For years every day I would drive past the CFAN building going to and from work in San Marcos, but I never went inside. It was one of those places that everyone knew about, but no one knew exactly what they did. Then a few weeks ago I finally got the chance for a tour.
The Statesman asked me to meet up with reporter Laylan Copelin to work on a story about manufacturing jobs. Security is tight at CFAN, so we had to check in with a guard and then we were escorted through the building by CFAN president Ben Cloutier. 
We started in a conference room, where Cloutier described what the company does. Copelin describes it well in his article – “CFAN Co. is the world’s only manufacturer of composite jet engine fan blades that power GE engines for the Boeing 777, 787 and 747-8 airplanes.”
Then we went in to the factory, where the fan blades are made. I wasn’t allowed to shoot in several areas because of trade secrets. No photographer likes to hear that, especially when we’re invited in with a camera, but it’s not the first time I’ve had to work around trade secrets and I’m sure it won’t be the last.
The set-up they have is fairly visual. There are fan blades sitting upright everywhere in various stages of completion, and most of the employees (in the areas I was allowed to shoot) were more than willing to be photographed doing their jobs. Of course the best places weren’t for the prying eyes of a camera, but I managed to get a few production shots.
I wish I could’ve figured out how to sneak in to those forbidden areas to show you what cool technology they have, but even if I did, I don’t think it would have been terribly important to the story. Alas.