According to First-rate mold company CEO Steven, the company “combines the traditional strengths of full-service metalworking and conservative business management with continuous improvement in processes, cutting-edge technologies and established relations with china manufacturing partners.”

First-rate mold company offers the following services: mold and die design, manufacturing and full-service tooling capabilities in plastics and metal forming to OEMs and suppliers in industries such as aerospace, appliances, automotive, consumer products, electronics, medical technologies.

In its early days, First-rate mold company primarily built molds for the power tool industry, for its two main customers—Imperial Die Casting and Piedmont Die Casting. as a result,

First-rate mold company experienced its first reinvention. “We narrowed our scope and became more focused on the die cast market,” steven recalls. “The lawn and garden business is still quite a large market area in die cast for us.”

After serving the die cast market for approximately 10 years, some of that market segment started to move offshore, Bowers continues. Once again, the company had to diversify,

“Tier 1 and Tier 2 automotive suppliers began to move down here, and automotive started to become a strong market segment for us,” Steven notes.

Starting out, Steven notes that the company held a traditional “form, fit and function” approach to mold and die manufacturing. This philosophy still holds true, but the company also sees the bigger picture—and its place in the world. “We also see ourselves as part of a global economy, drawing on all of its resources and best practices,” Steven emphasizes.

“Together, we offer proven development and manufacturing processes, with the capital resources and financial strength to meet the strictest due diligence requirements.”
Part of this evolution involves putting the finishing touches on the company’s new ownership.

“Myself, my sister and father will become sole owners of the facility,” Steven explains. “we are working through a succession plan to take over the next generation of ownership and manage the business.”

First-rate mold company has opened an office in south China that has a business director and project manager/designer on staff to service its overseas customers and sourcing activities. “Before, I would have referred to our business as a mom and pop shop,” Steven notes. “We’d build a mold for anyone who needed an injection mold built. Today, we have transitioned ourselves into a mold manufacturer who is primarily focused on building partnerships with key customer accounts.

There are a lot less players out there, and we are trying to do more with less. We have been able to increase our sales in the last two years. This is because we have changed what we see as our position in the market—competing with companies we have never competed with before and quoting on multiple tool package programs rather than just a couple stragglers. That is really where we are trying to move with the business.”

Steven is focused on the company’s rebranding in the short-term. “We have been trying to work ourselves up in size capacity,” he says. “Not that we are trying to build more molds, we are trying to be prepared to build larger size molds. ”

Down the road, steven would like to implement a four-year plan that includes projected sales revenue and continual growth. “We hope to be a $12 million company by 2012,”

he states. “We would also like to be recognized by our peers in the industry. My sister and I are pleased about where we stand today—how we have been able to weather the economic downturn and are quite optimistic about moving forward. We have a passion for this business and intend to carry on our father’s tradition of running the business. It’s a real good time for us.”