Missouri molder Four Process cites 300% growth as it expands

Four Process Ltd., a woman-owned injection molder, is expanding in Valley Park, Mo., and celebrating its 50th anniversary after relocating to accommodate triple-digit growth.

The family-operated company moved in 2022 from a 7,700-square-foot plant in Fenton, Mo., where it had been located 41 years, to a nearby 23,000-square-foot facility, where it is adding employees, presses including a 328-ton and two 500-ton machines, and automation.

Founded in 1974 by the late Hubert Fox, a U.S. Army veteran, Four Process started out as a cast-to-size tooling foundry and machine shop that helped develop mold technologies for the shoe and other industries.

Today, Four Process is a contract manufacturer delivering short-, medium- and long-run products to mostly the industrial, medical, janitorial and agricultural markets. One customer, Rug Doctor, moved a project from China to the Missouri company to address quality and lead time issues.

"In the last five to six years, we've experienced 300 percent growth and look to have a strong 2025," Chief Operating Officer Brett Richardet said in an email. "All this is from a mix of securing business in industries we have served, as well as new customers and industries, along with ISO certification, equipment upgrades and revitalizing our brand."

With the expansion, Four Process now has 12 employees and plans to build the staff to 20 employees in 2025 as well as a wider range of machines from 85 to 500 tons. The company is currently incorporating robotics and automation, Richardet said.

"We have worked to future-proof our business and increase our flexibility to address the needs across various industries, including consumer goods and medical devices," the COO added.

"It's encouraging to see how our new facility has allowed us to create a clean and comfortable environment in this 'new era' of manufacturing. Over the past several years, the industry has experienced ebbs and flows, so we have prepared our operations to adjust to those changes, while aligning with our growth strategy. We can pivot and grow quickly without interrupting our current operations or commitments, it's really exciting."

Four Process sales began a steep uptick in the years leading up to the COVID-19 pandemic, which was declared in March 2020.

"Our business literally tripled in size over three years leading up to COVID, so we were bursting at the seams and landlocked," Richardet said. "As COVID hit, we focused on foundational activities, preparing for sales growth — updating our brand and marketing assets and getting ISO certification — but in 2021, we started implementing activities primarily focused on organic growth with current clients and then expanding to new markets, like medical, to achieve our growth strategy."

Four Process received ISO 9001:2015 certification for manufacturing close tolerance plastic parts and assemblies.

To grow physically, the Fenton facility was sold to help fund the renovation of a larger available building about 5 miles away in Valley Park.

The move went well, Richardet said.

"A huge triumph for us is that we did most of this on our own with support from our suppliers and contractor partners — there was no industrial design expert involved — without missing a single order or deadline," Richardet said. "It was a true team effort of planning and executing."

One production line couldn't be shut down until the end of a work week and it needed to be running again two days later.

"Our team worked together over the weekend to shut it down, move it and get it online so it was ready for production on Monday," Richardet said. "The biggest headache was timing related to ordering new equipment because lead times could be up to one year. Figuring out what we need to order for our space and then the timing of when everything would be onsite to get online and start production was quite a task, but it all worked out."

The new facility has an open layout with 20,000 square feet of space for manufacturing, warehouse and operational activities and is equipped with central material handling, central drying, a chilled/insulated water system, modular clean room and overhead crane to move molds.

"In making the move, we were able to add the necessary infrastructure and equipment, including two 500-ton presses that were necessary to be a competitive plastic injection molder," Richardet said.

Company officials invested several million dollars into the property and build out, adding an employee cafeteria and break room and a new HVAC system for a climate-controlled facility to optimize processes, equipment and comfort.

The result is a more efficient, streamlined production process, which aligns with long-term business growth goals, Richardet said.

"In our old space we were constricted in the type of jobs we could pursue due to limited press size [up to 300 tons], so by adding the 500-ton machines, as well as a 328-ton machine, we've significantly increased our capacity and capabilities to 85-500 tons," Richardet said.

"Everything we did in this new location was done to increase our company's flexibility to expand the number of industries we can work in and better meet our current customers' changing needs."

For example, the modular clean room is essentially a clean room on wheels with clear plastic walls and a filtration system that can be moved to enclose the machines necessary to complete the customer's order.

"It allows us to meet clean room requirements, while having the flexibility to adjust location based on the presses that we are using rather than being limited to just those presses enclosed in a dedicated, permanent space. Again, it all goes back to flexibility," Richardet said.

The company plans to invest more in its new quality lab for testing products and conducting dimensional checks, the COO also said.

The goal is to identify customers to partner with and grow with.

"We do a lot of sourcing and assembly work for customers to streamline projects, create efficiencies and eliminate other variables," Richardet said. "Servicing our customers is more important than how many we have. That's been the mindset and approach our company has taken since we were founded."

Hubert Fox died in 2008. The company is headed by his wife, Ursula Fox, and members of the next two generations of family, including her daughter, Barbara, grandson Nick, and Richardet, her grandson-in-law.

To commemorate the company's 50th anniversary, Four Process officials made contributions to organizations that were close to Hubert Fox and continue to be meaningful to his family, including Boys Town, the Salvation Army, BackStoppers Inc., the Alzheimer's Association and American Heart Association.