Dan Lord, owner and operator of C & M Top Line, has a business known worldwide to machine shops and manufacturers of a wide array of parts that need polishing and cleaning.

In fact, everything from extremely small medical implants to large engine manifolds and oil field drill bits are finished and smoothed off in vibratory finishing machines Lord’s small company manufactures and delivers all over the U.S. and Germany, France, England and Canada.

Lord, who lives on the Mesa with his wife, Therese, moved from Los Angeles to Sun Valley, Idaho, before finding the Good Land. He operated a rental car business in Goleta before 1986, when he took overC & M Top Line from his parents, who were about to retire.

“I saw an opportunity, decided to sell my company and brought the business up here from Los Angeles,” said Lord, who has never looked back. He has three full-time employees and one part time, and plenty of demand for his products.

“We’re definitely niche-oriented,” Lord said. “Not many companies do what we do.”

There are probably 10 similar companies in the U.S., Lord said, and maybe three as small as his.

He provides his customers with rotary tumblers and barrels, bench-top bowls and rectangular tanks that smooth off, de-grease, clean and polish parts for a wide variety of industries. He also sells the man-made stones used in his machines that round off sharp corners and de-burr, as well as compounds and media that de-grease, clean and polish.

Creating his products can be a 9 to12 step process with local and Los Angeles area subcontractors contributing parts. Lord fabricates a large percentage of the necessary components, too.

Lord’s spacious and organized shop is at 5945 Daley St. in Old Town. Contact him at 683-1196 or go to www.candmtopline.com.

Strictly Local is a weekly profile of a Goleta Valley-based business. To suggest a business, call managing editor Jim Loganat 681-5905, or e-mail him atjlogan@goletavalleyvoice.com.

Photo by Martha Lannan

Caption: Dan Lord, owner of C & M Top Line, pauses before bowls used in his line of vibratory polishing equipment.