To my knowledge NOE is still only a 3 man , 6 day , 5 CNC machine shop , where the wives throw in on Saturdays to pick up the packaging slack . It's just Al Nelson and his 2 sons during the week . Although that outline is 5 yr old .
One of the bugs they face is inventory taxes based on a twice a year inventory of goods , both raw materials and finished so the whole state does an ebb and surge in like March and September with big sales in February and August . Also the state is basically closed for a week in October for the opening week of hunting season .
I'm sure with the expansion of tools and parts offered that they have hired a couple of more hands , you'd have too just to keep up with that inventory expansion . It's still not a big operation even if there's 10-12 working in 5,000 sqft of office , machine shop , and warehouse . I think it's more like 2500 sqft .
As to quality of tools I have 10 or 11 of theirs in 2,3,4,5 cav moulds from a 225-62@5 to a 460-543@3 with stops at 25,26,28 , 30 and 35 cal . I have weighed bullets on a number of occasions . What I found was a consistency around 1% in every mould but one . The 287-150 and I just don't connect and it's my fault . It's a 5 cavity , I've cast probably 8-900 keepers in several alloys and I don't believe I've ever dropped 5 good bullets from a single pour it's always 3-4 and it's me .......I don't know why I've kept I don't have a chamber it will fit anymore and the likelihood of me wearing any of those available to me now that large is unlikely . The 460-543 is their version of the 458132 535 gr Postell RN , my 3 cav casts from full to empty pot , about 15# which goes pretty fast , within 3 gr without showing a cavity connection pattern but more a pot level blending swell . Dia are so close I don't bother unless I got a spot on a mould face .
I guess I've bought 9 or 10 from them directly most were 2-5 days from "click to complete" to door step , one took 19 days and I really believe that it was packed , dropped under a table , placed in mailing , missed in several pick ups , misrouted (based on tracking it stopped in every SLC metro PO) , and weather delayed at least once . It was 3 days between pack and ship notices , over a weekend , and 3 more before tracking showed it in Ogden , Provo , Morgan , then SLC ........ Reno via Phoenix ....... It was almost like I wasn't supposed to have that one .
