West Michigan Tool & Die

West Michigan Tool & Die was founded in 1977 by owner Jerry Jackson and the late Claron Carlson. Since its inception, our company has grown from a two-man operation to its present 20-employee staff.

The facility, located at 1007 Nickerson Avenue, Benton Harbor, MI, provides more than 14,000 square feet of production space and houses the latest in tool & die manufacturing equipment.

West Michigan Tool & Die has a mission to continue the excellent reputation, quality, and integrity of the molds produced. By putting our customers’ needs first, and by retaining the best employees in the industry, this goal will continue to be a reality.

Because die casting is constantly changing, West Michigan Tool & Die is helping die casters stay one step ahead of the competition. Using skilled craftsman and the latest in mold making technology, West Michigan Tool & Die build precision tooling in less time and for less money, reducing project costs and elimination delays.

Providing tooling quotes in hours instead of days or weeks, our company enables your customer to write a purchase order faster and get the project moving along. In addition, you deal with the owner, general manager, and production foreman directly, who follow projects from start to finish minimizing the approval process.

We understand good communication is critical when tracking the progress of toll production. Our project mangers follow a program from concept through approval.

West Michigan Tool & Die By The Decades

1977 West Michigan Tool & Die founded by partners Clarion “Swede” Carlson, and Jerry Jackson, building first tooling for Rockwell International.

1980 Moved into a new 4,000 square foot manufacturing facility.

1985 Built four die packages of tooling for starter housing for Cadillac’s Northstar platform, became sole supplier of die cast tooling for Milwaukee Power Tools sourced domestically.

1986 Doubled the production floor space of manufacturing facility.

1993 Current President, Steve Jackson was hired as Purchasing Manager.

1996 ARK Industrial Machining lathe division was established by Steve Jackson, employment reaches a high of 24 toolmakers, machinists, and designers, and managers.

2001 New 5,000 square foot facility was built for the custom machining lathe division, ARK Industrial Machining.

2003 Jerry Jackson retires and Steve Jackson purchases West Michigan Tool & Die, becoming President. That same year Fred Layton is hired as Sale Manager and establishes the production intent prototype business line with Trelleborg Automotive, a Tier I automotive supplier of engine and power train mounts.

2007-2011 General Motors contracts with WMTD to develop and prototype mount brackets for the hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and the cooling laminations for the Volt Lithium Ion Battery packs.

2016 Addition of 1,600 square foot offices including conference center and quality lab.

2018  Expanded high volume production machining in response to market needs; Achieved minority business enterprise certification through the Michigan Minority Supplier Development Council to meet client’s supplier diversity strategies.