Elmco breaks ground on new addition

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

Elmco Engineering broke ground Tuesday for a new 15,000-square-foot addition that will consolidate its operations and, hopefully, make the local company more competitive in the highly competitive machine repair and manufacturing market.

Elmco, started in 1999 by founder and President John Metzger, provides repair and manufacturing of powdered metal presses and related machinery, while also offering millwright/fabrication services to manufacturing and agribusiness operations.

The company began when Metzger, who had previously worked as a machine repairman for the former Chrysler Amplex plant in Van Wert, and, later, for Cincinnati Incorporated, a maker of metalworking presses and equipment, decided to use his expertise in the powdered metal industry to provide machine repair and manufacturing services to the industry.

Over the past 16 years, Elmo has rebuilt and repaired equipment for companies involved in powdered metal and other metalworking operations, as well as designing and manufacturing presses and other equipment for companies worldwide.

Rob Moser, Elmco vice president, said the new addition to the existing 11,600-square-foot building on Grill Road, will bring the company’s existing press repair/manufacturing and its millwright-fabrication, now located on West Main Street, under one roof, allowing Elmco to increase efficiency and cost-effectiveness and allow it to better compete in the global marketplace.

In addition to increasing production floor space, the new square footage will also provide more office space and a bigger parking lot.

Metzger said having everything under one roof would also allow Elmco to better allocate space to its various operations and increase the company’s competitiveness.

The project, which is budgeted at $1 million, is expected to be completed by October 31 of this year and add 10 new employees — and an additional $500,000 in payroll — to the company’s current workforce of 43 people.