Decatur Mold is adding a 10,000 square foot addition to their existing facility to make room for 3 robotic cells dedicated to new mold manufacturing.    The building project itself, which is projected to cost approximately $3 million, will be led by Force Construction and is expected to break ground in early May.

The three robotic cells will enable much more efficient work handling and will consist of 2 large- capacity mills, one medium-capacity mill, one 5-axis graphite mill, and one EDM – all manufactured by Makino.  The robotics will be designed and manufactured by Fanuc and Erowa.

This project will allow the company to compete with low-cost countries for new plastic injection molds and will support their customers’ re-shoring efforts with better delivery timelines. This investment should enable Decatur Mold to increase revenues substantially over the next 10 years and support their continued goal of creating great jobs for their employees in North Vernon and the surrounding communities.   They are anticipating the need for an additional 2 to 4 employees in the first year of the project which is projected to be completed in May 2023 with a ramp of additional employees over the next 3 years thereafter.

The project plan also includes significant training investments in their employees including Mold Flow Analysis Training, Plastic Injection Mold Design, CNC/High-Speed Machining, Machine Maintenance, Master CAM 2D Milling Essentials, Work NC Machinist Training, Tool Holding Training, Wire EDM Training, EDM Training, and Lean Manufacturing.

Decatur Mold has been a locally owned family business for over 55 years and currently has 132 employees.