MERRILLVILLE | Third-generation family-owned Modern Forge has moved from a rambling complex of 50 buildings in Blue Island to a new state-of-the-art facility surrounded by corn stalks and cattails on the southern outskirts of Merrillville.
The company, which was founded in a 200-square-foot garage by a married couple, just commemorated its 100th year in business. About 1,000 employees, family members and retirees came Saturday to the new Modern Forge Indiana plant at 8757 Colorado St. on Saturday to celebrate the perseverance and growth of a business that now employs more than 650 workers at plants in five states.
The company likely made a few thousand forgings in its first few years, CEO Greg Heim said. Last year, Modern Forge used massive hammers and presses to make 17.8 million forgings for Honeywell, Polaris, Federal Mogul, General Dynamics, Mercury Marine and Harley-Davidson, its largest customer.
"Without people, nothing happens," Heim said. "None of this is possible."
Longtime workers have sometimes stuck with the company for 30, 40 or even 50 years.
Modern Forge, which makes side frames and fender struts for Sportsters, Fatboys and other bikes, is Harley Davidson's oldest supplier, but is also highly diversified. Its custom metal forgings are used in trains, planes, motorcycles, fighter jets, outboard boat motors, tractors and Bradley Fighting Vehicles.
Modern Forge invested more than $35 million in its new 260,000-square-foot facility in Merrillville, nearly twice as much as originally estimated. Costs spiraled out of control and the forging company had to take the rare step of switching lenders halfway through the project, but the new building well positions Modern Forge for the future, since it's far more efficient, chief financial officer Patrick Thompson said.
"We get rewarded for it every day in lower product movement costs, lower energy costs and lower maintenance costs," he said. "It's improved almost every aspect of our business."
The investment included new equipment, such as new work cells with all new platforming.
"There's some old equipment, probably older than I am, that are still working, and that are working better than I am, like the millsaw," Thompson said. "Then there's a lot of new equipment. There's a brand new heat treat facility coming in the first quarter of 2015."
Modern Forge has room in the facility to grow in the future. Adding new customers is a long, drawn-out process that can take years, since the company does all custom work. The company has however cultivated several new clients in recent years, particularly in in the energy production sector.
"Five years ago, we did almost nothing in the energy industry," he said. "This year we will probably do in excess of $20 million. That's pretty big."
Modern Forge, which also has plants in Illinois, Wisconsin, Tennessee and Texas, currently employs around 100 workers in Merrillville and is actively hiring, such as machinists and tool and die makers. By 2015, it hopes to have around 200 workers, Thompson said.
Modern Forge produced in first forging in Merrillville last October and is up to about 60 percent capacity of the plant, which can produce an estimated $80 million to $85 million in forgings a year.
"We're working to grow with our customers and expand our offerings," Thompson said.