Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Sustainable Plastics
  • Rubber News
Subscribe
  • Login
  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Processor News
    • Suppliers
    • More News
    • Digital Edition
    • End Markets
    • Special Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Resin pricing news
    • Videos
    • Injection Molding
    • Blow Molding
    • Film & Sheet
    • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
    • Rotomolding
    • Thermoforming
    • Recycling
    • Machinery
    • Materials
    • Molds/Tooling
    • Product news
    • Design
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Sustainability
    • Public Policy
    • Material Insights Videos
    • Numbers that Matter
    • Automotive
    • Packaging
    • Medical
    • Consumer Products
    • Construction
    • CEO Issue
    • Diversity
    • Best Places to Work
      • 2022 winners
    • Processor of the Year
    • Rising Stars
    • Women Breaking the Mold
  • Opinion
    • The Plastics Blog
    • Kickstart
    • One Good Resin
    • BRICS and Plastics
    • All Things Data
    • Viewpoint
    • From Pillar to Post
    • Perspective
    • Mailbag
    • Fake Plastic Trees
  • Shop Floor
    • Blending
    • Compounding
    • Drying
    • Injection Molding
    • Purging
    • Robotics
    • Size Reduction
    • Structural Foam
    • Tooling
    • Training
  • Events
    • Plastics News Events
    • Industry Events
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Livestreams/Webinars
    • Editorial Livestreams
    • Ask the Expert
    • Plastics News Events Library
    • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Plastics News Executive Forum
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Plastics News Caps & Closures
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
    • Plastics in Automotive
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Reuters Responsible Business Europe 2022
    • Reifenhäuser Technologies Livestreams
    • Polymer Points Live
    • Numbers that Matter Live
    • Plastics in Politics Live
    • Sustainable Plastics Live
    • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
    • Plastics in Healthcare Library
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
  • Resin Prices
    • All Resins
    • Commodity TPs
    • High Temp TPs
    • ETPs
    • Thermosets
    • Recycled Plastics
    • Historic Commodity Thermoplastics
    • Historic High Temp Thermoplastics
    • Historic Engineering Thermoplastics
    • Historic Thermosets
    • Historic Recycled Plastics
  • Rankings & Data
    • Injection Molders
    • Blow Molders
    • Film Sheet
    • Thermoformers
    • Pipe Profile Tubing
    • Rotomolders
    • Mold/Toolmakers
    • LSR Processors
    • Recyclers
    • Compounders - List
    • Association - List
    • Plastic Lumber - List
    • All
  • Directory
  • Custom
    • Sponsored Content
    • Conair Sponsored Content
    • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
    • ENGEL Sponsored Content
    • White Papers
    • Classifieds
    • Place an Ad
    • Sign up for Early Classified
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. News
October 07, 2014 02:00 AM

A mold maker rebuilds, recovers from a roof collapse

  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Print
    JK Machining Inc.
    Mold maker JK Machining Inc. has been busy rebuilding after its roof collapsed due to heavy snow in February.

    On a Tuesday afternoon in February, a crack appeared in the ceiling of JK Machining Inc. in Kalamazoo, Mich.

    “It was about 4 o'clock in the afternoon,” recalled Henry Kalkman, JK Machining president. “Heard a loud noise, walked out in the manufacturing facility and saw my guys looking at a big crack in the ceiling, running the length of the building.”

    As staff began to leave the building, a second crack appeared and spread toward the office area. Then, under the weight of an unusually heavy snowfall, the roof collapsed, crushing equipment and covering 5,000 square feet of manufacturing space in debris.

    “That roof was carrying a snow load all winter long. A lot of times snow comes and goes, and I guess after having snow on it for four, five months, it finally decided it was time to give up,” Kalkman said.

    All staff members made it out of the building without harm. Kalkman had returned to the office area, which remained intact.

    After the collapse, JK Machining prioritized saving its in-progress work. The company makes injection molds for automotive, medical and furniture end markets.

    “We had a crane on site by 8 o'clock that night, and the next morning we started lifting pieces of the roof and the rafters away so that we could get at all of our customers' molds, and by the end of the day we had all of our customers' molds out of our facility and into other local shops that helped us finish them,” he said.

    JK Machining is a member of the Southwestern Michigan Tooling Coalition. The alliance helped make it possible to deliver all molds on time.

    “Never missed a date, never missed a delivery,” Kalkman said. “It was survival mode; you don't deliver late.”

    Kalkman said he received offers of help from all over the state as the company salvaged what they could and set up shop in a temporary facility about 20 minutes away.

    “We were able to save our manual machines,” he added. “Anything that was computer-driven, CNC, high-accuracy [had to be replaced]. We got all new high-speed mills, new EDMs, new wire machine, new CNC milling machines. Everything else was pretty much crushed.”

    JK Machining Inc.

    JK Machining expects to reopen an expanded facility by the end of the year.

    JK Machining, which employs 16, is now rebuilding at the same location, with construction expected to be completed within the next month and a half. The original 5,000-square-foot manufacturing space will be replaced, plus an additional 3,500-square-foot expansion. Insurance covered replacement machines and the 5,000-square-foot construction; Kalkman is covering the cost of the additional space.

    Kalkman said he had not been planning an expansion, but the new construction made it a practical choice.

    “Everything's out of the way; now's a perfect time to add on,” he said.

    The next challenge will be tearing down the company's temporary shop and relocating it to the new building. But with the fresh start comes new opportunities.

    “I've got all new machines. It's going to change our capabilities. We're going to be doing high-speed five-axis machining now,” Kalkman said. “We have updated machines, basically. Things have changed in 15 to 20 years.”

    Kalkman expects to be operational in the new space by the end of this year.

    RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
    C-sert designs thread repair inserts with lifetime guarantees
    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Do you have an opinion about this story? Do you have some thoughts you'd like to share with our readers? Plastics News would love to hear from you. Email your letter to Editor at [email protected]

    Most Popular
    1
    More resins see April price hikes, but not polyethylene
    2
    New Hope building world's largest pyrolysis plant
    3
    Metro Plastics Technologies sold to NY investment firm
    4
    Report reveals ‘dirty climate secrets’ of PVC flooring
    5
    Colorado's EPR bill could mean higher materials fees
    SIGN UP FOR TO RECEIVE THESE EMAILS AND ENEWSLETTERS
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    Get our newsletters

    Staying current is easy with Plastics News delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge.

    Subscribe today

    Subscribe to Plastics News

    Subscribe now
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram

    Plastics News covers the business of the global plastics industry. We report news, gather data and deliver timely information that provides our readers with a competitive advantage.

    Contact Us

    1155 Gratiot Avenue
    Detroit MI 48207-2997

    Customer Service:
    877-320-1723

    Resources
    • About
    • Staff
    • Editorial Calendar
    • Media Kit
    • Data Store
    • Digital Edition
    • Custom Content
    • People
    • Contact
    • Careers
    • Sitemap
    Related Crain Publications
    • Sustainable Plastics
    • Rubber News
    • Urethanes Technology
    • European Rubber Journal
    • Tire Business
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Copyright © 1996-2022. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Processor News
        • Injection Molding
        • Blow Molding
        • Film & Sheet
        • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
        • Rotomolding
        • Thermoforming
        • Recycling
      • Suppliers
        • Machinery
        • Materials
        • Molds/Tooling
        • Product news
        • Design
      • More News
        • Mergers & Acquisitions
        • Sustainability
        • Public Policy
        • Material Insights Videos
        • Numbers that Matter
      • Digital Edition
      • End Markets
        • Automotive
        • Packaging
        • Medical
        • Consumer Products
        • Construction
      • Special Reports
        • CEO Issue
        • Diversity
        • Best Places to Work
          • 2022 winners
        • Processor of the Year
        • Rising Stars
        • Women Breaking the Mold
      • Newsletters
      • Resin pricing news
      • Videos
    • Opinion
      • The Plastics Blog
      • Kickstart
      • One Good Resin
      • BRICS and Plastics
      • All Things Data
      • Viewpoint
      • From Pillar to Post
      • Perspective
      • Mailbag
      • Fake Plastic Trees
    • Shop Floor
      • Blending
      • Compounding
      • Drying
      • Injection Molding
      • Purging
      • Robotics
      • Size Reduction
      • Structural Foam
      • Tooling
      • Training
    • Events
      • Plastics News Events
        • Plastics News Executive Forum
        • Injection Molding & Design Expo
        • Plastics News Caps & Closures
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
        • Plastics in Automotive
      • Industry Events
        • Injection Molding & Design Expo
      • Injection Molding & Design Expo
      • Livestreams/Webinars
        • Reuters Responsible Business Europe 2022
        • Reifenhäuser Technologies Livestreams
      • Editorial Livestreams
        • Polymer Points Live
        • Numbers that Matter Live
        • Plastics in Politics Live
        • Sustainable Plastics Live
      • Ask the Expert
      • Plastics News Events Library
        • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
        • Plastics in Healthcare Library
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
      • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Resin Prices
      • All Resins
      • Commodity TPs
        • Historic Commodity Thermoplastics
      • High Temp TPs
        • Historic High Temp Thermoplastics
      • ETPs
        • Historic Engineering Thermoplastics
      • Thermosets
        • Historic Thermosets
      • Recycled Plastics
        • Historic Recycled Plastics
    • Rankings & Data
      • Injection Molders
      • Blow Molders
      • Film Sheet
      • Thermoformers
      • Pipe Profile Tubing
      • Rotomolders
      • Mold/Toolmakers
      • LSR Processors
      • Recyclers
      • Compounders - List
      • Association - List
      • Plastic Lumber - List
      • All
    • Directory
    • Custom
      • Sponsored Content
      • Conair Sponsored Content
      • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
      • ENGEL Sponsored Content
      • White Papers
      • Classifieds
        • Place an Ad
        • Sign up for Early Classified