International Partnership Improves IBM Preform Precision

Who is Hammonton Mold Co.?

Steve Domazet, co-owner, Hammonton Mold Co.: Hammonton Mold Co. (HMC)was founded by Luka Domazet in 1986, years after he arrived in the U.S. He came over from what was then Yugoslavia. Luka was a highly talented machinist, always striving for perfection. While working for existing reputable mold manufacturing companies in New Jersey, he had ambitions to provide even higher quality services to the plastic molding industry. So, in 1986, he started Hammonton Mold Co.

Our core business is injection blow molds (IBM), which includes new projects, refurbishments, repairs and maintenance. The IBM molds we manufacture serve the pharmaceutical, cosmetic, healthcare and wellness industries. Our services include technical assistance with the customer in part definition, choice of technology, mold and preform design, mold manufacturing and in-house sampling prior to mold delivery.

Adop France and the HDI Group recently acquired the majority of HMC shares, so we are now legally and firmly associated with another IBM mold manufacturer. Today, HMC has 15 employees and one apprentice.

Who is Adop France?

Guy Desjonquères, president, Adop France: Adop France is an IBM mold manufacturer based in Normandy, France, that has been building molds since 1971. Initially, they manufactured injection molds, extrusion molds, IBMs and injection stretch blow molds (ISBM; both 1 stage molds), but today, the core business is IBM molds.

Adop is owned by the Desjonquères family, whose predecessors were involved in the glass manufacturing industry, with a notable partnership with Saint Gobin, which then became Saint Gobin Desjonquères.

Adop is making around 50 IBM molds per year (from one cavity pilot molds to 32-cavity molds) and, since 2018, has performed increasingly well every year, showing a double figure increase in sales. We employ 40 people: 27 in the shop, three designers and three in sampling.

What factors influenced this merger?

Domazet: We have been approached in the past by private equity groups and others. Those were not a good fit, as their focus was growth primarily for the sake of profit. Of course, in this merger, profit is still a motivation, but not at the cost of customers or employees. We need to partner with someone who has the same ethical standards.

A difference between Adop and Hammonton Mold is our primary geographic markets. While both of us sell globally, the majority of Hammonton’s sales are in the Americas. With Adop in Europe, we will now have someone who can service our molds in that market. With this partnership, both shops will be able to service each others’ molds. The ability to run our customers’ mold to produce quality bottles long-term requires them to have a mold shop that is responsive and proactive.

What motivated your company to acquire Hammonton Mold Co.?

Desjonquères: Initially, the idea was to have a local company in the U.S. that would support our business development strategy and ensure repair work, fine-tuning and maintenance. However, it quickly became clear that HMC’s family history, attitude, ethics and, most importantly, their IBM knowledge from conception to manufacturing were too valuable to be used only for maintenance and repair. We decided if the operation went to the signing phase, we would make a major investment in machines, labor, ERP and management to raise HMC to the next level.

How does the acquisition align with your overall strategic goals globally for IBM?

Desjonquères: The IBM industry in the U.S. is relatively small for Adop compared to the market volume potential for IBM molds. Not being physically present on U.S. soil put Adop at a disadvantage. Due to the actual production capacity of Hammonton’s site, they were in no position to move to an aggressive phase strategy.

So, combining both companies’ knowledge, experience and strong family ethics seemed to be the next, most sensible step. We planned to upgrade the New Jersey site to increase production capacity output within the next two years, allowing both companies to compete more efficiently in the IBM pharmaceuticals and cosmetics market in North America.

How are you leveraging Hammonton’s IBM expertise within your existing global operations?

Desjonquères: Before signing the deal, the existing owners, Steve and Ivan Domazet, confident that the deal would go through, and in agreement with Guy Desjonquères, the president of HDI Group, purchased two machines in September 2023 that would begin ramping up output. We also acquired an ERP system (identical to the one used by Adop), which immediately integrated sales, production, accounting and management data from both companies.

The immediate synergies are between the planning and production departments. This is where the stakes will be when ramping up sales and introducing increased activity. Adop will be sharing our system with HMC for estimating planning, performing to plan and performing to cost as planned.

Inspired by HMC’s laser engraving machine, we just invested in one for the Adop plant in France to ensure quality mold finishing.

Given your strong, family oriented culture, how are you preserving this with the merger?

Domazet: We currently have two generations of the Domazet family working in HMC. Moving forward, there will still be the opportunity for the youngest generation (my nephew, Lucas) to continue to move through the company. As my brother and I began with sweeping the floors and helping on machines, so has Lucas. Currently, he does our micro welding. It is his choice how much he wants to learn and what new responsibilities to take on. 

So far, how has partnership enhanced your capabilities, market reach and overall competitiveness?

Domazet: Some technologies and processes are common between us. The areas in which we differ are what I’m most excited about. We’ve both spent decades improving tool design, quality control and innovating based on customer needs. It is valuable to study and learn from someone who has encountered the same problems as you and yet developed a different solution. From the few joint projects we’ve engaged in already, I’ve seen like-minded solutions and unique takes. This is like a complete system upgrade with a new tool kit at your fingertips.

What do you view as your chief competitive advantage today?

Domazet: Our innovative spirit and rapid turnaround on new innovative part designs. Our team has a wealth of experience in the conception, design and guarantee of the preform, which is the key to a successful IBM project. Plus, we offer a high level of flexibility and project management via direct personal customer communication.

HMC also has two IBM machines for sampling the molds prior to shipment. Still, as a result of the recent partnership with Adop France, we are integrating a new high-tonnage IBM machine, giving us the capability to sample larger molds.

What is the most significant change in your use of technology and your recent approach to the business?

Domazet: On the technology side, we purchased two new Haas centers (one lathe and one milling machine) to increase production. In terms of the business, it has to be our partnership with Adop France, which has allowed HMC to export to the European Union, Scandinavian and South American markets while maintaining and continuously striving to improve our services to existing customers in the U.S.

How are you planning to evolve the business over the next three to five years?

Domazet: Although HMC will retain its flexibility and intimate customer relationships, we will see a transformed HMC, first in capacity. We will invest more than $1 million in machinery and manpower over the next three to five years. We are working with our current ERP system to improve our project and financial management skills and are looking at other ways to deliver hollow-bodied containers to our customers. We invested over $100K in building improvements (internal and external) and we are preparing to expand our workforce to 25 to 30 employees by 2028. HMC is recruiting experienced lathe, milling, grinding and assembly technicians with experience in IBM moldmaking.

Share the most interesting mold project your company was awarded.

Domazet: One of the most recent projects we handled was a 40-cavity mold. This is unique in IBM moldmaking. It was probably one of the largest cavitation molds manufactured by an IBM moldmaker to date. 

We have also patented certain elements that are used in our IBM mold construction. Black Ice technology — a mold part guide mechanism — is one of them. Some of our major customers now demand that competitors equip their molds with Black Ice when we are handling refurbishment jobs.

Black Ice technology addresses the challenges with retractable bottom plugs in IBM. Traditional retractable solutions can result in maintenance and unreliability issues, whereas this technology solves problems with a more straightforward, efficient and durable mechanism. Key features include:

• Perfect linear movement after years of use.
• Availability in both single and split bottom plugs.
• Retrofitting capability for existing tools.
• Quick change of bottom plugs.
• Individual flood cooling.
• All stainless steel construction with zero wear surfaces.

We offer a limited five-year warranty on each Black Ice system.

How do you anticipate this acquisition enhancing your ability to serve IBM customers in North America?

Desjonquères: This Adop France and HMC venture represents a critical vision for the future of the IBM industry. In the coming years, IBM projects will continue to emerge, and without local, competent and serious partners to execute these projects, IBM will either grind to a halt or need to look to foreign companies to do the job. Adop France and HMC will ensure the sustainable future of high-quality local IBM engineering and machining.