If you think Sylvania Township’s business community only involves bars, bakeries, restaurants, and stores, think again. Hiding in plain sight is a company renowned for its ability to design and build molds and parts used by industries all over the country.
Have you or your child ever played with an Etch A Sketch? Ever chopped vegetables using a Ginsu knife? If so, you are already familiar with the products the Mold Shop, in the township, has been a part of.
Located at 8520 Central Ave., the company was first formed in 1969. Originally located on Sylvania Avenue in Toledo, the Mold Shop began with building rubber molds and offering custom machining services.
In 1981, Dave Wagner purchased the shop and restructured the company, updated the equipment, and added computer numerical control milling and computer-aided manufacturing to the lineup.
The company then expanded into the plastic industry and specialty machining. After a number of expansions in Toledo, it was decided in 1995 to move the facility to the present location in Sylvania Township.
In 2000, the Mold Shop changed ownership and was purchased by the present owner Blaine Wagner.
Blaine Wagner said he started at the age of 15 working for Reliable Machine and Tool.
“I did a lot of cleaning back then,” Mr. Wagner said. “Whatever they needed to have done, I did it. My dad, Dave Wagner, bought the Mold Shop, and that is when I started my apprenticeship.”
Mr. Wagner said he served his apprenticeship in mold making, receiving his journeyman’s card in mold making, establishing the CAD and engineering department, and then moving into plant management.
Mr. Wagner bought the business from his father when he retired.
“The business was 4,000 square feet in 1980,” he said. “We bought the Graber veterinary business, which was next door, four years later and expanded the business. We moved in 1995 to this location, which was a former furniture warehouse in Sylvania. We now have a 12,000-square-foot building.”
Customers of the Mold Shop are located in Findlay, Michigan, western Ohio, and some from the west coast, Mr. Wagner said.
“We build the molds and sometimes we also make the parts,” Mr. Wagner said. “Many of our customers seem to like that we have the ability to make the parts for them.”
Mr. Wagner said the Mold Shop is also able to design molds. Some of the company’s customers include TH Plastics, which makes appliance parts, and Spartan Chemical, designing and making soap dispensers.
“We have worked with automotive clients, but we mostly work with companies that make consumer products,” he said. “We work with Ohio Art making Etch A Sketch. We have made paint trays for kids and molds for Maybelline New York. We have even built the handles for the Ginsu knives.”
The company is also able to give metal molds a mirror finish in order for clients to make clear parts that have a luster finish.
The company has made it through the increased cost of materials, the pandemic, and increased competition with Asia.
“We are competing against the Asian markets currently,” Mr. Wagner said. “They can make parts a lot cheaper right now. They wait until they put American companies out of business. Once that happens, they then increase the cost of their parts. There used to be many mold companies in Toledo in the ’80s. Now there are just a few of us around.”
Ken Maxfield, shop foreman, said the shop has been resilient and nimble overcoming obstacles.
“We never shut down during COVID-19,” Mr. Maxfield said. “We developed our own medical face masks that we sold. During the pandemic, we designed and built everything and anything.”
The Mold Shop also designs its own products including scented urinal screens and scented hooks for purses for women’s restrooms.
“I never laid a guy off because of lack of work,” Mr. Wagner said. “The government and our schools need to promote more manufacturing here. We are lucky we have been able to pull from the Toledo Technical Academy for employees.”
Logan Meyer, a 2022 graduate of the Toledo Technology Academy, started as an intern in May of 2022. He said he was hired once he graduated.
“I really love working here,” Mr. Meyer said. “I don’t want to work anywhere else. I get to do a lot of things in mold making. I am constantly moving around, working with my hands, but this job is so worth it to me.”
Mr. Maxfield said the business has just accepted two more interns from TTA. He said they spend time working with the interns and new hires, teaching them how to use the older, more simplified CNC machines.
“Many of them like it a lot because you can feel those machines as they work,” Mr. Maxfield said. “They are more comfortable starting out on those machines. The newer CNC machines have no feel to them.”
Mr. Wagner believes the business will be around for the foreseeable future, partly because of the work ethic of his employees and the products they design and fabricate. He also believes the company culture helps retain the best employees.
“We are a family-oriented business,” Mr. Wagner said. “People with doctor appointments, etc., that need time off, it is never an issue. We work longer hours Monday through Thursday so we can shut down at noon on Friday. The employees really like having Friday afternoons off to get banking and other things done.”
Oliver Turner, Sylvania Township administrator, said the township is happy to have a long running business in its midst.
“Sylvania Township congratulates the Mold Shop for reaching this impressive milestone,” Mr. Oliver said. “We appreciate their presence in and contributions to the Sylvania business community.”
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