McGregor
Metalworking Cos.
Based: Clark County
Employees: 283 full time, with another 30 employed seasonally.
Services: Metal stamping, machining, welding, spinning, development and more.
Revenue: On track for $70 million in 2010.
Source: McGregor
SPRINGFIELD — A manufacturer that has operated for seven decades is refurbishing its brand and finding customers in some very 21st century ways.
McGregor Metalworkers Cos., based just outside Springfield, has opened a used equipment store on auction website eBay and put a new shine on its own website, www.mcgregormetal.com.
It’s also pulling away from the recent recession in a very traditional way, focusing on growing markets and investing in new machinery, said Dane Belden, who was named president of the company in June.
Instead of paying someone to sell older equipment from the shop floor, McGregor is paying what Belden calls a “nominal fee” to attract attention in another way.
“eBay is becoming a pretty vital place for people to buy used process machinery,” Belden said in a recent interview.
Angelia Erbaugh, executive director of the Dayton Tooling and Manufacturing Association, of which McGregor is a member, hasn’t heard of other manufacturers selling older equipment on eBay.
“I’m just very pleased that our manufacturers are looking at new business models for reaching their customers,” Erbaugh said.
Steve Staub, chief executive of Staub Manufacturing Solutions, has some experience with the idea. In 2007, his company sold one of its lasers on eBay when he upgraded to a new laser machine. Machinery dealers also have turned to the website, he said.
Recently, McGregor’s eBay page featured a 300-ton clearing press for $300,000, a 400-ton Bliss press for $260,000 and a 600-ton blanking press for $175,000.
The idea is to convert idled machinery into cash as the company buys new equipment, Belden said.
McGregor is the umbrella company for several affiliated firms — Morgal Machine Tool, Rose City, Ohio Stamping & Machine, Carmichael and SC Metal Products. The latter company is based in Aiken, S.C., while the others are based in Springfield.
With 283 full-time employees and on track to hit $70 million in sales this year — up 35 percent from 2009 — McGregor is headed in the right direction, Belden said.
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