08-12-09 - Preston, WA: On Wednesday prior to the 38th Nightfire Nationals at Boise, Idaho Mechatronics President., Kent Ross invited over one hundred business associates, special guests and employees to an open house and sit-down BBQ at their main warehouse in Washington. The highlight for the 4th consecutive year was an up close and personal look at the 3000 horsepower, 250 mph World Champion High Speed Motorsports Top Fuel Dragster that his company sponsors.

Arriving early, the High Speed Motorsports short crew unloaded the car and set up for a display in the back parking lot of the Mechatronics Operating Groups facility in rural Preston. Representing HSMS were C.E.O. Dale Singh, C.O.O. Tom Shelar, Rick Shelar, Frank Hedge Jr., Don Ewald and driver, Troy Green. Under sometimes rainy skies, a good time was had by all and was punctuated by a fire-up with SilverThin Precision Bearings Director of Operations Tina Aitken in the dragsters seat.

With the short crew (5 guys) working on a deadline, photographer Don Ewald didn't have time to get out his camera until the "pit" was set up. At this point the car had just come out and it was raining. HSMS CEO Dale Singh's motorcoach is parked in the background.

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Special banners were made to honor SilverThin. At the end they were rolled up and presented to Tina Aitken.

Throughout the event several people (big and small) got a chance to sit in the seat of a Top Fuel dragster. This guest was the first.

Troy Green donned his firesuit and passed out driver cards then autographing many of them. People had a lot of questions for him and Troy always answered with a smile.

Also on hand was Amelia Singh's Seattle based daughter and family. Sandra and Dan with granddaughters Lucia, Olivia and Sofia.

After everybody was fed and watered the lot stated to fill up while Rick and Frankie assure Tina that firing up a Top Fuel car was a walk in the park. At first she wasn't buying it but then realized both her boss, Kent Ross and associate Kevin McNulty had done it in previous years.

Once in the car Green explains in detail exactly what will take place. Tina took it all in and was good to go.

The engine got a good going over as this deal served a dual purpose. It not only gave the folks a show but also told the guys that the car was good to go when they got to Boise.

Green squirted some gas in the engine so it doesn't detonate during the shut down process.

The last thing on the program has always been HSMS CEO Dale Singh giving the good folks at SilverThin a token of appreciation for their help. This year it was a little more than a token. With CEO Kent Ross out sick, his number two, Tina, was the recipient of duplicate of the teams NHRA Hot Rod Heritage Racing Series 2008 Top Fuel Champion "Wally".

However, on top of the trophy Dale Singh presented Tina one of the teams World Champion jacket with her name on it. There was also one for Kent Ross. In Seattle these high quality wool jackets will see some serious use.

Kevin McNulty at least got to hold the Wally while Tina got the jackets. He's hoping it will get a stint in his office down the road.

On behalf of the team Tom Shelar also expressed his thanks to all SilverThin does for them.

That's all folks. Once Troy got the chutes picked up the camera was put away and the whole load up process began. We were on the road to Boise by 3:30.

SilverThin Bearings is a division of MECHATRONICS CORPORATION, a privately held marketing, distribution, and manufacturing company that was founded in 1979 to market precision bearings to the aerospace industry. Today, the corporation is comprised of five operating groups that serve diverse markets.

The SilverThin Bearing Group manufactures large diameter thin section ball bearings for the aerospace, industrial, robotics, and distributor markets.

SilverThin bearings are manufactured in the United States in standard configurations, sealed and unsealed, up to 37 inches in diameter. Standard bearings are stocked or in production to meet customer short lead time requirements.

Special bearings are engineered and manufactured up to 37 inches in diameter, some from special materials, to serve the needs of our diverse customer base.

The National Precision Bearing Group distributes airframe control bearings, precision miniature ball bearings, and commercial industrial bearings to the computer peripheral , medical, dental, high technology, industrial, and aerospace markets.

Headquarters for the Mechatronics Operating Groups is located in a 50,000 sq.ft. office and warehouse facility in Preston, Washington. This facility contains a class 1000 clean room with bearing relubrication capability and supports value-added assembly operations with full lot traceability for all operations. The facility has ISO 9001:2000 certification.

The corporation sells through its sales office, sales representatives and distributors in the United States and in various countries around the world. The operating group's websites will give you more specific information about the corporation's products and services.