Shop Profiles

The online magazine Fast Company reports that while the rest of the auto industry increasingly uses robots in manufacturing, Toyota has taken a contrarian stance by accentuating human craftsmanship: "The central role that people play in this corner of [Toyota's] Georgetown plant is repeated throughout the factory and exemplifies the uniqueness of Toyota’s manufacturing philosophy."

Etna opened in 1946, and until recently was one of the last remaining tool and die shops in Manhattan. After years of watching the neighborhood grow and transform from its Bond Street location for 70 years, James Galuppo, the owner, has reluctantly closed the shop’s doors.

"By 1900 economically diverse Providence ranked among the nation's 10 biggest industrial centers, and its board of trade boasted (perhaps without exaggeration) that the city contained the world's largest tool factory (Brown & Sharpe), file factory (Nicholson File), engine factory (Corliss Steam Engine Company), screw factory (American Screw), and silverware factory (Gorham)," writes Patrick T. Conley in The Providence Journal. "These businesses were exuberantly proclaimed as Providence's Five Industrial Wonders of the World." He said Brown & Sharpe is the subject of a solid, well-researched, detailed history.

One of the oldest die casters in the US, New Products Corporation, turned 95 on April 22. Founded in Benton Harbor, Mich., in 1922, the company is a global supplier of custom, precision die cast aluminum and zinc parts for applications in industries including automotive, military, industrial equipment, medical instruments, appliances, transportation, and furniture.

The W.A. Young & Sons Foundry and Machine Shop, Rices Landing, Penn., has a shiny new plaque designating it a National Historic Landmark. Rivers of Steel Heritage Corp. has been making repairs to the building since purchasing it from the Greene County Historical Society in 2009.

One of the activities CTE Editor Alan Richter enjoys most about his job is touring production facilities. The visits give him a chance to see how parts and products are made while meeting face-to-face with talented metalworking professionals.