Custom injection molder Accudyn Products Inc. is expanding its in-house tooling. The Erie, Pa.-based company is adding 12,000 square feet of space and plans to add equipment and hire more toolmakers.
"We source tools in China, [South] Korea and Eastern Europe, as well as with other domestic tool sources. But really, over the past few years, we've been seeing more opportunities to bring tooling work inside," Don Stolarski, the company's vice president of sales and business development, said in a telephone interview.
"Certainly, from Asia, we've been seeing a lot of lead-time costs, and shipping delays have been an issue. And certainly last year, with COVID and tariffs, Asian tools became much more challenging," Stolarski said.
The company was founded in 1998 by Tom and Peg Bly, a husband-and-wife team who were both Erie natives.
The pair met in 1983 when both worked at a local Johnson Controls Inc. plant. Before they founded Accudyn, Tom was general manager of JCI's Engineered Plastics division.