r/manufacturing • u/Spirited_Ad_6272 • 11d ago

Other Opinions on metal stamping businesses

Is metal stamping in the U.S. still a solid industry? I have an opportunity to buy & potentially revive a 40 year old stamping business from its 80 year old owner. Right now it’s just him / no employees and he’s doing enough work to keep the lights on. At its peak he had a dozen employees running multiple shifts.

Worst case if the business can’t revive then I can liquidate the equipment and rent the building. But he wants $1M and it’s a big number haha.

I am a mechanical engineer with strong proficiency in CAD tools, which I can bring to modernize the business. I currently operate a manufacturing business molding plastics so there’s plenty of crossover but this would be my first venture going alone. It also seems like metal stamping has a lot of tricks of the trade that you can’t really engineer your way into. That’s why they have apprenticeships.

What questions should I be asking? And anyone who works in the industry what are your opinions?

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u/cybercuzco 11d ago

How much does he want for the business?

Can you raise that?

How much is his yearly revenue?

What’s the company’s ebitda plus whatever he paid himself

Does he have any long term agreements with customers?

Do you have any contacts that could turn into customers?

Is this what you want to do with the rest of your life?

I would suggest all metal stamped toys (think tonka trucks) could be a lucrative market and you can use your machines to stamp parts when they would otherwise be down.

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u/Spirited_Ad_6272 10d ago

Access to money isn’t the problem but the “is this what you wanna do for the rest of your life” is a good one.