Mach Mold problem solving skills keeps company healthy

Three decades ago, William and Vicki Mach opened a tiny Riverside shop called Mach Mold, Inc.

There, they manufactured custom plastic molds -- including thermoplastic injection molds, injection thermoset and compression molds, as well as extrusion blow molds, primarily for the automotive industry.

It took just two years to outgrow the facility that bore the Mach name and move to a larger building in Benton Harbor – and as Mach Mold’s customer base continued to swell, so did its workforce.  

Operations thrived for the following 14 years, with Mach Mold becoming so successful that by 1997 it had moved its 28,000-square-foot facility. The plant now is located in the Urbandale Air Park on the periphery of Southwest Michigan Regional Airport.

Thirty years of dedication has paid off. On Feb. 15, Cornerstone Alliance named Mach Mold its 2011 Entrepreneur of the year in the manufacturing division.  

"Mach Mold is not the largest mold builder in the industry, nor do they have the fanciest equipment, but they do work hard to stay current with the continuously changing face of technology," says Cornerstone Chamber of Commerce Executive Vice President Pat Moody.

"A large measure of their success can be attributed to the essential skill of problem solving," Moody says, of a business that has weathered both good times and bad economic times. The company’s employee roster dipped to 26 during the height of the recession in 2009, but the comeback was swift. Today, 36 people work for Mach Mold.

Mach Molds’ commitment to listening to customers and filling their specific requirements is one key to its longevity. Using cutting-edge technologies to satisfy those needs is another.

Moody heaps praise on the company’s personnel as well: "Everyone, from the sales team to engineering, from purchasing to management and on into the manufacturing group shares in the success of Mach Mold."  

Writer: Kelle Barr, Second Wave
Source: Pat Moody, Cornerstone Chamber of Commerce