EJ Ajax Acquires Swirtz Tool & Manufacturing
Fridley precision metal-forming company expands in-house tooling capablities
(FRIDLEY, MN)-EJ Ajax & Sons, a third-generation metalforming company headquartered in Fridley, MN, has acquired Swirtz Tool & Manufacturing, a Minneapolis tool and die company. Paul Swirtz has joined the EJ Ajax tool room. "Paul has been a fantastic addition to the team," according to Erick Ajax, vice-president. "I simply could not imagine that we would be able to do all of the in-house tooling that we're doing right now. His EDM machine hasn't had many idle hours since it hit the floor at EJ Ajax late last year,"
Paul Swirtz has been a tool and die maker since the late 1970s and founded his company in 1992. Swirtz Tool had a long history with EJ Ajax prior to the acquisition, Erick Ajax said. "Some of our customers most successful, most profitable jobs are running on tooling that Paul built for us. The tooling project that earned us the number 1 award for productivity in the North American Metal Forming Industry in 2008 was built and designed by Swirtz Tool & Manufacturing.
Erick Ajax said that the expansion of his company's in-house tooling capability will provide faster turnaround time and lower costs for customers. "In 2012, we installed one of the first fiber optic laser cutters in the United States. That expanded our prototyping and fabrication capabilities. By adding to our in-house tooling expertise, we are now able to support customers throughout the product lifecycle, from working samples to short runs to mass volume orders." Swirtz's problem-solving and innovation will help find progressive stamping solutions to more expensive fabrication methods.
Switz said that joining EJ Ajax will enable him to "concentrate on the part of the job that I like most. What's fun for me is getting a CAD file of a really difficult metal part from the customer and figuring out a competitive way to do it. I like all the people I work with at EJ Ajax. There's good people here. That's not by accident."
For more on EJ Ajax and Sons, visit their website: www.ejajax.com
Contact: Erick Ajax
763.571.1660
Erick@ejajax.com
