Editorial Advisory Board 2023-2026: Meet New Board Member Corey Bratton, Quality Mold

Meet Corey Bratton. Corey oversees day-to-day operations at Quality Mold, including workflow, outsourcing, sales and some financials. Founded in 1985, Quality Mold is a privately held plastic injection mold manufacturing company operating in a 16,000-square-foot facility in southern Erie, Pennsylvania, conveniently located just a few miles from Interstates I-90 and I-79.

Quality Mold began as a small, family-owned company 37 years ago and employs more than 30 trained professionals today. In 2019, it doubled its manufacturing footprint while maintaining its private company values and structure. They also have a plastic shop, Quality Plastics, which runs 15 presses from 40- to 300- tons.

In high school, Corey worked in various machine shops and then, in 1994, he entered a moldmaking apprenticeship program at D&F Tool and Die, a small local tool shop. It is there that he established the foundation of his moldmaking career. He gained experience in mold building, from manual machining to CNC to design. Corey graduated from vocational school, completed a toolmaker apprenticeship and continued with various technical courses and training.

Over the years, he worked as a toolmaker, electrode designer, machinist and EDM department leader. He started high-speed machining in 1997 and gradually moved into mold design. He spent some time as a toolroom manager for a large molder and learned about the processing side of the industry (enough to be dangerous).

He then moved up the ranks in the industry, holding shop foreman, tooling manager and project management positions before opening his own shop, Lake Erie Tool and Mold, which he credits to his employment opportunities with higher-end tool shops. The business hit a roadblock with finding qualified, skilled labor due to the volume of local acquisitions and the competitive wage offerings of larger shops.

In his late 40s now and experiencing the struggles of owning his mold shop, Corey decided it was best to take his experience to a growing company with a long-term plan and solid history. Quality Mold made the most sense.

Corey says that this company is a perfect fit for him and wants to help give the shop the recognition it deserves for its rich history, including through his role on MMT’s advisory board.

He brings experience with multiaction automotive underhood molds, HVAC tooling and well multicavitational medical and unscrewing molds to the board. He also has experience using new techniques, such as dynamic milling and high-feed machining.

While serving on the EAB, Corey looks forward to sharing his knowledge about mold manufacturing, including business issues, software, culture, shop floor/process/workflow, equipment, mold materials, mold components, disruptive technologies, training/workforce development and global competition. He is also eager to network with and learn from the other board members.  

Corey has been married for a little over a year (after being together for 15 years!) and has a son, a daughter and two stepsons. He loves to fish, be in the woods and travel.