Dynamic Tool & Design Inc. of Menomonee Falls, Wis., has completed a new technology center to provide additional space for in-house sampling and training.
The $1.3 million expansion adds 17,000 square feet to Dynamic's facility and houses five molding machines ranging from 80 tons to 650 tons of clamping force.
“We needed the room, we were running short on space, but along with that it's kind of opened up a number of future opportunities here,” Dave Miller, president and CEO, told Plastics News. “The biggest thing [is] we've got a lot more space, we've got openings now for doing turnkey programs, so if people want to bring a press in with automation, we have the ability to do that now.”
Dynamic designs injection molds for the packaging, personal care and health care industries. In the past year the company has seen significant growth in its health care business, Miller said. The company is currently looking to add two or three jobs to its staff of 56, although like much of the toolmaking industry, the company is challenged by a lack of qualified and interested workers.
“The tech schools really have dwindled as far as what we've seen coming out of them, so there's not a lot of kids coming out of high school looking to get into the trades,” Miller said, adding that Dynamic is working with the Menomonee Falls schools district to develop its technical programs and add incentives like factory tours and job shadowing.
The addition of the technology center brings the facility's total footprint to 51,000 square feet.
“Dynamic has always tried to be a leader in technology, so we've always looked at trying to keep the latest equipment on the floor and to stay state-of-the-art with our customers, so that's a part of this technology center … that is our philosophy,” he said. “We've got 13 pieces of equipment under automation, so again lights out and automation has been a big push on our part.”