Mold maker Miniature Tool & Die Inc. is boosting its stake in the micromolding field, adding injection molding capabilities as well as offering turnkey equipment systems.
The Charlton, Mass.-based company focused on the micromold business as a growth area six years ago. Now the firm is in the midst of an 18-month, $1 million expansion that will carry into the first quarter of next year, Donna Bibber, vice president of sales, said in a recent telephone interview.
``Companies want to buy technology that is plug-and-play. They don't want to go through a long learning curve,'' she said.
As a mold maker, Miniature Tool has made a mold that produces 520 parts from a single one-sixteenth-inch-long plastic pellet. The company also has dealt with medical products sized in percentages of microns and millimeters.
Bibber said the company has added four micro-molding presses and is adding a clean-room area in its 16,000-square-foot facility.
President Richard J. Tully founded the privately held company in 1972.