United Tool & Engineering expands

“Diversity is our claim to fame,” Ron Meade, owner of United Tool & Engineering said. “ We make a lot of stuff.”

Performing small to large scale orders just in time (JIT) has helped Meade’s company enjoy a year of profound growth. Orders are up 15 percent from last year and the company is building on to its location at 4241 Prairie Hill Road, South Beloit.

United Tool & Engineering is a tool and die company which started specializing in the building of progressive stamping dies in 1956. Today the company offers laser cutting and powder coating and more. Employing about 100, it serves the truck, auto, farm implement as well as heating and air conditioning industries.

Another company, United Laser, was started in 1999 to add another service to United Tool’s growing customer base. United Laser is located just down the road from United Tool.

Southern Wisconsin Metal Fabricators was acquired in 2003 in response to the need to offer finished parts.

In October 2005, the company started building a 65,000-square-foot building next to its 10,000-square-foot facility there. The building was successfully completed and houses new laser and powder coating lines. The building also houses a sister company, Challenger Fabricators. Challenger offers complete design and on-site installation 24 hours a day.

Because of increased orders, United Tool & Engineering started connecting the 65,000-square-foot building and the 10,000-square-foot facility in September. Joining them together will increase efficiency and give the business more space. The 20,000-square-foot addition will result in a new building with 95,000 square feet of total space in addition to the headquarters located at 4095 Prairie Hill Road.

The company will fill that space with another new laser and use the area for additional fabrication. Building Systems Inc. out of Rockford, will complete the new space by mid-February.

Meade couldn’t be more pleased with growth.

“We knew we’d eventually have to add on, but it happened quicker than we anticipated,” Meade said.

In addition to new space, Meade is continuing to invest in new technologies at his headquarters. On Monday, a technician was working to get the new six axis rolling robot welder ready. Allowing for precision welding, the machine can reload as it welds, increasing output by three or four times.

“It’s going to open the door for doing a lot more welding jobs because its so efficient,” Meade said.

The company also invested in a new computerized steel cutter, which can cut steel to a .010 diameter.

With all the activity, Meade isn’t sure how things can get much better.

“We don’t know what we’ll do next year,” Meade joked.

Source: www.beloitdailynews.com