U.S. metal stamping companies expand hiring, record strong sales

Historically, metal stamping was done by blacksmiths using only a hammer, but newer technologies have literally reshaped the industry. Stamping is essential in a number of fields, such as aerospace, agriculture, automotive, construction, and medical applications. Using advanced methods, flat sheet metal can be shaped in a stamping press using a tool and die surface.

Metal stamping in the U.S. today

Metal stamping in the United States is responsible for more exports than U.S. manufacturing as a whole. Based on data collected by IndustryNet, 40 percent of metal stamping companies distribute their product internationally, while only 29 percent of all U.S. manufacturers distribute their product internationally.

Midwest is king for metal stamping

There are 1,245 metal stamping manufacturing plants in the United States, mainly situated in the Midwest. The majority are located in Ohio, with 176 plants (14 percent of all U.S. metal stamping manufacturing plants), Michigan with 130 plants (10.4 percent of all plants), Illinois with 124 plants, Wisconsin with 66 plants, and Indiana with 58 plants.

The Midwest region boasts 41,308 employees working in 652 plants, which accounts for 52 percent of all metal stamping plants. This region employs 65 percent of all 63,456 employees in the metal stamping industry.

Employment gains ground

Over the past 12 months, jobs in this industry have increased by 1.4 percent. Subindustries, such as precision, deep drawn, prototype, and engraved metal stamping, have also reported increases in employment. Ford Motor Company's Dearborn Stamping Plant in Michigan, Mayville Engineering Company of Byron Center, Michigan, and Van-Rob Inc. of Waverly, Ohio, have reported significant employee growth.

Ford Motor Company's Dearborn Stamping Plant is the largest stamping plant in the United States, totaling 2,700,000 square feet. Ford is famous for their advanced prototyping, where three-dimensional drawings created on a computer program are used to create the design. The computer design is sent to a machine, where a pair of robotic arms bends and welds the two-dimensional sheet material into the correct shape.

Productivity, sales up

Advancements like this have greatly increased the productivity of the industry. Companies in the metal stamping field are twice as likely to report sales growth as other U.S. manufacturing companies. Sales have increased by 2.6 percent over the past year, with current average sales totalling 12.9 trillion dollars.

Companies such as Highlands Diversified Services of London, Kentucky, KMC Stampings of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Ultra Tool & Manufacturing, Inc. of Germantown, Wisconsin, have reported sales growth over the past year.

For more information 

IndustryNet is a single resource that meets the needs of industrial buyers. To learn more about metal stamping companies operating in the U.S., visit IndustryNet.com and start your free search today. IndustryNet can connect you with thousands of metal stamping companies specializing in everything from deep drawn metal stampings and engraved metal stampings to long run stampings and precision metal stampings.