Midwest Molders Form Collective

The Midwest Tooling Association used its combined resources to produce this Class 101 mold in just four weeks.

In an effort to combat a slowing economy, 20 Midwestern plastic injection molding companies have formed a collective corporation that offers fast turnaround and consistent quality regardless of the tooling package size. The Midwest Tooling Association (Stillwater, MN; www.midwesttoolingassociation.com) uses its combined resources in plastic-injection, die-cast, and thermoset molding to match each project with the individual tooling shop that has the required expertise and availability. A customer simply submits a print or CAD file to begin the process. Additional markups are avoided because each shop works directly with its clients. All molds are tested and have samples submitted and approved before shipping. According to president Scott Wahl, the association allows OEMs to "get molds rapidly built and tested without having to deal with molders who aren't interested in just building the mold."

Zachary Turke