ITAMCO
Indiana Technology and Manufacturing Companies (ITAMCO) recently celebrated its 60th anniversary in the manufacturing industry and is now looking towards additive manufacturing as a key driver for the future of the business.
Founded in 1955, the Northern Indiana-based manufacturer delivers precision-machined components to OEMs worldwide in mining, off-highway vehicles, marine, and aviation. The company specialises in precision gear manufacturing and their capabilities range from mining gearing to production runs of CBN-ground transmission gears.
Since its inception, ITAMCO has grown from a single 4000 sq. ft. plant to two facilities that encompass a total of 485,000 sq. ft. In 2011, the company installed one of the largest gear grinders on the market in its climate-controlled grinding facility. The Niles ZP 40 gear grinder has taken hours out of the grinding process, saving production costs for ITAMCO’s customers. ITAMCO produces gears so precise that they meet the standards of their most demanding customers, including NASA and the Department of Defense. The grinding area with nine CNC-grinding machines is just one component of a company that includes precision machining tools, large press parts, 60-foot high bays, and 80-ton cranes.
“I believe the success of ITAMCO is due to uncommon perseverance and a true spirit of innovation. Embracing technology while holding to solid and proven principles has given us an atmosphere that is creative, yet built upon a foundation that can be relied upon,” explained Gary Neidig, President of ITAMCO.
Primarily a subtractive manufacturing company, ITAMCO believes that additive manufacturing will be pivotal in the future of their business and they have developed an additive manufacturing strategy titled: “Strategic Technology Initiative for Additive Manufacturing.” Their drive to bring additive manufacturing to their plant floor was enhanced when they won a funding award from the America Makes, National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute in July 2015. ITAMCO’s IT development team will be working with Johnson & Johnson, the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Notre Dame to develop an additive manufacturing CAD application.
ITAMCO is a privately held company that has maintained the principles of its founders, Donald and Noble Neidig. In 2013, ITAMCO partnered with the Plymouth, Indiana School Corporation and Ivy Tech Community College to launch the ITAMCO Manufacturing Center on the Plymouth High School’s campus to help combat the skills gap in the technical trades by being an active participant developing the local workforce.
ITAMCO is also preserving natural habitat for future generations. The company has turned 750 acres of forest next to one of their facilities into a nature preserve. They also began the Woodland Restoration Project in 1997 with the planting of 300 acres of hardwood forest.
