Inside W. H. Bagshaw’s factory for the New York Times
January 22, 2023

The shop floor is filled with industrial metalworking machines at the W. H. Bagshaw manufacturing company in Nashua, New Hampshire, USA, on Tue., Dec. 20, 2022. The company makes metal components for the aerospace and medical industries and has fewer than 50 employees. Over the past two years, high turnover among employees has led to slower production.

For the New York Times, I spent an a little time in the W. H. Bagshaw’s factory in Nashua, New Hampshire, a beautiful facility that’s more than a century old. The company specializes in small machined metal and wire pieces for the aerospace and medical sectors, but which has also included phonograph needles over the years. 

The story is about how high turnover in manufacturing and other sectors has led to a decrease in productivity due to the time it takes to retrain new hires. 

Machinist Aaron Nickerson has worked at the W. H. Bagshaw manufacturing company for the past seven years in Nashua, New Hampshire, USA, on Tue., Dec. 20, 2022. Here he's working with a CNC Swiss-style lathe. The company makes metal components for the aerospace and medical industries and has fewer than 50 employees. Over the past two years, high turnover among employees has led to slower production.
Daniel DeForte has worked at the W. H. Bagshaw manufacturing company for the past year in Nashua, New Hampshire, USA, on Tue., Dec. 20, 2022. DeForte works as a cleaner and inspector of finished parts and here he's performing final visual inspection of small metal medical components used in valve assemblies. The company makes metal components for the aerospace and medical industries and has fewer than 50 employees. Over the past two years, high turnover among employees has led to slower production.
Daniel DeForte has worked at the W. H. Bagshaw manufacturing company for the past year in Nashua, New Hampshire, USA, on Tue., Dec. 20, 2022. DeForte works as a cleaner and inspector of finished parts and here he's performing final visual inspection of small metal medical components used in valve assemblies. The company makes metal components for the aerospace and medical industries and has fewer than 50 employees. Over the past two years, high turnover among employees has led to slower production.
Sobeyda Rodriguez, a machine operator in the Knurling Department, has worked at the W. H. Bagshaw manufacturing company for the past 10 years in Nashua, New Hampshire, USA, on Tue., Dec. 20, 2022. Here she using a machine to add knurling to small metal pins. The company makes metal components for the aerospace and medical industries and has fewer than 50 employees. Over the past two years, high turnover among employees has led to slower production.
Scrap metal produced after machining metal parts fill a bin on the shop floor at the W. H. Bagshaw manufacturing company in Nashua, New Hampshire, USA, on Tue., Dec. 20, 2022. The company makes metal components for the aerospace and medical industries and has fewer than 50 employees. Over the past two years, high turnover among employees has led to slower production.
A bin full of partially finished metal pins stands on the shop floor at the W. H. Bagshaw manufacturing company in Nashua, New Hampshire, USA, on Tue., Dec. 20, 2022. The company makes metal components for the aerospace and medical industries and has fewer than 50 employees. Over the past two years, high turnover among employees has led to slower production.
Metal wire stands at the side of the shop floor of the W. H. Bagshaw manufacturing company in Nashua, New Hampshire, USA, on Tue., Dec. 20, 2022. The company makes metal components for the aerospace and medical industries and has fewer than 50 employees. Over the past two years, high turnover among employees has led to slower production.
Adria Bagshaw is the co-owner and Vice President of W. H. Bagshaw, a manufacturer in Nashua, New Hampshire, USA, on Tue., Dec. 20, 2022. The company makes metal components for the aerospace and medical industries and has fewer than 50 employees. Over the past two years, high turnover among employees has led to slower production.
Adria Bagshaw is the co-owner and Vice President of W. H. Bagshaw, a manufacturer in Nashua, New Hampshire, USA, on Tue., Dec. 20, 2022. The company makes metal components for the aerospace and medical industries and has fewer than 50 employees. Over the past two years, high turnover among employees has led to slower production.
Adria Bagshaw is the co-owner and Vice President of W. H. Bagshaw, a manufacturer in Nashua, New Hampshire, USA, on Tue., Dec. 20, 2022. The company makes metal components for the aerospace and medical industries and has fewer than 50 employees. Over the past two years, high turnover among employees has led to slower production.
CNC machinist Brett Smith has worked at W. H. Bagshaw manufacturing company for the past two years in Nashua, New Hampshire, USA, on Tue., Dec. 20, 2022. Here he's readjusting guide bushings while changing tool on a machine. The company makes metal components for the aerospace and medical industries and has fewer than 50 employees. Over the past two years, high turnover among employees has led to slower production.
Metal wire stands at the side of the shop floor of the W. H. Bagshaw manufacturing company in Nashua, New Hampshire, USA, on Tue., Dec. 20, 2022. The company makes metal components for the aerospace and medical industries and has fewer than 50 employees. Over the past two years, high turnover among employees has led to slower production.
Machinist Brian Ulrich has worked at the W. H. Bagshaw manufacturing company for the past two years in Nashua, New Hampshire, USA, on Tue., Dec. 20, 2022. Here he's putting metal bar remnants into a lathe to turn into ball bearings used in the aerospace industry. The company makes metal components for the aerospace and medical industries and has fewer than 50 employees. Over the past two years, high turnover among employees has led to slower production.
Tools hang above a workbench on the shop floor of the W. H. Bagshaw manufacturing company in Nashua, New Hampshire, USA, on Tue., Dec. 20, 2022. The company makes metal components for the aerospace and medical industries and has fewer than 50 employees. Over the past two years, high turnover among employees has led to slower production.
A machine used to straighten and cut wire stands in the shop at the W. H. Bagshaw manufacturing company in Nashua, New Hampshire, USA, on Tue., Dec. 20, 2022. The company makes metal components for the aerospace and medical industries and has fewer than 50 employees. Over the past two years, high turnover among employees has led to slower production.
Yahaira Infante, a Team Leader in the Knurling Department, has worked at the W. H. Bagshaw manufacturing company for the past 25 years in Nashua, New Hampshire, USA, on Tue., Dec. 20, 2022. Here she is looking at a job board which helps her and other departments plan tasks for the day. The company makes metal components for the aerospace and medical industries and has fewer than 50 employees. Over the past two years, high turnover among employees has led to slower production.
An AFL-CIO union sticker reading "America works best when we say Union Yes" adorns a locker in the shop at the W. H. Bagshaw manufacturing company in Nashua, New Hampshire, USA, on Tue., Dec. 20, 2022. The company makes metal components for the aerospace and medical industries and has fewer than 50 employees. Over the past two years, high turnover among employees has led to slower production.
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