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GRIFFIN - On April 1, 2026, Congressman Brian Jack toured three companies in Georgia’s 3rd District that helped support NASA’s first lunar mission with a crew on the Artemis II mission to the moon.

One of those companies was GM Diecron, founded in 1977 by Sonny Gwyn. It is located on Hwy 41 just inside the Pike County Line near the 19-41 intersection in Griffin.

GM Diecron is a small manufacturer that provides advance precision machining components for Gulfstream, Boeing, and Lockheed Martin as well as the screen panels (stealth technology) for the F-35, hydrolic components for the F-18, and fuel system components for the F-16. Those parts that are used in the aerospace, defense, space, and industrial centers.

GM Diecron also manufactures precision parts built to exact specifications that helped send astronauts to the moon in the Artemis II mission that is ongoing today.

Congressman Brian Jack met with Vern Heyer, owner of GM Diecron, and Codi Chapman, General Manager, to tour the facility. Rep. Jack was able to speak with workers and see first-hand how the plant was able to run with workers on site and how it continued running around the clock when the workers went home for the day.

Heyer and Chapman showed Rep. Jack how the process works from paper specifications to the machines that are used to turn chunks of metal into precise parts with the help of workers and automation that are a part of the space shuttle that is carrying four astronauts to the moon.

Heyer said that it was an honor to have Congressman Brian Jack tour the Griffin facility. “GM Diecron has spent years building the precision and expertise required to support missions like Artemis II, and the hardworking Georgians on our team show up every day to manufacture components that meet the exact specifications this mission demands. Griffin is a small town, but the work happening here is reaching the Moon, and that is something our entire community is proud of.”

Congressman Jack said, “I am proud to honor and celebrate the workers in our Congressional District who are helping NASA’s Artemis II mission reach the Moon. The hardworking Georgians at Timber Products Inspection, Universal Environmental Services, and GM Diecron are direct contributors to Artemis II’s success, and I hope this historic mission restores humanity’s curiosity about what lies beyond the sky above us, as we pursue our manifest destiny into the stars.”