News

Sep 16, 2023

Westfall

Westfall Technik Inc. says its acquisition of Mold Craft Inc. "rounds out the

Westfall Technik Inc. says its acquisition of Mold Craft Inc. "rounds out the company's industry-leading micro molding capabilities for medical device production."

"Bringing full-scale, high-volume micro molding in-house was a strategic priority for us because it adds substantial value for our customers," Westfall CEO Brian Jones said in a statement.

Discussions started late in 2018's third quarter, and rapidly expanding Las Vegas-based Westfall acquired Mold Craft from co-owners Tim Bartz and Justin McPhee on Jan. 15. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Bartz and McPhee purchased Mold Craft in 2007. Founded in 1964, Mold Craft is located in Willernie, Minn., a suburb of St. Paul.

Mold Craft makes high-precision injection molds for micro-sized plastic parts and high cavitation applications. Its micro injection molds can have steel tolerances down to a 0.0001 of an inch, and its custom injection molds can fulfill high-volume fast-cycle Class 101 requirements.

Mold Craft operations occupy 15,000 square feet and employ 45, including mold makers, apprentices, specialists for computer-numerical-control milling, wire and sinker electrical-discharge-machining and product design; and programmers for hard milling and electrode applications.

The operations use equipment ​ from Sodick Co. Ltd., Makino Inc., Haas Automation Inc., Erowa AG, Agie Charmilles Holding AG, Mitsui & Co. Ltd. and Carl Zeiss AG.

"Mold Craft's unrivaled precision combined with our proprietary runnerless molding technology is a game changer in terms of speed, quality and cost savings," Jones said. "As devices continue to shrink, this will be a key driver for customer success. We are the only company in the industry with an offering like this."

In a side activity that started in 2011, Mold Craft CEO Bartz and his wife, Kim Bartz, founded the nonprofit iWarriors program. With significant support from mold makers and others, the iWarriors Fund to date has collected about $484,000 to provide 751 iPads to help combat-wounded service members stay in touch with others while dealing with months of surgery, rehabilitation and recovery.

Jones, a former Nypro Inc. CEO, founded the Westfall holding company with funding from New York-based middle-market private equity firms Lee Equity Partners LLC and BlackBern Partners LLC.

In October 2017, Westfall began sequentially acquiring plastics firms with tooling, medical, packaging and consumer product capabilities.

"We currently have over 1,300 people and over 750,000 square feet of manufacturing over 15 sites in North America," said Jörg Schmidt, Westfall director of strategic marketing and business development.

In December, Westfall acquired Mold Hotrunner Solutions Inc. of Georgetown, Ontario, a maker of hot runners and patented injection micro molding cells.

In addition to Mold Craft, other Westfall entities with mold making focus include Extreme Tool & Engineering Inc. of Wakefield, Mich.; 10 Day Parts Inc. of Corona, Calif.; Elfy's Inc. of Hayward, Calif.; Integrity Mold Inc. of Tempe, Ariz.; and Fairway Injection Molds Inc. of Walnut Creek, Calif.

Westfall units with injection molding emphasis include the Amaray North American operations in Pittsfield, Mass., and Elizabethtown, Ky.; NPI Medical Inc. of Ansonia, Conn.; AMA Plastics Inc. of Riverside, Calif.; AMS Plastics Inc. of El Cajon, Calif.; and AMS's maquiladora Operaciones de Clase Mundial SA de CV of Tijuana, Mexico.

In addition, Westfall established greenfield startup Inceptive Design Group in Huntington Beach, Calif., to provide front-end product design and development services in conjunction with the other operations.

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