Tour follows announcement A tour of Quality Die Set Corp. followed Tuesday’s news conference announcing the company’s expansion, new hirings, and product development. Company president Raymond Shank said there is a lot of cross training with his manufacturing workforce. Adam Yeakley of Flora, the company’s CNC supervisor, is seen operating a lathe. Comet photo Quality Die Set Corp. in Flora is expanding its stamping production line, acquiring about $200,000 in new equipment and doubling employment to meet increased demand for its services.

Company President Raymond Shank made the announcement at the facility in the Flora Industrial Park on Tuesday.

“We are booking new business and teaming up with one of our customers to add new production capabilities here in Flora,” Shank said. “And to do that work, we are hiring skilled manufacturing personnel.”

Flora company expands Quality Die Set Corp. in Flora is growing, hiring additional workers with plans to hire more by the end of the year. The announcement was made by company president Raymond Shank at a news conference Tuesday at the plant. On hand for the announcement were (l-r): Carroll County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Julia Leahy, Carol Coble, Quality Die Set accountant and office manager, Shank, and Carroll County Economic Development Corp. Executive Director Laura Walls. Comet photo Nine new employees are already on board, bringing the Quality Die Set workforce to 25. The company expects to add another six to its workforce this year, doubling the company’s employment from a year ago.

Much of the new business is because Quality Die Set will be filling additional orders for Wheeling, Ill.-headquartered Keats Manufacturing Co., which makes small metal stampings, custom wire forms and assemblies. Keats is partnering with Quality Die Set to supply some of the new equipment needed at the Flora plant.

The equipment includes three new punch presses, two riveting machines and a custom machine.

“Quality Die Set adds muchneeded capacity and key strategic location to our portfolio,” Matt Eggemeyer, vice president and chief operating officer at Keats Manufacturing Co., said in a prepared statement. “We have been pleasantly surprised by the region’s ability to provide qualified personnel and superior value-added services.”

Shank said Tuesday that Quality Die Set lost sixty percent of its business in 2001. He said the company has made a lot of adjustments since that time – steamlining, new product development, and implementing efficiencies.

“When things change, we try to change with it,” Shank said. “We develop more product lines to fill the void. And we rarely say no to a job.”

“The Carroll County Economic Development Corp. welcomes this expansion and increased employment,” said Laura Walls, executive director of the nonprofit group, which is supplying training funds for new hires. “Quality Die Set Corp. is a home-grown company that employs area residents, and it’s exactly the kind of growth our organization is working for here.”

“Manufacturing jobs are known to provide significant boosts to local economies, making today’s news especially significant,” said Julia Leahy, executive director of the Carroll County Chamber of Commerce. “Quality Die Set Corp. has been a major Carroll County business for more than 40 years, and we’re eager to see them grow and expand in Flora.”

“Like many in the last few years, we have faced challenges,” Shank said. “We’ve worked hard to turn that around, to grow new business, and this year, I’m happy to report that all of our lines of business are growing. Our outlook is quite positive, and we hope to see as much as a 40- percent growth in business this year.”

The company is currently accepting employment applications.

“We are looking for people with a good skill set,” Shank said. “We want people with production or machining experience, a mechanical aptitude and a willingness to learn.”

About Quality Die Set Corp.

Quality Die Set Corp. is a privately held company whose main areas of business are custom metal fabricating, machining, tooling and stamping. It also rebuilds multi-slide machines and has one of the largest, if not the largest, collection of multi-slide machines in the country. The company supplies multiple industrial markets throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico, including electrical, medical, meatpacking, military, construction, waste management and others.

Examples of products and parts it has made include electrical terminals, brick strips for brickwork, the metal portion of paintbrushes and surgical staples, among many others.

It operates a 58,000-square-foot facility on four acres at 902 S. Willow St. in the Industrial Park in Flora. Quality Die Set was founded in 1969 by Jerry Shank on property he and his wife, Bertha, owned near Deer Creek. His shop was initially in a barn behind their home.

The business moved to its current site in 1990 when it purchased a vacant, existing facility. The founder’s son, Raymond Shank, a 1985 graduate of Carroll High School, joined the business in July 2000 after spending 12 years at Chrysler in Kokomo. He became president of the company in 2005.