Behind the Scenes with Jim Howell of A&J Programming

If you’ve never heard of device programming, you’re not alone. It’s a highly specialized service — and not many companies in the U.S. do it. In fact, Jim Howell of A&J Programming says there are probably fewer than ten shops in the country offering what they do at this scale.

“We program electronic components,” Jim explains. “That means we take blank chips and load them with the specific code or data our customers need. Then we mark each device to indicate it’s been programmed, and return it in trays, tubes, or tape and reel — whatever they prefer.”

It’s precise, technical work, and requires a serious investment in equipment. But A&J Programming has been doing it for more than 25 years and has grown into one of the largest programming houses in the country — if not the largest.

“We’ve programmed somewhere between 300 and 400 million parts over the years,” Jim says. “But we’ll take on any size job. Whether you have 100 devices or 10 million, we’re here for it.”

What sets A&J apart isn’t just their capacity — it’s the people. “We’ve got real humans answering the phones. When you call us, the person who picks up actually knows what you need. We care about your job, and we work fast. That’s what our customers love.”

In a niche industry, A&J Programming stands out for doing the work few others can — and doing it with a rare mix of speed, scale, and good old-fashioned customer service.