Taking it to the max

Since 1991, Maximum Machine of West Jordan, Utah, has served more than 500 customers with the design and manufacture of plastic injection molds, tool-and-die work and lathe-and mill-production jobs.

The trouble is, the company was running out of room.

Owner Tim Brohl said the business had outgrown the 5,600-square-foot facility it had used since opening for business.

" We've been in business for 13 years - and we had one space for our operation that whole time. We've been lucky enough to grow and need more room," Brohl says.

As Brohl was exploring his options for expansion in 2003, he received a well-timed fax that helped solve his problem.

"We got a flier about a building from Allied Steel in our fax machine about a year ago, and it looked exactly like the type of facility we needed," he says. " We added 6,000 extra square feet with our new building, which is 40- by 150-feet and 18 feet tall."

Once the need for space was identified and Brohl had found a partner in Allied Steel, however, his problems were not over. In a way, they were just beginning.

He praises Allied Steel's role in getting the proper authorization to move the job forward.

"The building was required to be at International Building codes up to 2002 standards, rather than 1998 standards," Brohl says. "An engineer had to reexamine the design and rework some things to see if it would meet current requirements."

"It ended up being a six-week process of letter-writing and other communications between Allied and the government," Brohl says. "We got all of that taken care of, and then we were finally able to move forward."

A subcontractor did all the construction work for Maximum Machine, finishing the building with a four-man crew, right on schedule.

Brohl says he made several changes to the original building, including creating a four-foot brick facia and new door locations. He also added parking lot space and storm drains to the exterior.

"It took less than two weeks, and the guys seemed to think Allied's exact specifications and thoroughness made the job easier," Brohl says.

The building currently houses 10 plastic injection machines and a machine shop to work on equipment. There are also a bank of office and meeting rooms, as well as improved restroom facilities.