Westminster Tool Awarded $100,000 Grant for Additive Technology

Leadtime Leader 2021 Award winner Westminster Tool (Plainfield, Connecticut) announces that is has been awarded $100,000 as a recipient of the Additive Manufacturing Adoption Program (AMAP) grant, a Connecticut-based program recognizing six manufacturers in the state adopting innovative additive technologies into their operations.

Governor Ned Lamont, the Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) and the Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology (CCAT) announced the six recipients Sept. 1, 2021, at an event hosted by fellow recipient Okay Industries (New Britain, Connecticut).

“Connecticut is the Silicon Valley of advanced manufacturing, plain and simple,” Governor Ned Lamont said at the event. “These grants will help our brilliant manufacturers across the state continue to innovate, building bigger, faster and more complex machines that drive our state, country and the world further into the 21st century.”

Developed by CCAT and the Connecticut Manufacturing Innovation Fund (MIF), the competitive grant was created to support manufacturing companies seeking to add new 3D printing equipment and capabilities to their processes.

Westminster Tool reports that it continues to be at the forefront of manufacturing technology and has spent the last seven years exploring 3D printing applications. In 2020, the company embarked on a new partnership with metal additive technology company Mantle Inc. (San Francisco, California). Working together, Westminster Tool extensively researched Mantle’s metal additive applications specific to the injection mold industry. (Stay tuned for a case study on this project in the MMT October issue.)

“Our partnership with Mantle gives our team a unique opportunity to learn about the latest metal additive technology and as a result, allow us to deliver innovative solutions to our customers,” says Westminster Tool CFO, Colby Coombs. According to the company, using metal additive technology for tooling component manufacturing has the potential for major cost and leadtime reductions, and it also opens the door to several new engineering opportunities for injection moldmaking.

This grant, and the support given by CCAT and the state of Connecticut, will allow Westminster Tool to take their application of additive even further. “Connecticut has made it a priority to provide manufacturers with the support they need to adopt advanced technology,” Coombs says. “This program is another great example of how Connecticut helps drive manufacturing forward, and we are honored to be included in that effort.”