews admits, “but it certainly doesn’t seem
like it. We feel good with where the company is today,
but we are definitely future-focused.” When asked how
the company was doing, she responded by saying it was
“…doing well and on the verge of growth. We have refined
both our marketplace and our customer base. We desire to
continue manufacturing here in the United States and
continue building tech for our war fighters in the
field, wherever they may be.”
 The biggest challenge facing CME is, as one might guess
in today’s business climate, the economy. “I am
continually focused on the economic climate, and
determining how it will affect our business and our
industry,” Crews says. “However, our prospects look good
at the DoD.”
When not at work, Dr. Crews enjoys time well-spent with
her husband and two sons. The Tampa resident is also an
avid reader who is especially fond of the works penned
by best-selling author Dean Koontz. “I am an avid
learner who loves to read,” she says, finding it a
pastime that not only fulfills the learner in her, but
also provides a period of relaxation away from the
concerns of running the business.
This is not to suggest that Crews takes business
lightly, merely that she is selective in where she
chooses to focus her energies. This results from lessons
learned from her former manager and mentor at Eastman
Kodak, Lynn Hamb. “He used to always tell me, ‘You only
have so many silver bullets at your disposal, so use
them selectively’,” she recalls. “It’s a lesson I use
every day.”
Mentoring is a key activity at CME. The company works
closely with John M. Sexton Elementary School,
sponsoring fundraising breakfasts and participating in
other fund drives. Additionally, the company pays each
employee one hour’s worth of time spent mentoring and
tutor students. Crews herself participates in the
Mayor’s Mentors & More program, started by incumbent St.
Pete Mayor Rick Baker. The aim is to help bring
corporations and the community together to make area
schools become the very best learning institutions they
can be.
While that is vital work, CME’s efforts might be even
more so. After all, securing the future for our children
means securing the present as much as possible. It is a
mission to which the company is totally committed. “As a
company, we have the capability to produce quality
products for a deserving customer base, the U.S. war
fighter,” Crews says. “That is what we do. We take pride
that our Armed Forces make good use of our products. We
feel like we are contributing to their success.”
While no civilized nation of people with good intent
should ever choose war over any other option, it is just
as important that that same nation of people realize
that the young men and women chosen to go and fight are
deserving of our love, prayers and respect. No resource
should be spared in ensuring their safety, security, and
ability to fulfill their mission and return safely home.
That is CME’s commitment, just as it should be all of
ours.
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