Harrisburg, Pa.-based Mold Base Industries (MBI), one of the first custom mold base manufacturing companies on the East Coast, is closing after 53 years.
Plastics News confirmed the closure; however, no one would immediately comment about the circumstances or timeline.
Michael Wilhelm, MBI president, has led the company since 2018, when it transitioned to an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) model after the last of the four founders retired.
MBI was started by four friends who had worked together in 1969 at Columbia Engineering, the mold base manufacturer for its owner in Manchester, Pa., The Flinchbaugh Co., which produced shell casings for the military and Vietnam War effort.
The friends saw an opportunity to offer the region more than standard mold bases and set out to meet demand for custom mold bases. They opened MBI in 1972 in the aftermath of Hurricane Agnes.
The first days in business were impeded by severe flooding that closed railways and highways for the four owners. They also were the only four employees with two in manufacturing and two in sales and finance.
The hurricane was the first of many storms weathered by MBI.
Two years into the venture, one founder left.
The remaining trio — Sam Shiffler, Rick Shiffler and Jay Ebersole — moved the business forward.
In 2014, Ebersole retired. Then, Rick Shiffler and Sam Shiffler started looking for a succession plan.
In 2016, the remaining owners hired Wilhelm, a graduate of Lebanon Valley College, as general manager and chief financial officer. He had previously worked at MBI's accounting firm.
Wilhelm suggested an ESOP model as the best scenario and it was put into place in 2018.
With an ESOP, the partners could exit and MBI could continue without the restrictions of private ownership, the website says.
MBI "rolled with the punches through the years" and emerged stronger as it marked its 50th anniversary in 2022, the website also says, noting investments in equipment, technology, steel inventory and grinders to increase plate processing capacity.
The goal was to position the company for growth and "maintain its competitive edge in the mold-making industry," but three years later, the ESOP company plans to close.
Typically, when an ESOP is terminated, all participants become fully vested and receive the value of their shares in the plan through a cash payout or by rolling the funds into another retirement account.
The process often involves selling the company's assets to distribute proceeds to participants.