Anthem Is Built for Quantity. Your New Factory Floors Aren’t Ready Yet.
Standing Up Three Factories at Once Turns Every Small Part Into a Schedule Risk
Covenant is moving Anthem from frequent flight testing toward high-rate production in Grand Prairie, Leipzig and Israel, with German production slated to begin in early 2027. Each site is writing its layout, standard work, inspection routines and supplier base while its lines are already being commissioned.
The small stuff is where it gets expensive. An inspection nest that arrives late holds up a station. A fixture built differently at each plant creates variation your quality team has to chase. And every one-off cart, guard or bench mount your engineers source themselves is time taken from adapting Anthem for U.S. military customers. The bill shows up as commissioning delays, indirect labor, rework and a schedule that’s harder to predict.
That’s where Fathom takes the pressure off: we’re the multi-process partner that designs and builds the factory-support hardware around your production lines, including fixtures, inspection aids, workstation accessories, lab hardware and training aids, so every site opens ready and your engineering team stays on the system.
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Get stations ready before the routines are final. Fathom turns out inspection nests, handling fixtures, workstation aids and setup tools in quick iterations, so commissioning keeps moving while standard work matures.
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Build it once and deploy it at every site. Revision-controlled drawings and repeatable support-tooling packages give each plant the same fixtures, carts and guards instead of three local reinventions.
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Make support hardware as traceable as the process it serves. Documented acceptance criteria, dimensional inspection and clearly marked handling hardware give your MES the consistent physical interfaces it depends on.
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Give your engineers their time back. One partner covers lab fixtures, test-bench hardware and shop-floor accessories, so the team adapting Anthem for U.S. customers isn’t also running a sourcing desk.
Your New Plants Need Ready Stations, Not Another Supplier to Qualify.
Factory-support hardware usually gets sourced the hard way: a machine shop for the brackets, a fabricator for the carts, a print bureau for the mockups and a new purchase order for every revision. Multiply that across three countries and the supplier list grows faster than the factory.
Fathom consolidates that work under one accountable partner, so Covenant gets consistent hardware at every site with far fewer handoffs to manage.
Four things make it work:
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100% domestic manufacturing across selected ITAR-registered U.S. facilities, giving U.S.-controlled work a documented domestic home.
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DFM review before the quote, with experienced engineers checking durability, ergonomics, tolerances and inspection approach before a drawing becomes a fixture that doesn’t fit the station.
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More than 30 manufacturing technologies, including CNC machining, sheet metal, additive, molding, photochemical machining, finishing and light assembly, coordinated as one program instead of a fragmented vendor chain.
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White-glove service as the default, with the same named team carrying your drawings, revision history and lessons learned from the first pilot fixture to replenishment at every plant.
Aerospace & Defense Expertise
6,300+
30+
AS9100D
ITAR
Your White Glove Team
Trey Harper
What’s Sitting on Your Critical Path Right Now?
Let’s start a short technical conversation about the near-term mechanical work you need to scale Anthem.
Come with a print, a problem or a rough idea. For example:
- A long-tail part family that will not scale with the rate you just committed to.
- Fixtures, gauges, inspection nests and ground support equipment your production cell was never scoped to build.
- An increment or ECO that keeps moving while the build has to stabilize.
- A credible domestic second source for mechanical content that is single-sourced today.
You’ll hear back from an engineer who can tell you what is manufacturable, what it will cost and what to change before it becomes a first-article problem.
Request a Consultation
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Where Fathom Removes the Risk Right Now
Stations Ready in Grand Prairie Before the Standard Work Is Written.
Grand Prairie is building manufacturing systems, engineering and technical documentation at the same time it adapts Anthem for U.S. military customer requirements. That means new stations, labs and inspection points that need hardware before every routine is mature.
Fathom supports the full range: inspection nests, workstation accessories, process-documentation fixtures, lab mounts, bench fixtures, maintenance carts, setup aids and noncritical replacement hardware.
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Austin, TX / Minneapolis, MN: CNC equipment attachments, lab mounts, machine spacers, inspection-bench components and setup aids.
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Hartland, WI: Additive prototypes, CNC fixtures, pilot molded covers and training aids, revised quickly as routines change.
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Denver, CO / Ithaca, NY: Plant carts, guards, panels, workstation details and sheet-metal storage hardware.
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Elk Grove, IL: Precision turned pins, bushings and spacers for factory equipment and test benches.
Open Leipzig on a Proven Baseline, Not a Blank Sheet
Covenant plans to begin German production in early 2027, and the Leipzig team is defining factory layout, equipment, lean processes, quality systems and supplier coordination from the ground up. Every support item designed from scratch there is engineering time the launch can’t spare.
Fathom helps the site start from proven, standardized hardware, including plant accessories, equipment guards, material-handling solutions, training fixtures and inspection-station supplies, sourced in line with export controls and your approved geographies.
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Hartland, WI: Fixture proof-of-concept work and generic prototype concepts, developed and validated in the U.S. where permitted.
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Denver, CO / Ithaca, NY: Reference designs for general-purpose fabricated workstations, carts and storage equipment that can be replicated plant to plant.
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Global Network: Approved, noncontrolled plant accessories sourced with customer-approved geography and trade compliance.
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Global Consistency: Revision-controlled drawing packages that let Leipzig build its stations to the same spec as Grand Prairie.
Israel Production Without a Third Version of Every Fixture
Covenant’s three-country industrial model puts production in Israel alongside the U.S. and Germany, and every additional site multiplies the fixtures, lab accessories and training aids that have to stay consistent.
Fathom supports generic factory-support fixtures, laboratory accessories, protective equipment panels, training aids and logistics supports, scoped project by project and subject to customer screening and trade restrictions.
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Hartland, WI: Generic industrial prototypes and mockups for permitted projects.
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Newark, NY: Burr-free, noncritical thin shims and instrument-area flat components via photochemical machining.
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Global Network: Approved generic industrial accessories only, subject to customer screening and trade restrictions.
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Global Collaboration: Shared drawing standards and revision lists that keep support hardware aligned with your U.S. and German sites.
Operator & Maintainer Training That Doesn’t Wait on Hardware
Anthem is designed for straightforward storage, transport and fielding, and Covenant is building the training that teaches operators and maintainers to do exactly that. Those programs need physical aids, protective storage and service kits in hand before production volume arrives.
Fathom builds reusable training aids, protective storage, service organization trays, setup-checklist hardware and non-functional demonstration fixtures.
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Hartland, WI: Visual training mockups, ergonomic demonstration accessories and prototype packaging.
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Denver, CO: Non-critical training carts, equipment cabinets and document and test-station fixtures.
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Minneapolis, MN / Austin, TX: Rugged, general-purpose service-tool housings and precision utility adapters.
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Global Consistency: Kit labels, controlled revision lists and functional checks so every training and service kit matches the current procedure.
Don’t Let 15-25 Suppliers Decide Your Surge Schedule
Discover where risk is likely to build during the coming replenishment ramp-up using our new interactive missile tool, and learn how Fathom can help mitigate it.
We’ve Built the Hardware Around Defense Production Lines Before. We’re Ready to Build Yours.
Fathom already manufactures tooling, fixtures, test equipment and mechanical hardware for aerospace and defense programs, including DoD-adjacent autonomous systems, Bell Textron flight programs, Northrop Grumman targeting systems and Able Aerospace MRO work.
Fathom doesn’t build propulsion, guidance, energetics or the weapon itself. We’re the responsive manufacturing layer around it, and the part types your new plants need are the ones we already make:
Additive Manufacturing
Additive-manufactured tooling, jigs and fixtures, plus ground and test equipment for multiple defense prime programs.
CNC Machining
CNC-machined fixture plates, bench mounts, inspection accessories and precision turned pins, bushings and spacers, held to drawing-specific tolerances with inspection records.
Sheet Metal Fabrication
Precision sheet-metal cabinets, carts, guards, panels and workstation hardware, finished and documented so every repeat build matches the last.
Photochemical Machining
Case Studies
How Defense Programs Stay on Schedule With Fathom
Keep Your Engineers Focused on Adapting Anthem. Ours Will Handle the Fixtures.
Fathom isn’t a transactional machine shop, and when you’re commissioning lines in three countries, that difference matters. Every Covenant job runs through DFM review before quoting. Real engineers check prints for durability, ergonomics, load, fit, tolerance feasibility and inspection approach, so a fixture fits the station the first time instead of coming back for rework.
That posture is what keeps factory launches moving. You get a named program contact instead of a ticketing queue, and an engineer on the phone the same day, not three quote cycles later. Controlled revision management, first-article documentation and inspection packages are built into the flow, not bolted on at the end.
So when a layout changes in Leipzig or a routine matures in Grand Prairie, the support hardware follows without a reset. That’s white-glove service applied to defense-grade manufacturing, and it’s how your team stays focused on the system while we take care of the hardware around it.
Fathom Edgeworks: Built to Support Cruise Missile Programs
Our global sourcing solution provides missile manufacturers with access to an extended network of U.S. sourcing options through one accountable Fathom team. Our domestic manufacturing capabilities are built to support Anthem’s fast ramp.
That includes everything from precision internal components to ruggedized housings and structural parts, all matched to the right U.S. source. Fathom Edgeworks also offers affordable overseas sourcing options, which include a guarantee of the lowest landed cost.
What Every Covenant Manufacturing Engineer, Production Leader & Sourcing Manager Gets With Fathom
ITAR Registered
100% domestic manufacturing across 10 U.S. facilities. Selected locations are ITAR registered.
30+ Manufacturing Technologies
One partner for fixtures, carts, guards, mounts and mockups.
DFM Before Quote
Engineers review durability, fit and inspection approach before you commit.
Inspection Discipline Built In
Dimensional checks and documented acceptance criteria with every order.
Revision Control Across Sites
The same drawing builds the same fixture at every plant.
Prototype-to-Production Continuity
One team from the first pilot fixture to replenishment at every site.
What’s Sitting on Your Critical Path Right Now?
Let’s start a short technical conversation about the near-term mechanical work you need to scale Anthem.
Come with a print, a problem or a rough idea. For example:
- A long-tail part family that will not scale with the rate you just committed to.
- Fixtures, gauges, inspection nests and ground support equipment your production cell was never scoped to build.
- An increment or ECO that keeps moving while the build has to stabilize.
- A credible domestic second source for mechanical content that is single-sourced today.
You’ll hear back from an engineer who can tell you what is manufacturable, what it will cost and what to change before it becomes a first-article problem.
Request a Consultation
"*" indicates required fields