1) What is your company niche and what does your company do that is
notable, unique
or different?
(ie, technology, innovations)
 Mold Craft, Inc. specializes in designing and building high volume, multi cavity molds and multi-mold projects to produce, small, intricate, precision plastic parts. We also offer our customers 100% interchangeability of cavities within a mold and between molds. Typically our customers order 25% spares. Our molds are long-runners, so it’s a convenience for the customers to be able to walk over to the tool bin and find a cavity to replace one that may need repair or maintenance services and just plug the spare in and keep the tool running. |
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2)
When and how did you get into the industry, what attracted you to
it? |
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 I
can remember as a little kid playing with toys in the sandbox and
trying to figure out how they were made. Growing up, I had uncles
that were machinists and millwrights, and had a neighbor that was a
mold builder that sparked my interest in machining in general, and
mold building in particular. I graduated from St. Paul Technical
College and got my first mold building job in 1976. After working
in a couple shops, I started working for Mold Craft, Inc. in 1982
as a mold builder. I come from a family of small business owners;
and I came to Mold Craft with the intent to buy it. I gave myself 12 years
but did it in nine. I just wrapped up 13 years as owner, in fact.
3) Relate a notable "best time" for your company.
The best times have been in the early through late 90’s when we had
good, steady growth. The next best times have been from 2000 through
now that we have weathered the worst recession that this industry
has ever seen. Tough times overcome are certainly notable. Our
strong business practices got us through – absolute adherence to
them. I might add that it was also by the grace of God and the help
of a lot of good people, too.
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4)
Similarly, relate notable challenges that your company has overcome. |
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The toughest times we have seen, like every other mold shop, have been the last 3 or 4 years. With the business management policies that Mold Craft, Inc. has always lived by, and a little luck thrown in, we are still a strong company. We pay attention to the financials. When we get our monthly reports, we review them and really analyze them – we don’t just throw them into a drawer. It’s history. It not only tells you where you’ve been, it gives you an idea of where you’re going and can put up warning lights.
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5) When you are working on projects with your customers, what aspects
would you
like them to
better recognize?
I would like them to be aware of the
repercussions that changes and product revisions have on projects.
In addition, we actively seek out our customers and we choose the
industries we want to build tooling for. Our customers appreciate
that we work with them as a team because the team concept works.
6)
List newly acquired technology, machinery or
key personnel (in last
year).Along with rebuilding our highly talented Engineering and Mold Building staff, we also added a Charmilles Wire EDM, and a 15,000 lb hoist to better handle our larger stack molds |
7) Has your company recently expanded? Plans to expand or form
partnerships/alliances? |
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Expansion plans are being worked on, and will be implemented when the timing is right for us. Planning is a never-ending work in progress. I have a floor plan pasted to my office wall that gets looked at daily, and partnerships / alliances with customers, mold shops and suppliers are continually improving. It helps me stay motivated, seeing where the company stands today and where I want it to be down the line.
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8) Are you involved in any industry organizations or educational
programs related
to the trade? |
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Mold Craft, Inc. has been a long time member of the AMBA and other associations. The AMBA gets the vast majority of our efforts. We have given a lot of time and effort to that organization. Bob Robinson, past owner of Mold Craft who works with us on a consulting level, has been local Chapter President, and National Board member. I have been very involved in the local chapter on the Education and Program committees, just finished 6 years as a National Board member, and I am currently President of our national AMBA.
Mold Craft is also a member of the Minnesota Precision Machining Association (MPMA), a local chapter of the NTMA. We try to put our time and resources where it will work best for the company and for the industry and right now the AMBA gets most of our time. It’s a good organization.
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9)
What do you think about changes occurring in the industry due to
globalization?
How has it
affected the way you do business? |
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Globalization is here and is not going away. It’s a sad thing that has happened to the industry and the people involved. I think it’s had a negative impact on the U.S. and our economy. It has made better business managers out of all of us. It’s made us fine tune our business policies and pay even more attention to them. Everyone in our plant is more zeroed in now on bringing in the most highly technical, high quality projects we can.
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10) What will the industry look like in 3 to 5 years? |
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 More automation and
less craftsmanship will be required. The industry is barely
recognizable from what it was when I started 30 years ago. When I
was a kid of about 14, I worked for my dad who was a plumbing
contractor. I can remember coming in to Mold Craft to fix a leaking
pipe and seeing all the neat equipment and the mold makers working
and thinking what a great place it would be to work at. Just
about 99% of that cool stuff is gone now. But I have to say that
Mold Craft is still a great place to work and it’s still fun.
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Additional Background Information |
Number of years in business: 40; Mold Craft, Inc. was established
Sept. 1, 1964
Current number of employees: 35
Current square footage: 12,000 square feet
 Additional locations: none at this time
Website URL:
www.mold-craft.com
Types of tools built and/or run: 2-plate, 3-plate, hot runner and
stack injection molds for thermoplastics and LIM, transfer and
compression molds for
silicone products
Industries served: Electronic products, telecommunications,
consumer products and
the medical industries
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