ISSI changing its name to Aurora Boardworks

As International Sensor Systems Inc. approaches its 50th anniversary, company leaders have announced that the trusted technology and electronic circuitry provider is changing its name to Aurora Boardworks, effective immediately.
The name change was introduced this week as part of a rebranding effort to clarify the company’s mission and better reflect the core product being manufactured at the Aurora Industrial Park site on Grant Street.
“This is a big deal for the company, something we’ve been working on for quite some time,” explained Gary Bales, the company’s president and CEO. “What became pretty apparent to me when I arrived (three years ago) is that there was a disconnect between our name and what we actually do.”
A transition delayed first by the pandemic and later by a surge of orders which flooded the company in a post-COVID rebound, Bales said the timing was finally right to pull the trigger. As it turned out, that timing fell in line with the company’s 50th anniversary.
“We’re super excited to be celebrating our 50th anniversary, but it’s also a good time to roll it out,” he said. “Hopefully, we’ll continue the growth trajectory we’ve been on over the last two years.”
As technology has advanced and electronics products have evolved, the company has specialized increasingly on circuit boards and assemblies, along with related capabilities and services.  The transition to Aurora Boardworks makes clear the key elements that define the organization, Bales said, referring to its mission statement, which reads: “The relentless pursuit of uncomplicating custom circuit board assembly for manufacturers -- on time, as promised, with Midwestern heart and values.”

Name change
The name Aurora Boardworks more closely reflects the company’s technological strengths and helps position it for growth, company leaders agree. Operations Manager Rich Peterson said it will also make it easier for potential customers to identify the company’s core business and in turn support its long-term success.
“I think the name International Sensor Systems to begin with was kind of misleading to some people,” he said. “We get a lot of cold calls from people thinking that we produce a lot of sensors, which in truth is not really what we do at all. Maybe back in the day there was some sensor work, but now we’re just a contract manufacturer of multiple PCBs (Printed Circuit Boards), so I think Aurora Boardworks is a title that is going to mean more people when they’re looking for board manufacturers. It’s not limiting us, or pigeonholing us, to sensor work, so I think that’s good.”
Founded in November 1973 by the late Cliff Williams, the company provides manufacturing companies both large and small with high-quality custom electronic circuitry.
Bales notes that Aurora Boardworks is committed to the same values that have guided ISSI. The vision, he says, is to help the company thrive and “grow into a vibrant, profitable enterprise now and into the future,” a place that continues to do a great job of pleasing the customer while “focusing on the employees and providing opportunities for the people who come here every day to work.”
The number of people who come to work at the Grant Street location has grown as well. In December, the company applied for and received a $1 million Community Development Block Grant, in essence providing a performance-based loan using federal COVID-relief funds which will not have to be repaid.
Utilizing those funds, which were processed through the Hamilton County Board of Commissioners, the company added six employees to the staff, boosting the total to 36. Bales said the hiring process continues, adding that he’s been pleased with the recent growth and progress.
“We’re sitting in a good position,” he said. “We bought a little bit of equipment, but mainly we’ve been able to submit primary working capital to get us in a better cash position to be able to hire the folks we need,” he explained. “We have plenty of work out there that isn’t necessarily tied to a piece of equipment, but we do intend to purchase more equipment.”
The CDBG grant was targeted somewhat to companies serving the medical sector, with Bales noting that Aurora Boardworks checked that box, and then some. The products are widely used to support industrial, aviation and medical applications, particularly in the manufacture of machinery and systems ranging from oil and gas exploration equipment to high-tech medical equipment for hospitals.
“We build circuits for pretty much whoever needs them in a wide range of sectors,” he said.
As an extension of customers’ manufacturing capability, Aurora Boardworks offers design-for-manufacturing feedback and testing for complex assemblies in addition to producing a range of exceptional quality assemblies, including technologies such as SMT, through-hole, conformal coating, potting and box-build.

Anchored in Aurora
Bales also noted that Williams chose the company location because he sought to build the community of Aurora by bringing high-tech jobs and opportunities to the area while serving customers with excellence. The work ethic demonstrated by the staff, he said, contributes directly to the company’s overall reputation for quality.
“Aurora Boardworks has cultivated a caring culture and is known for being a place where people want to work in a quiet, climate-controlled environment, using exciting machines and technology,” he said. “The unusually high number of employees who have worked there for 10 to 20 years or more -- even up to 49 years -- validates the reputation.”
Adding the word Aurora to the name also helps signify the company’s location, Peterson added.
“A lot of people in the community don’t really know who we are or what we do just because we don’t do a lot of work for the general community,” Peterson said. “Having the name Aurora Boardworks kind of signifies that we’re here and it’s a little more of an indication of what we actually do, so maybe we’ll get a little more notoriety and interest from people that are looking to get into some technology here. For people who are entrepreneurs looking to build boards and want to do some prototypes, they know they don’t have to leave Aurora to get it done.”