ETBO Tool & Die has been a staple of Elgin County’s high-tech manufacturing industry for more than half a century and is still a leader in its field.

A family-run business with a reputation for innovation, ETBO has never budged from its location in the hamlet of Calton, on Richmond Road in Bayham Township.  But much else has changed since Etienne and Marie-Louise Borm immigrated from Belgium and relocated their company as an industrial engraver and tool and die builder.

Today ETBO is a premier supplier of metal stampings and tooling systems, with in-house technical specialists in engineering, tool manufacturing and automation.  It supplies manufacturing solutions to a variety of industries including automotive, electronic, aerospace and medical throughout Canada, the United States and Mexico. 

The company’s 60 employees are led by plant manager Etienne Borm, son of the founders – although he says his semi-retired parents “still keep any eye on things.”

The Borms have seen their business embrace many new technologies and expand considerably over the years.  The latest expansion, in 2008, added 13,000 square feet to their Calton plant, bringing it to 42,000 square feet, one of the largest businesses in Elgin County.  Further expansion is envisioned within five years.

ETBO’s core strength, Etienne Borm says, is that it provides a one-source solution for customers.

“We do all our own engineering, product development and product design,” he says.  “We build all the components of a manufacturing system, integrate the automation and ship the final product.  The customer deals with one contact person, not three different companies trying to put a project together.”

ETBO is regarded in the tool and die industry as an innovator, especially because of its use of software to analyze the characteristics of materials and its development of in-die sensors that enable every part to be precisely measured as it is being built, to eliminate defects.

“We can ship a box of 5,000 pieces and provide measurements for every single piece in that box,” Borm says.  “You know they’re right.”

ETBO employs highly skilled professionals and technicians, and Borm says the company is successful at attracting and retaining the people it needs partly because of Elgin County’s attractiveness as a rural community with affordable housing and plentiful day care.

Borm, in fact, is an Ambassador for Elgin County – the first business leader to join the program set up by Elgin County Economic Development in October 2009 to organize volunteers to participate in the growth and development of the County and promote it as “Progressive By Nature.”

One key advantage that Borm sees for the County, which applies to his own business, is its strategic location.  Businesses have convenient access to Highways 401, 402 and 403 and can reach a consumer market of 10 million people within a 2 ½-hour drive.  ETBO is only 20 minutes from the 401 and trucks don’t have to crawl though traffic jams to reach it.

“When a truck crosses the border in Windsor we know when it will get here every time,” Borm notes.

Mostly, though, it is the Elgin community that inspires Borm to contribute his time as an Ambassador.

“I’m partial to Elgin County because I grew up here,” he says.  “I feel strongly that the County has a great deal to offer both businesses and families.  People have a good work ethic and a rural sincerity. 

“You can leave your car parked in the driveway with your doors unlocked.  We are blessed with living in an area that is still like that.”

More information about ETBO’s high-tech story, including a video and slide show, can be found in the Virtual Tradeshow at www.progressivebynature.com.