We must play. We must play. We must EAT.

Bill Peters started college with the intent of becoming a professional musician. A professor at his college arranged for free recording sessions at a professional recording studio in Los Angeles, at late off-hours, of course, but even that was cool about the experience.

Bill played bass guitar, French horn, piano, sax, and sang, too, but as talented as that, the competition in the professional music world is stiff, with many years “paying your dues” for not much compensation.

Bill had plans that began with a girlfriend whose mother worked at a Salem start-up real estate lock company that grew to become Supra. He needed a regular job. He impressed her by taking one at Supra as an apprentice machinist. The year, as they say in music retrospects, was 1971.

Bill took to machining, earning his Journeyman Certification from the State of Oregon in 1980. He moved on to six years with Salem Equipment and 10 with Schrieber Machine.

Bill was initially hired by Precision as a programmer/machinist, after just one year he was promoted to Shop Superintendent. That was 22 years ago. Maybe it goes with the inclination to make music, but Bill prefers the family environment, knowing all his co-workers, and sharing in the accomplishments you can only make as a team.

“What do I do? I’m the guy between the sales force and the shop, not as a wall, but a bridge. Engineers’ concerns are different from machinists and fabricators. I’m not saying one is more important than the other, just different. It takes both perspectives to not only make a more innovative, longer-lasting, and valued product; but to make that product faster, easier and more efficiently without compromising quality.”

Bill has two foremen that report to him. He and his team have the responsibility for the layout of the shop, the work schedule, coordinating all projects and jobs in the shop, work assignments, and training.

Besides spending time with his wife and family of four sons and grandchildren, hunting, fishing, camping and trail-riding, Bill has been known to occasionally share a pearl of philosophical wisdom.

“Enjoy what you’re doing and you’ll become good at it. That old adage always appealed to me. I just enjoyed machining and stayed with it. Music has been a great part of my life, too, but I had to make a decision to take care of my family. It was just right for me.”