About Us

Lock-Ridge Tool Co. was started in 1962 by Ashford (Jim) Clark a master Tool and Die maker. Originally a tool and die shop Jim saw the need to add production to the company’s capabilities and started with a small Minster punch press. Over the next 15 years Lock-Ridge Tool rapidly grew the operation to over 10 punch presses ranging from 2 tons to 250 tons and 7 employees.

It was not long before many customers looked to us to produce prototypes and smaller quantities before committing to Punch Press quantities. In 1980 it was decided to include CNC stamping capabilities to the company’s arsenal giving us the ability to produce smaller run jobs without the necessity of tooling offering our customers a two prong approach to manufacturing.

In 1995 it seemed a natural move to add CNC machining to the mix with Wire EDM greatly reducing our tooling lead times and costs.

As the new millennium approached it became apparent that the only way to keep up with competition both domestic and off shore was to enlist the help of Robotic equipment. This gave us the ability to operate more equipment without having to hire more operators. We purchased robotic brakes and punch presses to allow us to operate lights out. This immediately increased our throughput.

In 2006 Lock-Ridge Tool once again added something new, this time in the form of a different manufacturing methodology with the introduction to Lean Manufacturing processes. This has greatly reduced our lead times and inventory making us even more competitive in our market place.

In 2011 the company found it necessary to utilize Laser Technology to compliment the needs of Lean Manufacturing taking setup times down from hours to minutes further increasing our worth to our customers.

Lock-Ridge Tool Co. now operates 24 hours a day with over 65 employees and serves over 75 customers in 10 different market places. We hope to be able to serve you too.

In April of 2013, to satisfy an ever increasing customer base and higher volumes we moved from our 28,000 sf location in Azusa to a new 60,000 sf facility in Pomona once occupied by General Dynamics. The new facility allowed us to increase the number of employees from 40 to over 70 to date.

The move was completed in 4 business days and was staged in such a manner that all major machinery was not down for more than 2 days and we never lost the ability to manufacture thru the entire process.