Manitowoc Tool & Manufacturing (MTM)

Manitowoc Tool & Manufacturing in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, produces precision metal stamped parts for customers across on-highway trucking, power generation, small engines, lawn and garden, agriculture, home appliances, and HVAC. With 300 employees and a broad customer base, the company runs a wide variety of work through its press shop. In 2024 they installed a new 1,100-ton press and then turned to AP&T, a Swedish manufacturer of press automation equipment, to develop a solution.

“Due to the bed size and part configurations, labor at this work center was physically demanding,” says Cristofer Muchowski, Vice President at MTM. “Our throughput was not as good as it could be.”

As MTM began evaluating solutions they found flexibility a condition for further growth.

“The system would be flexible enough for us to use it in new ways that we hadn't yet considered,” says Cristofer Muchowski. “The ability to grow with it.”

AP&T developed a system with three operating modes built into a single installation. In free life mode, the four Speedfeeder units each run their own programmable movements independently. In transfer mode, they operate in a synchronized sequence. In single stroke mode, the press pauses at the top of its stroke while the automation indexes parts, then continues automatically. Rick Nicholson, Project Manager at AP&T North America, says this is quite an unusual, but effective solution.

“Combining free life with transfer mode in the same machine is rare,” he says. “Most systems have free life and perhaps single stroke, but not free life and transfer together. That's what makes this project quite special.”

A third mode, added in the field

The original scope called for two modes: free life and transfer. However, during commissioning, AP&T's implementation engineer and MTM identified an opening for improvement. The automation didn't have enough time or clearance for the transfer grippers to safely enter the tooling, pick up parts, and index them to the next station. Single stroke mode was the answer, as the press stops at the top of the stroke, the automation completes its sequence, and then production continues.

“We even started working on the solution before MTM said yes, because we knew they needed it,” says Rick Nicholson.

AP&T's engineer wrapped up the site acceptance test on a Friday, programmed over the weekend, and one week later the new mode was running, with no new wiring needed.

“AP&T were very serious and very focused on making this system work,” says Cristofer Muchowski. “They were reasonable to all requests and very reactive to our needs.”

In normal production, the Speedfeeder units usually sit at the bottom of the stroke. To allow tool changes by forklift, AP&T designed an elevator on the die change side that raises the units clear of the work area – with 1,500 mm (59 inches) of stroke, more overhead clearance than conventional transfer systems.

“In comparison to other transfer systems it goes higher, which people love because the overhead working space is better,” says Cristofer Muchowski at MTM.

In free life mode, an extended Y-beam lets the trailing Speedfeeder place finished parts directly from the press exit conveyor onto a pallet within the guarded area, and a forklift collects them roughly once an hour.

Training as a delivery item

The goal all along was that MTM's team would leave the project capable of running, programming and setting up the system themselves. That transfer of knowledge was built in as a requirement from the start.

“This project actually raised their knowledge level,” says Rick Nicholson at AP&T. “They went from moving pieces to operating the machines and that's a real shift.”

And it’s a point Cristofer Muchowski echoes from the customer side.

“We asked for more than the recommended training and onboarding,” he says. “That is a must.”

Safety is another area where AP&T exceeded Cristofer Muchowski’s expectations.

“AP&T put an amazing amount of time into the safety of this system,” he says. “They put more thought into safety than we did, and it truly paid off.”

The system has now been running since autumn 2025. Where two to four operators were previously required, the robots now do the work. But MTM didn't lay anyone off, the workers moved into new roles within the company, and one operator can now run this press while managing another.

“This project raises the bar for our skill level. It takes our press technology and capacity in high tonnage to a new level,” says Cristofer Muchowski at MTM.

Rick Nicholson at AP&T sums it up his way and points to one defining success factor.

“AP&T listened and adapted. At the end of the day – I'd really say that MTM got a Porsche, when they ordered a Volkswagen.”

About Manitowoc Tool & Manufacturing

MTM is a contract manufacturer founded in 1965, located in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, USA, with 280 employees. The company produces precision metal stamped parts and offers services including metal fabrication, tool & die, robotic welding, CNC machining, water jet cutting, laser cutting, and value-added assembly. Its customers span on-highway trucking, power generation, small engines, lawn and garden, agriculture, home appliances, and HVAC.