In highly regulated industries, precision isn’t optional. It’s required.
At Mesa Labs, precision is at the heart of everything they manufacture. Their calibration and quality control instruments support industries like healthcare and laboratory science by ensuring critical systems operate safely and accurately.
For the team at their Calibration Solutions business unit in Lakewood, Colorado, that mission carries real responsibility.
“These products provide the measurement and calibration that other devices rely on in lifesaving or life-supporting fields,” says Jasmine Stone, Director of Operations. “When you have products that maintain people’s livelihood, you have to be delivering on time.”
As demand grew and operations evolved toward a more responsive, just-in-time model, Mesa Labs faced a familiar challenge in modern manufacturing: how to scale quickly without compromising quality, culture, or the well-being of their team.
Their solution came through a workforce partnership with FlexTrades.
A Lean Team Focused on Quality
Mesa Labs operates with a deliberately lean production team where efficiency and consistency are equally important.
“I’m most proud of our team’s ability to deliver quality product on time,” Stone says. “We’ve built the capability to turn around products within days, sometimes less, from when the order is placed.”
That level of responsiveness has taken years of operational improvement.
“It required a lot of willingness to change and try new things,” she says. “But our team has shown an incredible ability to flex and sprint when needed to get our customers solutions.”
The challenge is that growth in a manual assembly environment requires more than new equipment. It requires skilled people to perform the work.
“When demand increases quickly, it’s a huge commercial win,” Stone says. “But operationally, it creates moments where you have to pivot very fast.”
And those moments can put pressure on internal teams.
“I really like my people, and I want to keep them happy,” she says. “There’s only so much you can ask outside the normal expectation before you risk burnout.”
Workforce Flexibility Without Sacrificing Culture
For Stone and her team, FlexTrades provided a way to respond quickly without overloading their workforce.
“I might know I need people tomorrow, but I don’t know what next month looks like yet,” she says. “Having that partnership means I can support a burst of demand without burning out my existing team and still deliver products on time.”
Workforce flexibility has also helped Mesa Labs maintain its goal of being an employer of choice.
“With us being very lean, we also offer strong benefits like PTO and family leave,” Stone explains. “But when every role is essential, that can create operational challenges.”
The partnership with FlexTrades helps close those gaps.
“I don’t want someone taking leave to care for a family member to impact whether a person receives dialysis treatment,” she says. “Knowing I can get someone here quickly, sometimes within a week, has been massive.”
Turning a Production Challenge into a Breakthrough
One of the biggest operational transformations came during a difficult period on one product line.
At the time, low first-pass yields meant additional labor was needed to ensure quality products still reached customers.
“I needed to throw as much labor at it as possible so we could mitigate that and still get good product out,” Stone explains.
FlexTrades technicians stepped in quickly.
“Within a month, we had five or six employees integrated with the team.”
The results were dramatic.
“We quadrupled our output,” she says.
More importantly, the additional capacity bought time to improve their underlying process. Today, that same product line has improved from an 84-day turnaround time to just four days.
“Short-term pain for long-term gain,” Stone says. “We could not have done it without FlexTrades.”
Raising the Bar for the Entire Team
For Seth Walker, Mesa Labs’ Warehouse and BGI Manager, the partnership also reshaped how he thinks about temporary labor.
“Working with FlexTrades completely changed my view on temp work,” Walker says. “They bring people who already have experience and just need to learn ‘the Mesa way.’”
That preparation makes an immediate impact on the floor.
“It’s like magically beaming someone into the warehouse who already knows what they’re doing,” he says. “That gives us time to focus on improving other parts of the operation.”
The technicians don’t just help with workload. They elevate expectations.
“The FlexTrades employees we’ve had have leveled up the individuals around them,” Stone says. “They show what coming up to speed quickly can look like.”
Walker agrees.
“They’ve done a great job finding people who want to be here,” he says. “They care. They’re engaged. They have a good nose for decent people.”
Supporting Growth Without Chaos
As the partnership evolved, Mesa Labs began using FlexTrades more proactively.
During one forecasted surge in demand, Stone staffed additional technicians across production, quality, and warehouse teams ahead of time.
“The team kept waiting for the train to hit,” she says. “But it never did.”
Why?
“We had staffed for it.”
Instead of scrambling to react, the team stayed focused and productive.
“For the first time, we weren’t getting hit by the train,” Stone says.
Protecting Customers and the People Behind the Work
For Stone, the value of the partnership ultimately comes down to two priorities: protecting customers and protecting employees.
“When your workforce is burnt out, quality suffers,” she explains. “And when you’re desperate for people, you risk hiring someone who isn’t right for the role.”
FlexTrades helped eliminate that compromise.
“We don’t have to bring in just a warm body,” she says. “We get skilled technicians who can perform the work the right way.”
That allows Mesa Labs to maintain their standards while supporting their workforce.
“Our partnership has allowed us to remain an employer of choice,” Stone says. “We can keep the benefits that matter to our employees while still delivering the quality products our customers depend on.”
A Partnership Built for the Future
Looking ahead, Mesa Labs expects continued growth.
“We have exciting products and a strong roadmap,” Stone says.
But growth rarely follows a predictable path.
“With FlexTrades, I can tell our commercial team, ‘Bring it. If you think you can sell it, we’ll make it.’”
Even if the workforce isn’t in place yet.
“I know we can get the skilled labor we need quickly,” she says. “That gives us the ability to pivot, grow, and still deliver quality products.”
When asked to summarize the partnership in one sentence, Stone put it simply:
“FlexTrades has helped Mesa Labs protect the vulnerable, while also protecting our people.”
Walker summed it up even more directly.
“Success.”
