Over the past few years Zodiac Engineering has come a long way from being a single rider with a passion to create his own products, to one of the most respected BMX and Bicycle Machine Workshops in the world. In an industry that is mostly producing products overseas for lower production costs, Zodiac is one of the few companies focusing on keeping production within the USA. I caught up with Zodiac’s founder and Co-owner Ken Spaulding to find out more about the history and background of his brainchild.

Breifly explain what Zodiac Eng. is all about?

Zodiac Engineering is a small machine shop specializing in high-end cycling components. The majority of our work consists of BMX parts, however we have made quite a few road and mountain bike parts the past couple years. Aside from cycling we make parts for firearms, knives, EDC tools and some race car components.

What is your professional background? How did you get into manufacturing and customizing bike parts?

My background is in aerospace. I’ve always been in shops making things. Grandfather was an engineer at Hughes Aircraft before starting his own shop and my father had a high-end custom interior millwork shop that I worked in when I was young. So I’ve always been around tools and machines.

I rode BMX all thru high school and took a CAD class to make up credits since I was always out riding instead of doing homework. I started taking a machine shop class at night and did that for a few years until I graduated high school. Got a job in an aerospace shop right away and have been doing that ever since. I always hated buying parts I could make, so that’s basically how it all started. Making parts for myself, then for friends, and so on and so on.

I brought on a partner, John, a few years ago that is also in the aerospace industry.

What kind of machinery do you use on a day to day basis?

I have a few manual machines at my home workshop that I use for all the modifications, prototypes and one-off parts. These machines run the majority of our work. I have a lathe, mill with a CNC 4th axis, surface grinder, vibratory tumbler, ultrasonic cleaner, media blast cabinet and laser etch.

Production parts I run at the shop I work at after hours or up at my partners shop. We have a wide range of full CNC mills, lathes, Swiss type screw machines, grinding equipment and some gear machines. Both of us program and run all of them so it just depends on what parts need to be made to determine if they are run down here at my shop, in Orange California or his up in Washington. It works out pretty well.

Out of all the projects you have worked on, which are you most proud of?

We are currently working on a batch of prototype stems for a company out of Austin Texas. Its been a long time in the making, but chips are flying as I type this. This has probably been my favorite project we have worked on and I know they have put everything they have into this stem so it is an honor just to be a part of the project.

What products are you most stoked on in BMX right now?

I am most stoked on anything someone is making themselves. The smaller companies especially. As far as the big guys go though, everything Terrible One is putting out. My T1 SFA is by far my favorite frame. All of the Cult parts are clean. I like what Neal and Robbie are doing over there. They are a local company so we have worked on a few things together. It’s nice to see a little behind the scenes. Standard is consistently putting out great products even though they are pretty low-key. Mike Maloney at USB recently did a bit of welding and waterjet work for us. His welds are some of the best I’ve ever seen. As far as parts go, I really like where Animal is headed. They are slowly bringing parts production back to The States, and that is something am personally very passionate about.

What do you think of the direction BMX is moving in?

I know where I would like it to head, but I don’t think it is really moving that direction. I would like to see more high end, low quantity parts and frames with no expenses spared. There is a good market for that, but it is a small market. I think we are cornering some of that right now. The majority of companies seem to be focusing more on completes and less on their aftermarket parts. I’m all for that, it’s just not what I’m into at all.

What brands do you respect the most, both within the BMX industry and outside?

Terrible One will probably always be at the top of the list. Joe is one of the nicest guys I have ever met and worked with and I will support him and his business anyway I can. EmpireBMX, Tom and Tina are great. Follow them on Twitter and you’ll see what I mean. Animal, it may not seem like it due to their street image, but they have been the professional, on point businesses we have worked with. James at NativeBMX moving in a very positive direction. Keeping all production on our soil and only using the best sources for mfg here in The States. They are a no frills, no compromise, straight up American BMX company. Veesh at YawnBMX has been a huge inspiration this past year. His site gives a good perspective into what goes on behind the scenes at some of the biggest companies in BMX right now.

Outside of BMX I really like Magpul Industries. Their dedication to development, testing, training and keeping their production on our soil makes them one of my favorite companies. Ciamillo is another great company. Full in-house production making a lot of wild things most people only dream about. Ever thought about swimming like a fish? They made it possible. Swim between two continents, under water? They did that. This is all on top of making some of the coolest road bike components.

Where do you see the future of the company? What direction would you like to go in?

Believe it or not, Zodiac Engineering has been a project of mine for the past eleven or so years. It has always been something very small though. Bringing John on board three years ago has really lit a fire under my ass and got me moving on bigger projects. We are currently looking at buying bigger equipment and focusing more on the production side of manufacturing rather than the majority being custom one off parts. I think BMX is lacking a quality machine shop in The States that can both handle the work and understand every single step from design, to manufacturing, to riding them. There are a lot of machine shops that can make parts, but it is another to really understand them and appreciate what they are and what they do. That gives us an edge over other shops.

As hippie as it sounds I would like to eventually move out of the city out to a plot of land, build a house and building for the machine shop with a setup similar to Ciamillo. Have a shooting range and some trails where we can test everything on site.

Any thanks?

I’d like to thank everyone that has supported us over the years, whether its just running some stickers, buying our stock parts or choosing us to make your custom parts. John and Ethan for being a part of Zodiac, Donald and everyone else that has backed us since day one. Without Donald I probably wouldn’t have worked at the aerospace shop so I owe a lot of our success to him. All of the guys that are on our team and Veesh for making our recent video with them. Tom at Empire for carrying our stuff from the beginning. Dave for doing this interview with me. Everyone that has stopped me at the park or trails to ask questions. Its what keeps me going. Definitely my brother Gibson, and my dog Helios. Those two guys have been the biggest support.

For more info on Zodiac and thier products please visit zodiaceng.com.