Have you ever pushed Playdoh into a mold to make a shape? In manufacturing, companies need to mold metal into shapes for all kinds of products. But how do you do that? In manufacturing, that mold is called a die and a die is loaded into a machine called a press. The press pushes the metal through the die with a lot of force and forms the metal to the shape the company needs. And someone needs to make that die and then the parts. Automation Tool & Die is that company! They make dies and metal parts for companies in all kinds of industries who need special attention to detail. Their team can design and prototype the product on-site because they have a team of engineers ready to help. They have high quality standards and build things to last so customers can have their challenges go away.

When James Bennett graduated high school, he immediately became a tool and die maker. He went through an apprentice program, which is a special program recognized by the state to certify a person has a specific set of skills. It generally takes 2-4 years to complete the program and once done, anyone in your field knows you know what you are doing. After a few years of working, James had the opportunity to be the general manager of a company. He loved running the business and realized he could go out on his own. There was a need for shops that were very committed to quality and being more of a partner with their customers so he launched Automation Tool & Die out of his garage.

Finding good people who want to start with a company in an entry level position and work their way up is our biggest challenge. We have really good pay rates and work hard to make sure people here can live a good life. Many of our associates have been here a long time and are making six figure salaries and they never had to go to college. Instead, they learned on the job and built a great career without the debt they would have taken on going to college. 

All of our suppliers are in the United States except for our fasteners which are made in Asia. Our customers are generally in the United States and Mexico. A few of our customers are owned by Japanese or European companies and we provide equipment to them as well. 

We recycle all of our scrap. One of the things that can cost companies money is how they handle that scrap. Most companies have ways to collect it and then they move it around the plant to where it goes to get picked up by the recycler. When we built our new building, we put in an underground scrap system where the scrap goes under the floor and moves around the plant automatically. No one has to handle it and it doesn’t get in the way of the work. It has been a good move for us. We also separate all our oil and water and recycle that and we are working on our 14001 certification which means we have a full environmental management system in place to be as environmentally focused as possible. 

We work closely with governmental entities to build relationships. We offer tours of our plant and are happy to have discussions about manufacturing, labor, and other issues. We belong to several groups that also work with our elected officials to help educate them on manufacturing. Some people still think manufacturing is dark, dirty, and unsafe but we can show them it is very safe, great opportunities, and needed products going all over the world. 

People can apply through our website and our best employees are referrals from internal staff. They come in knowing what we are about and about our culture as well as how much we give back to our employees. 

Why do employees like to work here?

We pay 10% higher than the rest of our industry, but we also know money isn’t everything. We built this building and moved in 2015 we added a lot of facilities for our employees. We have a great patio with a grilling station! We give bonuses and have a program where if you are caught going above and beyond you can get a gift card. We really want our people to know how important they are.