ITAMCO Celebrates its 60th Anniversary

Indiana Technology and Manufacturing Companies (ITAMCO) recently celebrated its 60th anniversary.

Founded in 1955, the Northern Indiana-based manufacturer has grown from a single 4000 sq. ft. plant to two facilities that encompass a total of 485,000 sq. ft. ITAMCO delivers precision-machined components to OEMs worldwide in mining, off-highway vehicles, marine, and aviation. The company specializes in precision gear manufacturing and their capabilities range from mining gearing to production runs of CBN-ground transmission gears.

“I believe the success of ITAMCO is due to uncommon perseverance and a true spirit of innovation. Embracing technology while holding to solid and proven principles has given us an atmosphere that is creative, yet built upon a foundation that can be relied upon,” said Gary Neidig, president of ITAMCO.

ITAMCO’s spirit of innovation makes the company adaptable to the technology that enables it to provide better quality, better lead times and better pricing. In 2011, the company installed one of the largest gear grinders on the market in its climate-controlled grinding facility. The Niles ZP 40 gear grinder has taken hours out of the grinding process, saving production costs for ITAMCO’s customers. ITAMCO produces gears so precise that they meet the standards of their most demanding customers, including NASA and the Department of Defense. The grinding area with nine CNC-grinding machines is just one component of a company that includes precision machining tools, large press parts, 60-foot high bays, and 80-ton cranes.

“We're one of the few US facilities that can do it all, from cutting to finishing,” said David Neidig, business development for ITAMCO.

While acknowledging the company will always offer subtractive manufacturing like gear grinding, ITAMCO believes that additive manufacturing, often called 3D printing, is the future of their business. To that end, they have developed an additive manufacturing strategy titled: “Strategic Technology Initiative for Additive Manufacturing.” Their drive to bring additive manufacturing to their plant floor was enhanced when they won a funding award from the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute in July 2015. ITAMCO’s IT development team will be working with Johnson & Johnson, the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Notre Dame to develop an additive manufacturing CAD application.

In addition, the technology team at ITAMCO has released over 65 mobile device apps for machinists; designed and markets iBlue, the first industrial Bluetooth transmitter; and developed an award-winning application Google Glass application for machine tools.

ITAMCO is a privately held company that has maintained the principles of its founders, Donald and Noble Neidig.

“My uncle and father believed in a cause larger than themselves, and were willing to make sacrifices in order to build for the future of others,” said Gary Neidig.

In 2013, ITAMCO partnered with the Plymouth, Indiana School Corporation and Ivy Tech Community College to launch the ITAMCO Manufacturing Center on the Plymouth High School’s campus. Students enrolled in the Precision Tool Manufacturing course at the center will receive credits toward high school graduation and college credits from Ivy Tech. ITAMCO donated $100,000 worth of equipment in addition to technical assistance for the program and recently donated an additional CNC precision machine tool to the large inventory of precision machining tools. ITAMCO's goal is to help combat the skills gap in the technical trades by being an active participant developing the local workforce.

ITAMCO is also preserving natural habitat for future generations. The company has turned 750 acres of forest next to one of their facilities into a nature preserve. They also began the Woodland Restoration Project in 1997 with the planting of 300 acres of hardwood forest.