Company History

Island Tool & Die was founded in 1996, by Lee & Cindy Swanson. At first it was a husband wife operation in a small building on Main Street in Pine Island MN. With Lee's background in Tool and Die, he started building dies and tooling for local manufacturers. Soon the work warranted hiring another employee. It was not long before we outgrew the building we were in. In 1998 we moved to a larger building in the same town. It was not long after that, we started adding new equipment and technology to our operation. We bought our first CNC machining center in 1997. We again added employees. By the end of 1998 we added two more machining centers, another lathe, and also a CAM program. Our business was taking off, then the recession of 2001 came. Manufacturing as a whole went into a tailspin for the worse. This was a very trying time for anyone in the machining industry. We watched as other shops went out of business one after another, wondering when we would be next. In 2004 we started to see light at the end of the tunnel, and we had survived our first major recession. We like to think that the customers we had at the time were loyal to us for a reason. Without them we could have been one of those on the auction block. Now we are coming out of another terrible recession, but many lessons were learned from the last one, and we are stronger for it. Today we have one of the best crews we have ever had. Our machinists are top notch employees and very talented craftsmen. Their quality and craftsmanship are of the best. We are truly fortunate to have survived two major recessions and have the dedicated employees that we have.

 

What We Do

Island Tool & Die does outsource work for company's looking for a reliable quality driven company to do their overflow work. Some of the industries we provide for include: medical, packaging equipment, computer, construction, metal fabrication, and pharmaceutical equipment.

We specialize in short-run production, one-of-a kind detail work, and tool builds. We handle lots of stainless steel, plastics, and all of the more common steel and aluminum machining. Most all of our equipment is CNC or CNC-assisted machines. Our inspection area includes a CMM and all the common inspection equipment. We use the latest version of Virtual Gibbs CAM software and also have Solid Works CAD.

Island Tool and Die, Inc. Mission is to expand and continually improve utilizing quality practices and employee involvement to be a tier one supplier to major manufactures of food and pharmaceutical packing companies, supplying custom machined parts for automated packaging equipment and medical supply parts. We support our customers by providing superior products and services of exceptional value which help them gain competitive advantage in their markets.  We provide timely delivery of products whose performance are in accordance with our tradition of high manufacturing standards thus limiting downtime. Last, to sustain our vision and mission by constantly seeking renewal via continuous education and learning.