About Company

Barnes Engineering Company was started by George W. Barnes in 1963 in a 1500 square foot industrial unit located at Santa Ana, California; within two years the Company moved to a 3500 sq. ft. ind. unit in Santa Ana, California. In 1974 the Company moved to a 10,000 sq.ft. industrial unit located in Anaheim, California. 1973 to 1975, of course, was the worst economic, setback that the U.S. experienced since the Great Depression of the 1930’s and 1940’s. The Company came through this period quite well with the founder’s emphasis on a diversified product mix, which was apropos for that period of the economy.

Barnes Engineering Company was fabricating Solid Bearing Precision slides, precision electronic chassis and also set up an engineering prototype printed Circuit Board Division. The majority of the work was military oriented. The Business was originally set-up to manufacture a complete line of precision slides, both solid-bearing and a new revolutionary precision, stamped steel line of Ball Bearing Slides.

In 1967 Barnes Engineering Company obtained an SBA loan of $18,000, which was of great benefit to the initial line of precision slides; this new invention by Barnes Engineering Company forever changed the industrial world's use of slides. Up to this time a precision steel, stamped slide did not exist in the world.

By 1977 the Company was positioned to produce a more extensive line of slides and after paying off the original SBA loan. At this time we decided to develop a new ultra heavy duty ball-bearing slide and to produce this new line and our entire slide line in stainless steel in both our Heavy-duty Line and our standard line of slides; to this day we remain the only precision slide manufacturer that produces slides in stainless steel.

In 1990 the Company made a decision to move from Anaheim, California to Colorado Springs, Colorado. The economic development people in Colorado Springs established enterprise zones with incentives to move manufacturing companies.