Colonial has broadened its reach to the realm of workholding fixtures, accounting for 10-15 percent of its overall product portfolio.

“We’ve been doing it several years, but there seems to be a huge need and limited resources out there,” Brett Froats said. “So, that’s been growing fairly quickly. We are gaining a good name in the market. We are steadily increasing our reputation with Nemak in Mexico with design and build of workholding fixtures for engine blocks, manifolds, and similar power-train components that require unique locating and clamping for precision machining.

“Basically all of our products about 70 percent are focused on automotive. Within the automotive industry, it’s the power-train components transmissions and engines. So, workholding fixtures are a good fit with our products that we manufacture right now.”

Most of Colonial’s new products, including workholding fixtures, are manufactured in Windsor but can be easily serviced at its Michigan and Mexican facilities. Recently, Colonial shipped its first electric drive-broaching machine to Mexico.

However, despite our growth in the workholding fixture market over the past two decades and annual revenue in the $20 million range, Colonial has maintained the quality and core values that customers seek out in a small company.

“It’s kind of ingrained in the culture here,” Brett Froats said. “There was a learning curve on some of the workholding fixtures. It wasn’t perfect right from the start, but as we gained more experienced we recognize where to focus our attention.”