The storied shop that supported framebuilders for four decades has abruptly shut its doors for good.
James Huang, Josh Weinberg
For more than 40 years, Paragon Machine Works has been a rock for the framebuilding community. The Richmond, California-based machine shop was a first port of call for experienced and up-and-coming builders looking for parts like dropouts, bottom bracket shells, and braze-ons in steel, titanium and aluminum.
That’s no more. Paragon abruptly shut its doors Thursday, March 26 with an email to its customers. The letter, first reported by The Radavist, is from Calvin Norstad, the CEO and son of founder Mark Norstad; the younger Norstad took over the business in 2023. “It fills me with great sadness to say that Paragon Machine Works will be ceasing all major operations, effective immediately,” the letter begins, citing “industry and economic forces beyond our control” as the reason for the closure.
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