History

The Damon Company was started in 1964 by Wayne Herkness II, and incorporated in the state of Virginia on September 21, 1979. The offices and machine shop were relocated from 2158 Salem Industrial Drive to a 14,000 square foot building on 2117 Salem Industrial Drive in September of 1992.  During the fall of 1999 an additional 18,000 square feet was added to incorporate the tag division, machine shop and archery division under one roof.  Currently all three divisions operate in a state of the art 32,000 square foot facility in Salem, Virginia.

Capabilities

Turning Centers

2 - Nakurma Tome NTJ-100

1 – Doosan PUMA TT1800SY Turning Center with 48 Live Tools, Sub-spindle and Twin Turrets with Y-Axis, Bar Feeder and Chip Conveyor.

1– Doosan PUMA 2600Y Turning Center with 12 Live Tools, 3” OD Bar Capacity, and Chip Conveyor.

1 – Daewoo PUMA 230 MS Turning Center with Live Tooling, Sub-spindle, 2.125” OD Bar Capacity, Bar Feeder, and Chip Conveyor.

1 – Daewoo Lynx 200L Turning Center with Bar Feeder and Chip Conveyor.

1 – Daewoo PUMA 200 MS Turning Center with Live Tooling, Sub-spindle, Bar Feeder, and Chip Conveyor.

1- Citizen D25 Swiss-Style Turning Center

1 – 2015 Swiss-Style Citizen-Cincom K16EVII, 5/8” OD Bar Capacity, 20 Tools, 7 Axes, and 12’ Bar Feeder.

1 – Doosan Lynx 220LM with 12 Live Tools, 2” OD Bar Capacity and Bar Feeder.
1 – KSI 20 Swiss-Style CNC with .75” OD Bar Capacity and Bar Feeder.

1 – KSI 32 Swiss-Style CNC with 1.25” OD Bar Capacity and Bar Feeder.

Vertical Lathes

1 – Doosan MV 3016L CNC 4 Axis Milling Machine with Indexer.
1 – Daewoo DMV 3016 Vertical CNC Milling Center.
1 – Daewoo DMV-500 Vertical CNC Milling Center.
1 – Daewoo Mynx-540 Vertical CNC Milling Center with Indexer.
2 – CNC Series II Bridgeports, 4-Axis.
4 – Series I Bridgeports with Digital Readout.
2 – Sharp Series I Vertical Mills, with Digital Readout.
1 – Supermax Series I Vertical Mill.
1 – Alliant CNC Vertical Mill.

E.D.M.

1 – 2015 VZ500L Sodick Wire EDM
X-Axis Travel = 19.7”; Y-Axis Travel = 13.8”; Z-Axis Travel = 9.8”; Taper Capabilities; Wire Diameter - .004” - .010”.

Laser Markers

1 – TRUMPF TruMark Station 5000, 35 Watt Fiber Laser with Rotary Indexer & 7” Lens.

Surface Grinders

1 – 10” X 20” Kent Surface Grinder with Hydraulic Feed.
1 – 6” X 12” Harig Surface Grinder.
2 – 6” X 12” Mitsui (200 MH) Precision Hand Grinders
      with Micro Dials and Digital Readout.
1 – 6” X 12” Mitsui Precision Hand Grinder.

Punch Presses

1 - Stamtec OCP 35S

1 – 50 Ton Bliss #21 ½ - OBI with Coil Feed.
1 – Henry & Wright Frame Press with Minster Combination.
1 – 35 Ton Bliss #20C – OBI with Coil Feed.
1 – 35 Ton V&O – OBI with Coil Feed.
1 – 32 Ton Minster No. 4 with Coil Feed.
2 – 25 Ton V&O – OBI with Coil Feed.
2 – 25 Ton Alva Allen – OBI with Coil Feed.
1 – 20 Ton Hahnemann – OBI with Coil Feed.
1 – 20 Ton Press Rite #2 – OBI with Coil Feed.
1 – 16 Ton Minster No. 2 Inclined with Coil Feed.
2 – 16 Ton Minster B1-16 with Coil Feed.
1 – 15 Ton Hahnemann – OBI with Coil Feed.
4 – 5 Ton Jordan - with Coil Feed.
1 – 5 Ton Bliss #8.
2 – 5 Ton Bliss #018.
1 – 5 Ton Benchmaster.
3 – 2.5 Ton Press Rite.

Finishing Equipment

2 – Vibratory Deburring Machine, BurrBuster.
1 – Vibratory Deburring Machine, Giant.

Inspection Equipment

Brown and Sharpe CMM.
Gauge Pins – 3 Sets.
Granite Blocks; Surface Sizes – 24” X 24” and 16” X 16”.
Bausch & Lomb Optical Comparator with Digital Readout.
Optical Comparator – 10”.
Starrett HGC Model 2018-16 CMM with Apogee Software.
Sets of Gauge Blocks.
Set of Height Gauges.
Rockwell Hardness Tester.
Ring Gauges.
Thread Gauges.
Miscellaneous Micrometers, Calipers, and Indicators.

Personnel

Wayne Herkness II (decd.) - Founder
After leaving the Navy, Mr. Herkness worked for United Carbon in West Virginia. In 1958, he became president and CEO of Greenbrier Instruments, Inc., in Ronceverte, WV, where he worked until its purchase by Bendix Corporation in 1961. In 1964, Mr. Herkness founded the Damon Company, which he ran until his death in 2015. An engineer and inventor, he held three U.S. patents.  Mr. Herkness graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1939 and served in United States Navy resigning his naval commission as Commander in 1950.

Samuel B. Newsom - President / CEO
Sam has been the President and CEO of The Damon Company since 1996. He is primarily responsible for overseeing operation of the Salem, VA manufacturing facility.  Additionally, Sam is responsible for engineering design on new projects within The Damon Company and Shrewd Archery.  Prior to his work at The Damon Company Sam was the CEO of SBN Commercial and Residential Construction Company.

Laven C. Newsom - Vice President
Laven is a native of Salem, VA and a 2012 graduate of Wake Forest with a BA in Political Science.

Riley Newsom - Engineer
Riley is a native of Salem, VA and a 2014 graduate of VMI.

Chris Blankenship - Plant Engineer
Chris is a native of Salem, VA and graduated from Virginia Tech with a BS in Mechanical Engineering.

Kevin Ponceloranca - Plant Supervisor / Quality Engineer
Kevin grew up in New Jersey and graduated from Virginia Tech with a BS in Industrial Engineering. 
He has resided in the Roanoke area since 2016.

Margaret Harris - Tag Sales

Tina Embrey - Accounting / Purchasing

Jenny Constantin - Continuous Improvement and Project Manager
University of South Carolina graduate with a BS in Mechanical Engineering.