That Was Then
ITW Drawform was founded in 1976 by Ron Griffith, a journeyman
toolmaker. Griffith was a visionary, able to see beyond
the two old presses and the lathe that comprised the new
company’s “equipment.” He and the company’s
first employees drew on their resources and, using power
supplied by an extension cord from a neighboring business
and an empty semi-trailer as a warehouse, moved forward
to grow the company.
This Is Now
More than two decades later, ITW Drawform has developed
a reputation for producing and distributing high-volume,
tightly toleranced, deep drawn metal stampings to customers
worldwide — components made of aluminum, brass,
copper, stainless and cold-rolled steel and exotic
alloys. It’s a company based on innovation, producing
components from a single piece of metal rather than
traditional multi-part assemblies. It’s a company
dedicated to continual improvement in engineering and
manufacturing processes. It’s a company committed
to furthering the careers and lives of 250-plus employees,
with an extensive apprenticeship program and skills
development philosophy.
Forming a Better Tomorrow
The year 1995 marked a milestone for ITW Drawform, when
the company moved into state-of-the-art facilities in
Zeeland, Mich. The new 200,000-square-foot plant doubled
the size of the company’s facility. Inside, amenities
include a complete in-house toolroom, quality control
laboratories, multiple conference and project rooms,
and a fitness
center. But the company’s growth extends outside
the facility walls to the local community, where
outreach and educational programs continue to recruit
and train future workers.
It’s all part of the expansion driven by a desire
to tackle the “difficult jobs” and a willingness
to invest in the technology to meet our customers’ changing
needs. |