First Posted: 2/12/2015
KALIDA — From presses to welders to technology to recycling materials, Kalida Manufacturing Inc. does it all.
Within the last year, KMI upgraded its stamping processes to keep up with the new models of vehicles the automotive industry has introduced. The company added extra square footage to house the new equipment.
New models of vehicles mean new, upgraded machinery for KMI, the largest employer in Putnam County with more than 500 employees.
“The advantage for us is we’re able to keep up from a manufacturing perspective,” said Rick Esch, president of KMI. About every five years, there is an “opportunity for a new vehicle design,” he said.
Manufacturers are then able to step back and look at their processes to make changes, if needed, including updating systems to a more stable, energy-efficient process.
“We do our best to minimize our environmental footprint,” Esch said.
Angela Recker, Environmental Health and Safety staff member, said from April 2014 to January 2015, the company recycled 14,000 tons of steel, 10,000 tons of copper, five tons of cardboard and more among its recycling initiative.
“Byproducts have value to someone,” Recker said.
Plastic bottles and pop cans from the plant are donated to the parks districts in the area, which recycle the materials for cash. Other local companies use the byproducts produced at KMI for their own needs, Recker said.
Bryan Niese, assistant vice president of KMI, said the new technology requires a substantial amount of energy to operate, so where the plant can cut costs, the more efficiently it can operate.
The manufacturer had previously attempted to erect wind turbines to help further lessen their environmental impact, but the proposal was turned down by the village of Kalida in 2013.
The tier-two automotive stamping and welding supplier does not directly sell its products to the automotive industry, Esch said. The plant is a wholly-owned subsidiary of KTH Parts Industries Inc. of St. Paris, which then sells the products to the automotive industry.
Currently, KTH sells its supplies exclusively to Honda.
