Partner With America’s Premier Shim Washer Manufacturer

What Sets Brewster Washers Apart

A shim washer is a deceptively simple part. A flat ring of metal or plastic, dimensioned to fill a gap or distribute a load. The simplicity hides the difficulty: holding a thickness tolerance of .0005 inch across a production run, matching surface finish requirements, and delivering complete material traceability are challenges most stamping shops cannot consistently meet.

The premier shim washer manufacturers earn that designation through repeatability. Anyone can make a good shim. Making 10,000 identical shims, across multiple production runs, in a material the customer specified by mill heat number, with documentation that survives an audit, is a different problem. We have spent more than a century solving that problem.

Shim washers also occupy a unique position in mechanical assembly. They are the parts that make everything else fit. A bearing preload that depends on shim thickness, a gear backlash that depends on shim selection, and an aerospace control surface that depends on shim alignment all share the same hidden requirement: shims must be precise, or the assembly does not function. That is why critical industries pay attention to the selection of shim washer manufacturers rather than treating it as a commodity decision.

Precision Tolerances at .0005″ Thickness

We routinely manufacture precision shim washers to .0005 inch thickness tolerances, with inside and outside diameter tolerances of plus or minus .001 to .005 inch. Color-coded thickness identification on plastic shims allows assembly teams to sort by visual inspection without measurement equipment, reducing assembly time and error rates.

Material Range Beyond Catalog Suppliers

Our material listing covers stainless steel in five grades, aluminum in three primary alloys, brass, beryllium copper, phosphor bronze, spring steels, semi-exotics like Inconel and Monel, and a complete plastics range from .0005 inch Mylar through .030 inch PTFE. That breadth lets us match material to application rather than forcing the application to fit available stock.

Five Generations of Family-Owned Manufacturing Expertise

Bill Brewster Jr. founded the company in 1919 as a tool-and-die maker in Newark, New Jersey. The full company history traces leadership through his daughters, Katherine and Marguerite, then to Salvatore Freda Sr. and Jr., and now to the fifth generation under President Brielle Freda Seminerio and Vice President Thomas Freda. Each transition preserved the manufacturing knowledge while adding new capabilities.

Continuity at the top translates into stability throughout the organization. Manufacturing is a craft that takes years to learn and decades to master. When ownership transitions are smooth and family members work alongside long-tenured employees, the institutional knowledge survives leadership changes. Operators who learned a process from their predecessors can teach the next generation, and the quality culture remains intact across decades of work.

1. 1919: Bill Brewster Jr. founded the company in Newark, NJ, as a tool-and-die maker producing tools, dies, and metal stampings.
2. 1958: Daughters Katherine and Marguerite Brewster assumed leadership after their father’s death, relocating operations to Fairfield, NJ.
3. 2010s: The Freda family carried the legacy forward, expanding into aerospace, defense, medical, and other markets while maintaining the family-owned culture.
4. 2024: The company celebrated its 105th anniversary under fifth-generation leadership, with President Brielle Freda Seminerio recognized for excellence in manufacturing.
5. Today: We continue to operate from Fairfield, NJ, as a Woman-Owned Small Business serving aerospace, defense, medical, electronics, and consumer goods industries.

Certifications That Define Trust in Critical Industries

Certifications separate shim washer manufacturers that can serve critical industries from those that cannot. Aerospace and defense customers will not accept parts from suppliers without AS9100 certification. Medical device makers need ISO 9001 paired with documented traceability. Defense programs add ITAR registration and DFARS-compliant material sourcing as gating requirements before a quote can even be requested.

Each certification reflects a specific quality discipline verified by an independent third party. Buyers in regulated industries do not accept self-declared compliance because the consequences of supplier failure are too high. Our certification stack has been built over decades of audits, surveillance visits, and program-specific qualifications. The list below summarizes the certifications and registrations that ship with every quote.

• AS9100:2016: Aerospace quality management standard required by Boeing, NASA, and other primes.
• ISO 9001:2015: General quality management foundation that supports all other certifications.
• ITAR Registration: Authorization to handle controlled defense articles and technical data.
• DFARS 252.225-7009 Compliant Metals: Specialty metals sourcing required for defense programs.
• DTCC #M28972 and CAGE Code 08555: Government supplier identification on every quote.
• DLA Joint Registration #DD2345: US/Canada Defense Logistics qualification.

The Brewster Process: Blueprint to Production

We do not have a product catalog. Your blueprint is our catalog, and our process is built around custom work from the first contact through delivery. The three-step process below has not changed materially in decades because it works.

1. Send Your Print: We sign any required NDAs and review your blueprint against our capabilities, materials, and capacity.
2. Get a Quote: You will receive a complete quote within 24 to 48 hours, including pricing, lead time, and material specifications.
3. Start Production: Once the quote is accepted, we put your project on the production schedule and meet the deadlines we quoted.

Industries That Rely on American Shim Washer Manufacturers

A 100+ year track record means our shims and washers have shipped into nearly every industry that uses precision components. Aerospace and defense remain our largest markets, but the same precision that supports a satellite or fighter jet is equally valuable in medical instruments, robotics, electric vehicles, and consumer electronics. Our full product capability covers shims, washers, discs, and odd-shaped flat parts across all of these segments.

The common thread across all of these industries is a need for components that perform predictably under demanding conditions. A medical instrument shim that varies in thickness disrupts surgical precision. An EV battery washer that loses clamp force compromises pack integrity. A robotics shim that drifts dimensionally introduces motion error that propagates through every downstream operation. Custom manufacturing eliminates these failure modes by matching the part to the application from the start.

• Aerospace and Defense: Aircraft components, missile guidance, satellite hardware, and ground vehicle systems.
• Medical and Dental: Surgical instruments, dental tools, and diagnostic equipment.
• Electric Vehicles and Automotive: Battery pack assemblies, motor components, and high-voltage systems.
• Robotics and Motion Control: Precision actuators, guidance systems, and assembly automation.
• Electronics and Optics: Connector hardware, optical alignment, and EMI shielding.

Why “Your Blueprint Is Our Catalog” Matters

Catalog suppliers serve the easy 80 percent of fastener applications. The hard 20 percent, where geometry is non-standard, tolerances are tight, materials are unusual, or volumes are too low for typical setups, requires a manufacturer built around custom work. We are that manufacturer. We charge no tooling fees, store your tooling for future orders, and produce odd-lot quantities without minimum order penalties.

Engineers working on prototypes, test fixtures, or low-volume production programs benefit most from this model. Catalog suppliers force a redesign to fit available parts. We build the part to fit your design. The result is faster prototype iteration, better assembly yields, and lower total program cost despite the per-part premium.

Even production programs benefit from the custom approach. When tooling is dedicated and stored, repeat lead times shrink dramatically because setup work has already been completed. Pricing stabilizes because production runs share well-understood economics rather than competing for shared catalog capacity. And quality improves because the same operators run the same tooling each time, building familiarity with the part across successive runs.

Request a Quote From America’s Trusted Shim Washer Manufacturer

We have manufactured precision shim washers for aerospace, defense, medical, and industrial customers for more than a century, and we are ready to support your next program. Send your blueprint to our team through our contact page, and you will hear back within 24 to 48 hours with a complete quote. Whether you need a single prototype or a long production run, we deliver the precision, certifications, and documentation your industry demands.