L.H. Thomson is an American manufacturer of aerospace components and bicycle parts. It has a machine shop in Macon, Georgia.

History

The company was founded by Loronzo Harold Thomson (Ronnie) and his wife Margaret in 1968, as a small machine shop called NEMCO (Numerical Engineering Machine Company) just outside Macon. In 1980, it was one of a number of companies to be acquired by

Boeing The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and p ...

, resulting in Ronnie becoming the President of Boeing Georgia.History – LH Thomson
/ref> In 1981, they purchased the NEMCO building back from Boeing and founded L.H. Thomson, focusing on modern computerized

CNC Numerical control (also computer numerical control, and commonly called CNC) is the automated control of machining tools (such as drills, lathes, mills, grinders, routers and 3D printers) by means of a computer. A CNC machine processes a p ...

machining instead of the more common method at the time, manual machining.Factory Tour: LH Thomson’s Massive Stem, Seatpost & Aerospace Machine Shop - Bike Rumor
/ref> In 1992, the company moved into a new facility almost four times as large as the previous building, and between 1994 and 1996 started producing bicycle parts as well. When Ronnie died in 2008, Marge Thomson took over as CEO with her son, Brian Thomson, as president.
/ref>

Products

Bicycle

In 1994, Carnegie Mellon graduates Chris McGee and Mark McJunkin joined LH Thomson to launch the Bicycle Division of the company. After a year of testing and development, the Thomson Elite Seatpost was introduced at the 1995 Interbike Show in Las Vegas. The response was extraordinary, and within a year the Elite had become the standard for durability, value, and performance. LH Thomson holds multiple mechanical and design patents for cycling products, and is viewed as an industry leader in the production of high-end bicycle components. The company has traditionally made

seatpost A bicycle seatpost, seatpin, saddlepole, saddle pillar, or saddle pin is a tube that extends upwards from the bicycle frame to the saddle. The amount that it extends out of the frame can usually be adjusted, and there is usually a mark that indic ...

s and stems, but has diversified into handlebars and dropper seatposts,Thomson’s New Dropper Seatpost – Interbike 2012 - BikeRadar
/ref> as well as adding

titanium Titanium is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ti and atomic number 22. Found in nature only as an oxide, it can be reduced to produce a lustrous transition metal with a silver color, low density, and high strength, resista ...

and

carbon fibre Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers (Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon compo ...

to the materials they use.

Aircraft

Around 70% of its business is making parts for aviation companies like

, Cessna and

Gulfstream The Gulf Stream is a warm Atlantic Ocean current. Gulf Stream or Gulfstream may also refer to: Places *Gulf Stream, Florida, a town in the United States Art, entertainment, and media *''Gulf Stream Magazine'', a literary magazine at Florida Intern ...

References

{{American bicycle manufacturers Cycle parts manufacturers Companies based in Macon, Georgia Companies established in 1981 Machining Aerospace companies of the United States