(Editor’s note: This is the second installment in a monthly series highlighting some of the region’s unsung manufacturers that make products essential to the economy and, in many cases, our way of life. See the first installment here.)
It’s no surprise that it feels like a sauna on the factory floor at Miniature Casting Corp. in Cranston.
After all, some of MCC’s machines run at about 800 degrees, melting zinc alloy – a mixture of metals, including aluminum and copper – which is injected into reusable molds and cooled by circulating water to solidify into various shapes. With a hiss and a bang, miniature metal pieces are ejected into small containers.
The process lasts only a minute, sometimes just a few seconds, but is repeated over and over, with operators moving among the maze of equipment, checking temperatures and ensuring everything runs smoothly.
MCC President Stephan Toljan points to one machine that alone churns out a staggering 2,400 to 2,600 pieces an hour.
The molded products that leave MCC’s factory have a multitude of uses. Some will be used in medical devices, others in electronics or in heating systems, still others will serve as housings for electronic components in cars.
“Ninety-nine percent of the people who drive by this road probably have no idea what goes on here and that it touches every part of their lives,” Toljan said. “If you drive a car, it likely has a part made here, or if you go in your basement and there’s a heating valve cap, we probably made it.”
Over the past five years, MCC has produced more than 30 million parts annually from its unassuming, one-story, 8,500-square-foot building in the Howard Industrial Park. The company expects to top 40 million pieces this year.
That might explain why MCC is in the midst of a $3 million expansion, building an addition onto the existing structure that will allow the factory to grow to 22,000 square feet. Along with the added space and equipment will come added jobs. Before the expansion, MCC had just under 30 employees. About 12 more will be hired.
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CHIEF OPERATORS: Angela Piacitelli Toljan, senior vice president of operations at Miniature Casting Corp., and her husband Stephan Toljan, president.
PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO[/caption]
STAY OR GO?
It’s a growth story that almost didn’t have a happy ending for Rhode Island.
When it became clear MCC would outgrow its Cranston factory several years ago, Toljan contemplated the advice of other companies in his industry that recommended moving to a state in the South, where the cost of operating a business is generally lower.
It’s a move that David M. Chenevert, executive director of the Rhode Island Manufacturers Association, has seen other companies make.
“Workers’ compensation is the highest in the country, in addition to high energy costs,” Chenevert said, adding that corporate taxes are also high in Rhode Island. “All these things can be very challenging for small operations, [most] of which employ under 25 people.”
At one point, Toljan was in the process of looking for a suitable place to set up shop in South Carolina, and the majority of MCC’s staff had expressed a willingness to relocate.
That’s when R.I. Commerce Corp. stepped in last year with an offer of $410,000 in tax credits through the Rebuild Rhode Island program that would help finance a major $3 million expansion of the existing factory. The tax credits only become available once the project is completed.
That tipped the scales for Toljan in favor of staying put.
“The fact that we are staying allows us to continue our local relationships, like collaboration with the University of Rhode Island, and the Providence and Cranston workforce development board,” he said. “We can also continue with our long-standing relationships with our local suppliers.”
The relationships include the Capstone Project, run by URI professor Bahram Nassersharif at the University of Rhode Island. The program, which started in 2007, connects engineering students with the chance to get real-world experience working with companies throughout the state.
In fact, MCC recently hired three URI engineering students.
“Because students don’t have that many years of experience in the field, they are still very open-minded and creative when it comes to solving problems,” Nassersharif said. “They often produce results that are hugely beneficial to their education, and also the companies.”
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MEN AT WORK: Hector Fernardo, left, die caster, and Roy Aronson, machine operator, work on one of the machines at Miniature Casting Corp. in Cranston.
PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO[/caption]
R.I. ROOTS
Miniature Casting Corp.’s Rhode Island roots can be traced back to the 1960s, when a precious jewelry manufacturer partnered with a Canadian die-cast company to form Precision Cast, which operated on Eddy Street in Providence.
First, the company produced zippers until Japanese manufacturer YKK dominated the industry. In 1980, Robert Piacitelli, a mechanical engineer and businessman, bought Precision Cast and identified markets in the die-casting industry with potential. Piacitelli renamed the company Miniature Casting Corp.
The company went on to be a leading supplier of a crucial component for Polaroid’s self-developing film camera and added other manufacturing capabilities.
MCC moved to Cranston in 1989.
Piacitelli stepped down as company president in 2014, and Toljan – Piacitelli’s son-in-law – was appointed as the top executive, coming from a marketing and sales position at Swarovski North America Ltd.
Angela Piacitelli Toljan joined her husband as senior vice president of operations two years later.
MCC has managed through an upheaval in the industry. Some companies have vanished in consolidations, while others moved operations to China and Mexico.
According to the North American Die Casting Association, there used to be more than 700 die-casting companies in the U.S. It’s now down to 250 nationwide.
Still, MCC executives feel confident that zinc die casting isn’t going anywhere soon.
“We are very hands-on and fortunate that we have the skills to design many of our machines,” said Keith Marden, vice president of mechanical engineering. “When a client comes to us with a project that isn’t compatible with the zinc die-cast method, we can work with them to design a tool that works for their specific project.”
Indeed, Stephan Toljan says sales more than doubled between 2014 and 2018. And in 2021, the company experienced a 15% growth in sales and is projecting another 7% increase this year.
CASTING WIDE NET
The future continues to look bright for several reasons.
The expansion will increase MCC’s capabilities, allowing the company to house new machines and platforms that, for instance, can produce parts up to 4 inches in diameter, an increase from the previous 2-inch capacity.
In addition, MCC has seen the return of customers who had previously bought from overseas suppliers.
“We worked with a company about 10 years ago based in New Bedford that recently called us out of the blue asking if we still had the tool that made the part for them, which we did,” Toljan said. “They were having issues with their supplier and realized that moving production to China wasn’t as cost-effective as they hoped.
“In most industries, supplier consolidation is a big topic,” Toljan said. “Companies, especially during the pandemic, have seen a shift in the global supply chain. Many are starting to realize they don’t want the risk of too many suppliers all over the place that they can’t control.”
The company says it’s particularly proud of the diversity of its customers.
MCC produces auto parts for major companies such as Chevrolet but gives just as much consideration to local industries.
The company once made the weights for Hasbro Inc.’s Weeble Wobble that kept the egg-shaped figurines from falling. Stephan Toljan holds up a tiny L-shaped toggle for a Craftsman Tools wrench.
Angela Toljan brings out a decorative finial made for a small business in Warren that produces birdhouses.
“We don’t turn away customers, even if the order is small or something we’ve never encountered before,” she said.
About 10% to 11% of its business is dedicated to Rhode Island-based customers.
“Many manufacturers tend to focus on one industry, often automotive parts, doing up to 75% of their business there,” Stephan Toljan said. “While there is good money in that industry, staying in one place is risky.”
