MUNCIE, Ind. — Taurus Tool marked its 50th year in business by relocating and expanding its operations southwest of Muncie.
Company president and co-owner Jim McDonald said in a news release that the company, which offers contract machining work such as computer numerical control turning, milling and fabrication, installed a five-feet-by-eight-feet statue of a bull near the entrance its new location at 4401 S. Delaware Drive.
Taurus Tool designs and builds special machinery, gauges and tooling, and the company maintains and repairs parts.
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“They’re a growth-minded employer that provides great job opportunities,” Delaware County Commissioner James King said in a prepared statement. “It’s wonderful to see all they are doing, and their logo is definitely a testament to the company’s strength.”
The move to the new 66,000-square-foot building provides job security to its 30 employees, McDonald said. The company also plans to add more employees through expanding its line of services with water-jet functions as part of its metal cutting services for industries ranging from food packaging to aerospace.
“This is a new product for us, a new opportunity,” McDonald said about the water-jet apparatus. “Water-jet machines are extremely cost effective. You can cut a shape out of a (metal) plate up to eight inches in thickness.”
The new building added 42,000 square feet for the local tool maker. The company moved in April from its former facility at Delaware County Road 400 South near Indiana 67, which is now being used by Filtrec, a maker of industrial filters.
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Taurus Tool marked 50 years in business in June.
McDonald came to work at Taurus in 2004 and was manager before he and his wife came to an agreement to buy the business in 2010.
Diversity in product lines helped Taurus Tool stay healthy, MacDonald said.
The company was the 2017 Prototype Supplier of the Year Award winner from BorgWarner Automotive, and products for food-packaging equipment make up about 30 percent of Taurus’ business.
Taurus Tool also has aerospace contracts that include making for brackets for hanging jet engines on an airframe.
About 40% of Taurus’ business is in the automotive industry, with customers such as BorgWarner, Chrysler and Magna.
“We have a company philosophy that no one ever gets to be more than 15% of our business,” McDonald said. “That lets us ride changes in the market.”
With the larger facility and the new water-jet machinery, McDonald said he would like to hire about five more people in the near future. He credited the county commissioners and their director of economic affairs, Brad Bookout, for “absolutely” playing a role in the sale of their former building to Filtrec, freeing Taurus Tool to move into its new, larger space.
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There were no direct financial incentives provided by the county to Taurus.
McDonald said that maintaining good jobs at a good company was “my giveback to retain those employees and grow the company.”
“Delaware County was very pleased to be able to play a role in making this move by Taurus Tool & Engineering possible,” Bookout said in a news release. “It’s truly a win-win scenario to find a new and improved home for Taurus and a new and improved home for Filtrec.”
