IMCO Carbide Tools Inc. of Perrysburg is expanding its business with the introduction of a new precision cutting tool designed for high-volume machine tooling operations.

The firm’s Pow-R-Feed M924 end mill was designed with reinforced cutting edges and a tough new coating to deliver multiple times the metal removal rate of competitive products, including its predecessor, M904 made by IMCO.

“The new Pow-R-Feed M924 is just a powerhouse for productivity. The M924 even outperforms the original M904 in every metal we’ve tested. That’s why we highly recommend the M924 for higher-volume operations,” said Perry Osburn, president of IMCO.

The M924 removed from 470 percent to 907 percent more metal per tool during in-house tests than comparable competitive tools in stainless steel machining operations. It removed 45 percent more titanium metal than any competitor’s tool, according to the company.

“We only introduce a tool when we’re sure there are reliable benefits for our customers. The M924 will help end users put more metal on the floor and more profits in their pocket,” Osburn said.

“We invest in the best resources and materials to ensure that our tools deliver premium performance,” he said.

IMCO incorporated the latest in cutting tool science to develop the new M924, providing optimized rake and relief angles with free cutting action that makes even higher feed rates possible, according to the company.

“When speed and cycle times are critical, the M924 is a perfect fit,” IMCO sales manager Tim Elfreich stated in the press release introducing the product.

Elfreich emphasized the importance of the M924’s two new features, an aluminum chromium nitride coating and reinforced, optimized cutting edges for longer tool life.

The reinforced cutting edges are stronger to resist chipping and excessive wear, even in more demanding applications. The new engineered coating has been shown to offer better heat protection for significantly longer tool life, according to Elfreich.

“Those new advances take metal removal rates and tool life to a whole new level,” Elfreich stated.

Perry’s brother Matt, vice president and technical director at IMCO, designed the M924 end mill cutting tool. He is responsible for product development and testing at the company.

IMCO Carbide Tool was founded in 1977 by their father, Lawrence Osburn, in the basement of the family’s home. It began as a sales company, not manufacturing, according to Perry, who became president after his father retired in 1984.

The company purchased a small manufacturing firm in Detroit that made machining tools and moved the operation to a location on Arco Drive in Toledo. IMCO still operates a small plant in Detroit.

In 1998, the company built its current 25,000 square-foot facility in Perrysburg Township. About half of that space is devoted to manufacturing of precision cutting tools, said Osburn.

IMCO currently has a total of 85 employees and operates three production shifts. The third shift started in January when they added 10 new employees, Osburn reported.

The firm has developed more than 10,000 products for machine tooling in the aerospace, automotive, medical technology, mining and energy industries. It has supplied tools for projects as large as the Dreamliner passenger jet for Boeing to small machine shops such as one in North Carolina that makes parts for remote-controlled racecars.

IMCO also introduced the enDURO M525 Series end mills, a highly anticipated product for West Coast customers, in 2011.

The company has increased its sales from $12 million in 2007 to more than $16 million in 2010, according to Osburn. It supplies a number of local customers including Frazier Machine & Production Inc. in Perrysburg.

IMCO sells its precision cutting tool products through 600 to 700 tool distributors who market them to end users around the world. The company’s products are demonstrated in videos on its website at www.imcousa.com.

Tags: Duane Ramsey, IMCO Carbide Tools Inc., Lawrence Osburn, Matt Osburn, Perry Osburn, Pow-R-Feed M924 end mill, Tim Elfreich, Toledo Business Link

This entry was posted on Friday, March 2nd, 2012 at 10:34 am and is filed under Entrepreneurs, Family Business, Toledo Business Link.
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