NASA ORION PROJECT: Gretna, Supplier Spotlight
Located in Houston, Gretna Machine Shop is a women and minority owned manufacturing company that provides Orion with numerous secondary structure brackets and assembly parts. Created in 1981 by their parents, sisters Nubia and Nancy Pérez now oversee the HUBZone company of 75 employees, 12 of which work directly on pieces manufactured for Orion. Recently, the sisters made the decision to expand their capabilities to not only serve the thriving oil and gas industry
in Houston, but also serve the aerospace industry, which led them on the path to their first space-related contract with Orion. While building their relationship with Lockheed Martin and NASA, and seeing the excitement their employees have shown since starting to work on the spacecraft that will deliver the first woman and next man to the Moon, Gretna is eager to see what future contributions they can make in the aerospace industry.
Gretna: An American Success Story
Location: Houston, Texas
Employees: 50+
Equipment: Okuma’s MILLAC 761 and
MB-5000H Machining Centers
While Gretna Machine Shop is a true American success story, it’s one that has a unique twist. Founded by Benjamin “Benny” Perez and his wife Ninfa after they migrated from Colombia to the U.S., today the company has a leadership team comprised of three women: Ninfa, and their two daughters, Nubia and Nancy. Their evolution, which included moving into the highly competitive industry of aerospace, involved a dedicated Okuma distributor—and, of course, a few Okuma machines along the way.