Iowa Mold Tooling Co. Inc. (IMT), an Oshkosh Corporation company, has expanded its manufacturing operations into McIntire, Iowa, by opening a new facility to handle its increased welding activities. The plant opening created about 40 welding jobs. IMT also has hired more welders at its main facility in Garner, Iowa.

Despite the global recession, business at IMT increased significantly in 2009, primarily due to a partnership between IMT and its parent company, Oshkosh Corporation, that supports the military’s need for new equipment overseas. IMT has been designing and manufacturing lifting equipment specifically for military applications since 2008.

“With the increased workload at IMT, it became clear that we would need to expand our operations to meet demand,” said Steve Fairbanks, IMT president. “In these tough economic times, this is great news for IMT and our community. Our manufacturing expansion not only supports our military efforts, but also allows us to quickly respond to increased customer needs when the economy improves.”

The grand opening event took place Dec. 15, 2009, and the facility is now fully up and running.

“These new employees join our experienced workforce at IMT,” Fairbanks said. “Our sales, engineering and technical support teams have more than 600 years of combined IMT experience, which is unprecedented in our industry.”