What started with one used 1200-ton Emco plastic molding machine has turned into a company that serves automobile manufacturers around the globe.
Plastic Molding Development Inc. has come a long way over the years. All the while, the business remains in the city where it started — Sterling Heights, Michigan — and the management team is proud to be a part of the local community.
Founder Albie Kitts had worked in the molding industry for 20 years before he began Plastic Molding Development in 1985. For the first five years, it was located in a 10,000 square-foot building, but the business was relocated to a 20,000-square-foot building less than a mile away in the early 1990s. After two additions to the building since then, it now measures at 35,000 square feet.
Today, PMD has 10 machines, many of which feature state-of-the-art robotic equipment, with largest being the 3,300-ton Van Dorn.
PMD values its roots in Sterling Heights, and many of its regular customers hail from throughout Macomb County. It has grown over the years mostly by word-of-mouth, as customers appreciate the customer service, reliable equipment, and clean facility with a lounge that they can use.
The customers and employees also appreciate the family-like atmosphere, a principle set forth by Albie Kitts and his wife, Karen, from the very beginning. Albie treated employees like a part of their family.
When the company first began, Albie’s wife, Karen, ran the whole office. Both of their sons, Dave and Gary, worked at PMD as well.
Karen died in 1990 after a battle with cancer, and Albie passed away in 2012.
Gary, who began working with his father when he was only 15, continues to run the business until today.
