Business View Magazine | August 2020

53 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE AUGUST 2020 LAMAR TOOL & DI E CAST ING INC . and a surface grinder. That’s where he started.” In 1987, Snoreen moved into a 6,000-sq.-ft. building in Salida and hired 13 tool and die mold makers. At that point, he decided to get into the production end of the business, and purchased die casting and plastic injection molding machines and began producing steel die-cast dies and plastic injection molds for other manufacturing companies. “In 1989, we expanded to our current facility, which at the time was only 11,000 square feet, and in 1994, we added another 6,000 square feet and expanded our die casting capabilities even more,” Kolsters continues. In 1997, the company decided to automate its die casting machines. Prior to that, it was running manual machines. The fully-automated, seven-machine line-up helped to increase production, reduce reject rates, and provide a more consistent product. “Then, in 2000, there was too much competition with overseas markets for plastic injection molding, Kolsters adds, “so we dissolved that part of the business and stuck strictly to die casting. As we moved along, we determined that we’d let somebody else take care of tool and die making, and that we’d just focus on manufacturing. So, for the last 15 years or so, we’ve solely been expanding and building our die casting operation, becoming a leader in the industry.” In 2017, Lamar’s largest customer in Modesto, for whom it had supplied many castings, was told by its corporate leadership to close up shop and move its manufacturing operations to Mississippi. “In doing so, part of that process was they wanted to bring parts in turn-key, which meant that we would then also machine, powder-coat, and resin impregnate the castings as well. So, they made us an offer we couldn’t refuse and offered us their equipment for pennies on the dollar,” Kolsters reports. “We leased a building in Stockton, our second facility with another 24,000 square feet, and we installed 27 CNC machines, turning centers, vertical and horizontal machine centers, a