KYLE MURPHYStaff Writer

Gov. Bill Lee, government officials and CG Model Tek LLC leadership announced Tuesday, March 11, the company will expand its manufacturing operations to Coffee County.

“What happens in rural Tennessee matters to all Tennesseans, and I thank CG Model Tek for its investment in Coffee County,” Lee said. “I look forward to seeing the positive impact these high-quality jobs will bring to the families across this community.”

Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development (TNECD) Commissioner Stuart C. McWhorter echoed Lee’s sentiment, adding that with assets like Arnold Air Force Base and the University of Tennessee Space Institute, Tullahoma was the quintessential location to support CG Model Tek.

“Tennessee’s aerospace and defense industry will be strengthened because of today’s announcement, and we are grateful to all our partners who helped to bring this project to fruition,” McWhorter said.

CG Model Tek will invest $4.5 million and create 32 jobs through the project, which includes purchasing the assets of longtime Tullahoma stable Micro Craft. CG Model Tek will operate similarly to Micro Craft, serving the aerospace and defense industry.

Tullahoma Mayor Lynn Sebourn said the city was fortunate that CG Model Tek chose to locate in Tullahoma and keep the former Micro Craft facility operating.

”Their unique facilities support critical national defense operations, and the CG Model Tek team are the only ones that could have saved the facility from being auctioned,” Sebourn said. “It was important for the city and the state to keep machines at CG Model Tek running to maintain our aerospace legacy and keep those technical jobs. We were pleased to use our city’s small business loan to help this entrepreneurial company, and we worked with our TNECD partners to introduce them to the other economic development stakeholders in our region.”

Having spent over 30 years in the aerospace wind tunnel model and development industry, Chris Athaide, CEO of CG Model Tek, said there has always been a need for multiple players on the field.”

“With the loss of Micro Craft, there would have been a significant challenge in the U.S. aerospace industry to support the development needs for both the commercial and defense players,” Athaide said. “We are proud to help fill that need as well as being able to partner with the local and state staff to create something meaningful for the community, the U.S. aerospace base and, most importantly, the war fighter.” 

What Happened at Micro Craft?

The question about what happened at Micro Craft has been a topic of discussion among the community since February 2024, where Micro Craft employees were sent home with the alleged reason being it had closed permanently.

According to Athaide, he was told that Micro Craft had outstanding loans and a revenue crunch as they were not delivering on some programs for some customers.

 ”They were still stuck in design and, and a lot of their revenue was based on actual fabrication and getting things built,” Athaide said.  ”They had a lot of overhead people doing a lot of different minutiae tasks, so to speak. So, that kind of drain their cash flow and their revenue was coming up short.”

Athaide said he believed the CEO, President and other high leveled officials were let go weeks before Micro Craft closed its doors due to the cash flow issues and the bank not extend further loans.

“The receivership that was handling this kept some people in to make sure that the facility wouldn’t fall into disrepair because they had no idea how long this was going to take,” Athaide said.

John Statum, who worked at Micro Craft at the time, said he was a part of a four-person skeleton crew who were brought into the receivership and stayed on to make sure the building, equipment and other assets were in good shape for either a buyer or an auction.

Athaide said he was surprised to hear Micro Craft’s closure, and reached out to Statum, who now serves as Vice President of Operations/AFSO of CG Model Tek LLC, about the news, as Micro Craft was one of three competitors in the industry, including Tri Models and Calspan, and the news spread fast.

 “For them to go down was huge in industry because it’s very niche industry, and customers need this support. Government needs it,” Athaide said.  

 Instead of letting Micro Craft go to the side, Athaide and Gautam Sharma, who serves as President of CG Model Tek LLC, quickly took action with the goal to fill the void by getting the facility back up and back to what it was doing as before.

“We did this fast,” Athaide recalled. “We had the deal. I ripped up a business plan and got it submitted. We had the offer accepted in less than 10 days.”

He said the offer for Micro Craft’s assets and location was accepted in July 2024 and closed on a loan on Sept. 30 and opened its doors on Oct. 1. CG Model Tek LLC has since hired 20 people, some of which were former Micro Craft employees.

“The great thing that came from all this is Chris and his partners stepped up and they bought this facility and because of the work they already do, the reputation they have, some of the contacts that we share, there’s a lot of excitement in the industry,” Statum said. 

The Reception

Since reopening its doors, Athaide said its customers, like Boeing and Lockheed Martin, have be thankful for saving the work that Micro Craft was handling because they knew the industry couldn’t survive.

“We’ve had nothing but positive feedback from all the customers,” Statum said. “The resource is back and that’s what’s exciting for the town. That’s what’s excited for the people.”

Athaide said they were looking to reestablish connections with customers that had fallen off over the years with Micro Craft.

“We’re hoping to scale and be able to support a lot of the local work because the base has a lot of money set aside for development or advancement,” Athaide said. “We’re really open to tie in to a lot of that in the near term.”

Statum said he’s excited to be able to bring skilled trade jobs back to the local community, as many trade jobs and shops have shut down over the years.

“You had Universal Technology shut down and then Micro Craft shut down. That was a big piece of the machinist type market in this area,” Statum said. “I’m thrilled to see that coming back.”

Alongside its customers, various government officials have praised CG Model Tek LLC for its decision to call Tullahoma home. John Bradley, Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) senior vice president of economic development, said both TVA and the Tullahoma Utilities Authority commend CG Model Tek’s decision to establish operations in Coffee County.

“Helping to support companies that create job opportunities and investment in the region is fundamental to TVA’s mission of service,” Bradley said. “We are proud to partner with the Industrial Board of Coffee County, Tullahoma Chamber of Commerce, Middle Tennessee Industrial Development Association and the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development to further that mission and celebrate this announcement together.”

State Sen. Janice Bowling (R-Tullahoma) was excited about being part of the announcement of CG Model Tek’s $4.5 million investment in Tullahoma.

“CG Model Tek plays a key role in both the aerospace and defense sectors, and this investment will create more than 30 new jobs,” Bowling said. “I want to extend my thanks to everyone who contributed to making this milestone possible. We look forward to the positive impact this will have on our community and state.”

State Rep. Rush Bricken (R-Tullahoma) added the investment and creation of jobs was a tremendous win for both Tullahoma and the entire region.

“This is a strong demonstration of the continued growth and innovation happening in Tennessee’s aerospace and defense industries, and I am proud to see companies like CG Model Tek choosing to invest in our community,” Bricken said.

For more information about CG Model Tek, visit its website here.