Precision Metal Lathe

It was 1968 when the cost of a new house was $ 15,000.00, gas was 34 cents per gallon and the federal minimum wage was $ 1.60 her hour. It was also the year that an unlikely duo of two young family men decided to venture out and start a business of their own. Norman Leduc and Raymond Boutin, both married, with six children combined, took out a small loan to buy a few pieces of equipment, rented some abandoned warehouse space in Swanton and formed Vermont Precision Tools, Inc.

They combined their one vision of creating a successful business with their distinctly different talents; one was clearly a machinist with a skill for making equipment produce good product at a fast pace; the other had a knack for business, a smooth talking salesman with an appetite to grow the business well beyond the local borders. The business grew at a steady pace, and has expanded several times over the years.

Today VPT operates out of its modern, climate controlled 90,000 sq ft building with more than 150 full time employees at its Swanton, VT headquarters and employs an additional 115 at its Kentucky subsidiary.

The business is now under the control of Leduc’s daughter Monica Greene and long time employee Richard Paquette. An early quote made by one of this companies Founders when asked “why start a company that manufactures product already being made by so many others?” responded “It’s service and quality. We can give good service because we’re so small and we can keep our quality high for the same reason.”

Although we no longer consider ourselves small, we have never lost the commitments made with that earlier statement. With a slate full of family members and long-time employees, the business still has the culture of a “family-run” business, and recognizes that “It’s all about maintaining relationships. Whether it’s our customers, our business associates or our employees, we recognize the need to respect and recognize their individual contributions.”