Our History
1886
Company founder Aurele M. Gatti is born in Switzerland to an Italian father and French mother, ultimately obtaining Italian citizenship.
1910-1920
While living in Switzerland and Coventry, England, Aurele Gatti starts his career as an apprentice specializing in the manufacture of miniature sapphire products for industrial use. Seeking new opportunities, in 1913 Aurele Gatti immigrates to the United States via Ellis Island with his wife Emma, son Orville, and daughter Dolores. After settling in Trenton, NJ, Mr. Gatti is employed by the Dictaphone Company as a specialist in miniature mechanical components. In 1920, Aurele Gatti leaves the Dictaphone Company and begins manufacturing miniature sapphire components, jewel bearings, and other industrial products in his Trenton, NJ, home.
1922
In 1922, this fledgling business was officially incorporated as Aurele M. Gatti, Inc., in Trenton, NJ. The company continues as of this writing on the same property Mr. Gatti purchased in 1922. Over the following decade, Mr. Gatti established his company as a first-class manufacturer of precision sapphire products for industrial and commercial use.
1938
Aurele Gatti dies suddenly on September 17, 1938, at the age of 52. The business was left under the control of his widow Emma and son Orville. Orville assumed full responsibility for the business after his father’s death and over the next decade significantly expand the company’s manufacturing capabilities.
1942-1945
During WWII, the company operated under contract with the Department of Defense for the manufacture of strategic items such as jewel bearings for use in aircraft instruments and electrical measuring equipment. In 1943, a new factory was constructed adjacent to the existing building to facilitate a massive increase in production. As part of the war mobilization effort, the company was the recipient of several awards from the DOD including the prestigious Army-Navy "E" award for manufacturing excellence. At the conclusion of WWII, the company transitions from wartime production to commercial operations. The company very quickly becomes one of the largest US manufacturers of synthetic sapphire & ruby jewel bearings and related precision components.
1955
After leaving his employ at Westinghouse Electric Corporation as a design engineer, Anthony Ursic, B.S. Industrial Engineering, joins the company as Product Engineer reporting directly to Orville Gatti. In very short order, Anthony was promoted to General Manager overseeing all production operations. Anthony relocates his family from Bethlehem, PA, to Trenton, NJ. Just over one year later, Orville Gatti dies unexpectedly from a brain aneurysm, ultimately setting in motion the transfer of ownership to Anthony Ursic.
1974-1976
Gatti works closely with engineers from Flow Research (now Flow Int’l Corp.) who were developing the first ultra-high pressure waterjet systems. Gatti supplied the first sapphire orifices used in ultra-high pressure waterjet to Flow Research.
1978-1992
Thomas Ursic, M.S. Mechanical Engineering, joins Gatti as R&D Engineer after leaving Becton-Dickenson Corporation where he designed and patented the detachable mini-balloon catheter. Tom is instrumental in developing and perfecting a repeatable process for polishing sapphire orifices for use in ultra-high pressure waterjet. The company begins to invest heavily in the design and manufacture of products for the emerging waterjet industry. In 1986, Gatti purchases its first UHP waterjet intensifier, a 50hp Ingersoll-Rand “Streamline I” which is still in use today after accumulating many thousands of hours of rigorous use testing and developing sapphire orifices.
1993
Thomas Ursic develops and patents the High-Cohesive sapphire orifice assembly. This revolutionary design produces the most coherent and powerful waterjet stream possible and provided a quantum leap in waterjet cutting and surface preparation technologies. This design, now vastly improved and incorporated in many various styles, is still considered the industry de facto standard for the absolute highest quality and longest lasting sapphire waterjet assembly.
1995
Gatti enters the CNC manufacturing business with the purchase of its first CNC machine tools, a Haas VF-2 vertical machining center and a Haas HL-1 lathe.
2004-2015
Bryan Ursic, B.S. Industrial Engineering, joins Gatti after leaving United Parcel Service (UPS) where he was employed as an Industrial Engineer after graduating from Lehigh University in 2002. The company refines its focus on designing and manufacturing the highest quality sapphire orifice assemblies and related products for the waterjet industry. As part of this commitment, the company invests heavily in state-of-the-art CNC manufacturing equipment and over the decade establishes a world class machine shop and manufacturing facility. Gatti manufactures over 60 different sapphire orifice assembly styles – a distinction no other company can match.
2016
Gatti operates a modern, multi-million dollar manufacturing facility with 20+ CNC machines, 4 UHP waterjet intensifier pumps, a state-of-the-art orifice production and polishing department, and a massive inventory of 60+ different orifice assembly styles available for immediate shipment. No other company can match Gatti’s comprehensive sapphire orifice product offering, delivery capability, or commitment to quality. In April of 2016, the company began construction on a brand new 27,500 square-foot manufacturing facility in Fairless Hills, PA, and will relocate all operations in the fourth quarter of 2016. This state-of-the-art new facility will allow the company to continue its growth in the sapphire orifice market and related product lines, and consolidate all operations under one roof. Gatti’s commitment to its customers has never been stronger. This substantial investment in the company’s future guarantees our ability to continue providing the innovative products for which we have become so well known.
In 2017, the company will celebrate its 95-Year Anniversary – a truly remarkable milestone for this genuine American manufacturer! The best is yet to come.
