MetriCan Stamping in Dickson County TN Celebrates 10 Years
Canadian auto parts manufacturer marks 10 years in Dickson County
The traditional gift for a 10th anniversary is tin or aluminum, but MetriCan Stamping LLC is celebrating theirs with steel because, well, that’s what they do.
MetriCan is a Burlington, Ontario, Canada-based company that formed in 1976 and decided in the mid-2000s to branch into the United States in order to serve the Southeast’s growing automotive industry. The company chose Dickson to establish a stamping plant in September 2005, and today the manufacturing facility has grown to 150 employees.
“We stamp parts out of large, coiled, 30,000-pound rolls of steel that you might occasionally see being hauled on semi trucks down the highway,” says Bob Bowen, MetriCan Stamping plant manager. “At our facility, those steel coils go through huge presses as flat sheets and come out as shaped parts. From there, we do all kinds of welding and attach nuts and bolts, then we ship those parts to our customers, who make bumpers, fenders, seat frames and other assemblies.”
MetriCan ships directly to Volkswagen in Chattanooga, while other parts are shipped to suppliers that add more to the assemblies before shipping the finished products to automakers like General Motors, Toyota and Nissan.
“Parts made in Dickson end up installed on vehicles at plants throughout the world, including Germany, China, Canada, Mexico and the United States,” Bowen says. “For transporting parts to automotive plants here in the Southeast, Dickson County is an ideal location for us because we ship everything by truck. Those trucks have convenient access to I-40, State Route 840, I-65, I-24 and beyond.”
Strong, Skilled Workforce
Bowen says a strong workforce exists in Dickson County, with employees who pride themselves on their work ethic and technical skills.
“This is an excellent region for attracting employees because people are motivated and conscientious,” he says. “As a result, our company continues to enjoy success. We operate three shifts Monday through Friday and occasionally offer overtime.”
Joseph “Joey” Graves, president/CEO of the Dickson County Chamber of Commerce, says the community is lucky to have companies like MetriCan Stamping.
“We are fortunate to attract international companies like MetriCan that choose to do business here,” Graves says. “We now have Canadian and Asian companies in Dickson County along with American firms experiencing success.”
Bowen says he expects prosperity to continue at MetriCan Stamping. The company started with a 60,000-square-foot manufacturing plant when it opened in 2005 and has expanded twice over the years, bringing the current plant size to 90,000 square feet.
“We also added 20,000 square feet of warehouse space in October 2014,” he says. “We are staying busy these days, just like the entire auto industry.”