14 Jan INDIANA GRANT ANNOUNCEMENT
Richmond Indiana Mayor David Snow congratulates Rick Shrader, President and owner of American Quality Molds, on being awarded $53,500 as part of the Manufacturing Readiness Grant program administered by the Indiana Economic Development Corporation and Conexus Indiana.
American Quality Molds (AQM), a subsidiary of Shrader Enterprises, LLC, 710 NW 5th Street, Richmond, IN, has been awarded a $53,500 matching grant from the state of Indiana as part of the state’s Manufacturing Readiness Grant program. The grant program was created in response to the recent, continuing COVID-19 pandemic. The grant funds are intended to help manufacturers obtain capabilities and machinery to be able to bring products to market quicker, as the need arises, whether from a pandemic or other supply chain interruption. To qualify for the $53,500 matching funds from the grant, AQM proposed a $200,000 facility improvement program, of which at least $107,000 of new equipment and software must be purchased by next summer.
Valerie Shaffer, President of the Economic Development Corporation (EDC) of Wayne County joins Mayor David Snow in congratulating Rick Shrader, President of American Quality Molds for being awarded one of the Indiana State grant awards.
The capital improvement program proposed by AQM was derived from its overall long-term growth strategy intended to continually upgrade its capabilities in order to better serve its customers. The grant award allows part of this long-term strategy to be implemented earlier than originally planned.
Planned capital improvements in response to the grant award include:
- New material handling device to assist AQM’s machine operators in more easily and rapidly loading, unloading, and transporting larger mold base machined parts across the shop; larger mold bases are now available from AQM due to its recent acquisition of a larger size machining center.
- A new high-speed computer system that will allow AQM to efficiently employ new machine operations and computer-aided analysis software.
- A new 3D printer that will permit AQM to use additive manufacturing to produce prototype finished goods that will allow AQM and its customers to
see a part that is to be injection molded prior to committing to the final mold design. - A new inspection system that will provide final machined parts to be more accurately inspected for dimensional tolerances as well as afford AQM the ability to implement a more robust SPC (Statistical Process Control) system.
- A new machining center that will enhance production of AQM’s standard stock mold base components as well as free up the company’s larger machining center for producing larger standard mold bases as well as various one-of-a-kind specials.
AQM looks forward to implementing theses capital improvements in order to serve our customers with broader more robust capabilities without sacrificing or diminishing its current commitment to total customer satisfaction by rapidly delivering high quality aluminum mold bases to customers throughout the continental U.S. and beyond.
Click to read the announcement in the Richmond Palladium-Item