Aegis Power surges into next phase of expansion

Peachtree – When Bill Dockery grew up, his family scratched out a modest living Cherokee County. Dockery became adept at chores, family responsibilities and gritty living.

He found his happy place in the schoolhouse math classroom.

There, his intellect blossomed enough to cause the U.S. Air Force to pay attention when he enrolled for service at age 18. He was trained and served as a cryptology technician.

After his honorable discharge, he applied his aptitude at the University of North Carolina in Charlotte, where he earned an electrical engineering degree. The ink was barely dry on his diploma when he rushed home to Cherokee County with his big brain and even bigger ideas.

In April 1995, he founded Aegis Power Inc., a company that designs power supplies for rugged environments like a battlefield or outer space. Aegis refers to the Zuez’s shield, and connotes strength and protection.

Under his leadership, the company grew large enough to handle government contracts and attach itself to companies like Northrop Grumman and Curtiss-Wright. And for 20-plus years, the company happily designed power convertors, developed critical military power conversion solutions, counter UAVs (unmade air vehicle) and improved power supplies across the globe.

Production manager Robby Posey has worked with Aegis for 23 years and loves it.

“We’re real close here, like a family,” Posey said. “This is a great place to work.”

In 2017, Dockery retired, leaving the company in the capable hands of his daughter, Arlissa Vaughn. It was an exciting time for the ensemble, as Aegis split off from its parent, Vicor, at the end of 2015 and worked to sharpen its identity in the power conversion world.

Vaughn, now president and chief executive officer, relocated her family to Cherokee County and slipped into her leadership position, prepared to expand.

“We received two grants from the State of North Carolina's Building Reuse Program,” she said, adding they were the first in Cherokee County to achieve this.

Vaughn soon connected with community business leaders to discuss a plan to increase their engineering and manufacturing space. Chris Slaughter, business counselor with N.C. State University, consulted with Vaughn.

“I helped her navigate the expansion feasibility taking into account talent, resources and market demands,” Slaughter said.

With part of their SBIR award, Vaughn oversaw a floor plan expansion that added 30 percent additional space for their manufacturing area and a 44 percent increase for the engineers. It was this expansion that Vaughn celebrated Monday at the local facility.

The whole Aegis team, along with government officials and community partners, enjoyed a lunch catered by The Ark as well as a keynote presentation delivered by Vaughn.

Soldering assembler Angie Cordell offered an apt summation: “We are a small company that does big things.”