What started as a way to make homemade parts for his motorcycles has blossomed for Dan Stacy into a full-blown metal-design business.

Stacy's Hanford company, D.S. Advanced Engineering, can cut metal into almost any shape, but the lion's share of the work is still linked to the two-wheeled hobby that Stacy and his partner, Rob Amaral, grew up with.

The company specializes in an aluminum alloy radiator guard designed to take the beating that hard off-road motorcycling dishes out.

"If people are going to spend their money, they might as well get the best," Amaral said.

Stacy set one of the guards on edge and stood on it to show its lateral strength.

But the fabrication abilities of the shop go far beyond motorcycle parts.

A plasma cutter, a laser cutter and two Haas milling machines have enabled the company to make parts for custom cars, agricultural equipment, even military applications, Stacy said.

D.S. recently got a contract from the Navy to make a cable plate for an aircraft carrier.

"I don't even know where it goes," Stacy said with a grin.

From the beginning, Amaral and Stacy decided that they wouldn't settle for the odd jobs that routinely trickle through the door -- everything from memorial plates for deceased friends and relatives to name panels for custom vehicles.

So they have decided to aggressively market their own line of products, starting with the custom radiator guards under the brand name "Mohard Racing".

Unfortunately, the birth of D. S. Advanced Engineering in early 2008 just so happened to coincide with the start of the recession.

Like many, Stacy is making the best of it.

"So far, we're hanging in there," he said.

To help finance the equipment he operates, including a sophisticated 3-D computer design and cutting system, the 52-year-old Stacy used his retirement from a former career as a Comcast engineer.

Now he's hoping the word gets out about what D.S. is capable of.

"We're doing stuff around here that a lot of people really don't do," he said.

The reporter can be reached at 583-2432

Need more info?

l D.S. Advanced Engineering

l Phone contact: Dan Stacy at 362-0358

l Web sites: www.dsadveng.com or www.mohardracing.com

March 13, 2009