Small California metal fabrication shop provides props for Hollywood

This prop was used as a fragment of an exploded alien spaceship on the hit TV series “The X-Files.” The aluminum part was cut on a waterjet.

Sometimes, even the smallest of fab shops support the largest of industries.

Jay Manufacturing, North Hollywood, Calif., received a call from a Los Angeles studio wanting the metal fabricator to make a metal part for an episode of “The X-Files,” Daniel Falkenstein, planning and purchasing supervisor, relayed excitedly. He grew up watching “The X-Files,” he said. It was one of his favorite TV shows. “I bought all of the episodes on DVD. Believe it or not, I have a full set,” he said, laughing.

The prop the fabricator made was featured in the one of the last scenes in the last episode of the show. “So, a spaceship blows up, and this is the only piece that's left. It's supposed to be a fragment of an alien spaceship after it exploded,” Falkenstein relayed.

Jay Industries fabricated the integral prop on a waterjet. “You can see some little design work on the face of the piece,” Falkenstein said.

“And I believe they say that it's an unidentified piece of material,” added President Mark Jordan. “We call it aluminum.”

In the Hollyhood

So how was Jay Manufacturing lucky enough to be tapped to fabricate that critical piece?

“We're in the neighborhood, you know? The fact that we're local has definitely helped the studios find us. We were in Burbank, the studio capital of the world, and now we’re in North Hollywood, next door to Burbank. So that's helped us for sure,” Jordan said.

The company didn’t locate in the Hollywood area for the film industry, though. It was sited there to supply aerospace company Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin), which had its headquarters there originally. That, and the warm weather.

Mark Jordan’s grandfather started the business 70 years ago. “He moved there from Kansas after his brother hosted a family Christmas dinner in North Hollywood Park. He said, ‘If I can have Christmas dinner outdoors, I'm moving there.’”

Down-to-earth Metals

It’s been said that Hollywood is all glitter and gold, but Jordan contends that it’s a lot of steel, aluminum, brass, and copper too.

Jay Manufacturing is located near Burbank, Calif., which is conside4red the studio capital of the world.

The fabricator cut parts for Disney for a corporate seminar the year LA hosted the Olympics. “They wanted some gold, silver, and bronze medals. So, we provided them with brass, copper, and aluminum medals,” Jordan said.

The fabricator has not yet had requests to fabricate aerospace parts for the movie industry, but its parts have appeared in a home renovation reality show. The show designers decorated a child’s bedroom with some of the airplane window frames that Jay Manufacturing fabricated. Although Jay Manufacturing is mainly a Tier 3 supplier to the aerospace industry, Falkenstein would love to fabricate more for the film industry, but there’s a catch. “They want it done yesterday. They're usually looking for a part quickly,” Falkenstein said.

“We’ll do anything that's very well planned. We don't have a design or engineering department, so we would always rely on the prop houses to do the design work. Then, if it can be done on our waterjet, and we’re not real busy, we can provide them with that within 24 hours,” Jordan added.

Most of Jay Manufacturing’s fabrications are for the aerospace industry. Occasionally, the fabricator is asked to make props for the film industry. It can cut parts like these in 24 hours or less on its waterjet machine.