High-Tech Machine Co. Inc. received $219,525 from the new Modernization Investment Support Initiative, created earlier this year.
A Wilmington machining company will use a new kind of state grant to offset the cost of $1.1 million in equipment upgrades.
High-Tech Machine Co. Inc. received $219,525 from the new Modernization Investment Support Initiative, created earlier this year.
The company will use the money to make almost $1.1 million in equipment upgrades that are necessary for computer numerical control (CNC) machining and wire electrical discharge machining (EDM) to retain current contracts, compete for new contracts and maintain its 17 full-time employees.
Demand for CNC and EDM products has grown steadily, the Delaware Prosperity Partnership said in a press release. Much of that growth comes from aerospace and defense; medical imaging; instrumentation; and oil and gas sectors.
Small shops such as High-Tech Machine play a key role in the U.S. and global supply chain for these increasingly complex components – for which even miniscule variations in size or shape carry significant consequences – while also providing well-paying industry jobs, the press release said.
High-Tech Machine history
High-Tech Machine, founded in 1991, wants to offer customers a single source for complete turnkey products and processes for all aspects of projects, including machining, furnace brazing, plating, painting, heat treating, anodizing, silk screening and assembly.
The bulk of the company’s revenue is from outside Delaware, with current clients in Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, West Virginia, Massachusetts, Maine, Ohio, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Texas, Arizona and California.
High-Tech Machine owner Neal Crosley attended Delcastle High School and Delaware Technical Community College before working as a machinist for 10 years and then founding his company. It now is housed in a 10,000-square-foot facility with 20 machining centers, most of which are 15 to 20 years old.
High-Tech Machine’s modernization grant will help buy 5-axis machining centers, 4-axis horizontal machining centers and quality-control equipment that make them more efficient and are already used by the company’s competitors.
“We knew we had to increase capabilities and modernize our facility to remain competitive,” Crosley said.
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The prosperity partnership supported High-Tech Machine’s funding request to the state Council on Development Finance, which voted to support it Dec. 11.
DPP had partnered with the state Division of Small Business earlier this year to propose the modernization grants to help Delaware companies avoid or reduce future potential risks to jobs and operations.
In August, the council approved use of up to $5 million from the Delaware Strategic Fund for the pilot modernization program.
“This is a homegrown Delaware startup,” said Gov. John Carney. “This is what the Modernization Investment Support Initiative is designed to do – help companies like High-Tech Machine stay competitive and grow in the First State.”
Betsy Price is a Wilmington freelance writer who has 40 years of experience, including 15 at The News Journal in Delaware.
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