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JP Tool builds its future in parts Photo by Bob Pennell Tool and die maker Robert Pierce, left, and press operator Andy Simcoe set up the 300-ton press at JP Tool in Central Point. Central Point company's able to meet varied needs By MARK FREEMAN CENTRAL POINT -- Chances are you've come across something made by JP Tool Inc. and didn't know it. The Central Point-based metal stamping shop churned out about 4 million parts last year, making everything from Epson printer parts to swinging garbage-can lids used at Disneyland and other national theme parks. "Basically, we make smaller parts that go into larger products for other manufacturers," says Jed Brown, who owns JP Tool with partners Mark and Tom Simcoe. JP Tool contact parts have gone into global positioning system units and cellular antennas on Mercedes-Benz sport utility vehicles, hand-trucks made by Genie Industries and knife blades and clips for Spyderco and Gerber. It also makes metal holders for cellular phones for a company called Cell-Grip. Closer to home, it makes bird-feeder bases for Ashland's Schrodt Designs and makes an aluminum case called the Hot Dogger (it attaches to snowmobile mufflers to cook hot dogs) for a Eugene company called Flato. In the last three years, the company has produced 11 million parts for Epson alone, making the metal shield plates on the bottom of the printers that hold the circuit board and components in place, grounding plates and a piece that holds the printer head in position. When the shield production peaked about three months ago, the company was making 10,000 a day. And though each part must meet specific dimensions (300 dimensions for the shield plate alone), Epson hasn't rejected a single shipment. Not a bad track record for a small shop with three hands-on owners and 10 employees. Brown and the Simcoe brothers bought the business, which dates back to the 1970s, in 1995. They say sales set a new record that first year, doubled the year after that and have continued to grow. The three owners all began working for the company, then owned by Jim Pullin, shortly after graduating from area high schools and eventually earned journeyman status. They began to manage the business in 1993, purchasing it two years later. JP Tools stands for Journeyman Precision. The company once focused more on the tool and die side of the business, designing and making the forms and tools that other metal stamping shops used to produce parts, Tom Simcoe says. Now, it keeps all of the actual part production in-house too. By keeping design and production under one roof, the company can better control quality and increase revenue. The owners can also do what they love -- watch a project go through the entire design and production process. "We're allowed to be creative," says Simcoe. "The biggest joy is designing the die and then watching the part come through the pressing room." Designing dies is an expensive and exacting task. Making a tool to produce a specific part often costs tens of thousands of dollars. JP Tool has made dies weighing up to 4,000 pounds and using up to 52,000 pounds of spring pressure. The clearance in parts is often about the thickness of a human hair. And much of the expertise comes from experience. "You can't learn this in school," says Simcoe, adding that apprenticeships are valuable in the metal-stamping industry. While many of the company's competitors are located near ports, JP Tool has managed to stay competitive from a distance, trucking its materials in and its products out on Interstate 5. How does a small shop in Central Point land so much business? Some customers have done business with the company for years, others saw it listed in a national registry of manufacturers. But Simcoe says a lot of it comes from quality, word of mouth, service and old-fashioned sales calls. "We go out and hit up the manufacturers on the West Coast," he says. "It's a snowball. There's no shortage of work out there." Today's Edition : News | Sports | Business | Weather | Tempo | Classifieds Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA