MTD History
Micro Molding Innovation Since 1972
"Be the First. Be the Best." — two of MTD's core values most evident in its history as a pioneer in micro manufacturing.
MTD is often the first to adopt cutting-edge equipment — not for the sake of having the shiniest new technology, but to meet our customers' most challenging needs and stay ahead of their speed of innovation. The result is more than fifty years of firsts — and a track record of being recognized as the best at what we do.
1972
Miniature Tool & Die founded
MTD, originally called Miniature Tool & Die, began in the basement of founder Richard "Dick" Tully's 200-year-old colonial home in Charlton, Massachusetts, building connector molds for the electronics industry.
1975
Out of the basement, into Worcester
MTD acquired Layson Machine, a Worcester-based machine shop with an Electrical Discharge Machine — one of the few in the region at the time. EDM was still in its infancy, but MTD recognized its potential early. The decision to invest would define the company's tooling capability for the next fifty years.
Two years later, MTD was ready for a new EDM machine and moved to a new location in Worcester.
1982
First CNC Wire EDM in New England
MTD purchased one of the first CNC Wire EDM machines in New England — extending its early lead in EDM into the capability to produce miniaturized details that other regional shops could not match.
By the mid-80s, MTD had purchased a second Wire EDM machine and continued to invest in CNC technologies including an Elox CNC vertical EDM, a CNC Okuma Milling machine, an Okuma CNC Turning Center, and a Herbert Walter 24-position Automated Tool Changer CNC EDM machine.
1998
A new home, a new niche
MTD moved back to Charlton into a new employee-designed 16,500 sq ft facility at 15 Trolley Crossing Road — the company's home ever since. The same year, MTD began working on micro molds: a niche almost invisible in 1998, and one MTD already recognized as the company's future.
2001
Micro and bioabsorbable molding begin
Encouraged by major medical OEM customers who had come to know MTD through its mold-making work, the company began micro molding. That year also marked MTD's first bioabsorbable molding project — the work that would later become a defining MTD specialty.
MTD’s first “micro” molding machine was a Nissei Denkey.
2002
A deliberate pivot to micro molding
MTD participated in an 18-month Mass MEP assessment to determine whether shifting the business focus to micro molding would be sustainable. The study confirmed the direction — and laid the groundwork for the equipment investments and bioabsorbable expansion that followed.
2003
First RJG eDart for micro molding
MTD purchased its first Sodick presses and the first RJG eDart cavity-pressure monitoring system ever used for a micromolding application — establishing the shot-by-shot process discipline that still defines MTD's molding floor today.
2006
NIH funds MTD micro-flow research
MTD was awarded NIH Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) funding to study the micro flow of plastics. The two-year study, ending in 2008, produced the testing equipment that became foundational to MTD's modern micromolding process. MTD also began high-volume bioabsorbable micromolding.
2008
A second generation, a growing niche
After founding MTD and leading it for 36 years, Dick Tully retired. The company passed to his son, Dennis Tully, and the next generation committed to Dick's original philosophy of finding a niche and responding quickly, precisely, and efficiently to customers' needs. MTD's micro molding revenue surpassed its machining revenue for the first time.
2009
Only Sarix micro EDM in North America
Between 2008 and 2009, MTD upgraded all critical equipment in the in-house tooling department. We added Sarix micro EDM milling technology—the only system in North America at the time.
2010
Renamed MTD Micro Molding
On April 1, the company began operating as MTD Micro Molding. The new name reflected the new business: a specialist medical and healthtech micro molder, with all tooling and molding under one roof, no longer manufacturing turnkey cells for other companies.
2011
The smallest part in the world
MTD produced what was, at the time, the smallest part in the world: an ophthalmic implant for glaucoma treatment weighing 0.00000313 grams, with a gate measuring .0018" × .0008". Also that year, MTD launched drug-filled bioabsorbable material molding — and was named to the Inc. 500|5000 list for the first time, on the basis of 228% three-year growth.
2016
First MedAccred-certified micro injection molder
MTD became the first micro injection molding company in the world to earn MedAccred certification, and earned ISO 13485 certification the same year. A record sales year drove expansion of the molding and tooling departments to support MTD's growing bioabsorbable and drug delivery work.
2018
FDA registration and Best Places to Work debut
MTD obtained FDA registration, unlocking the assembly, packaging, and labeling operations that now ship product direct from MTD into customer sterilization and distribution. MTD also added North America's first Mitsubishi MX600 oil wire EDM machine and made its first appearance on the Plastics News Best Places to Work list.
2019
Processor of the Year — and the loss of Dennis Tully
MTD was named Plastics News Processor of the Year — the plastics industry's most prestigious recognition, and the smallest company to win the title in its 22-year history. The honor was bittersweet: Dennis Tully passed away one week before the awards ceremony.
2020
Dennis Tully inducted into the Plastics Hall of Fame
In spring 2020, Dennis Tully was posthumously inducted into the Plastics Hall of Fame. In September, his design for a 12,000 sq ft expansion of the Charlton facility was completed — effectively doubling MTD's cleanroom manufacturing space. The expansion was formally opened with a ribbon-cutting in May 2021.
2022
50 years of micro innovation
MTD marked 50 years of investing in the people, equipment, and expertise needed to produce miniaturized designs others say cannot be made.
2023
#1 Best Place to Work in plastics
After six consecutive years on the Plastics News Best Places to Work list, MTD topped the processor list for the first time — ranking #1 in the industry.
2025
First micro injection molder to invest in optical 3D metrology
MTD became the first micro injection molder to invest in a Bruker Alicona optical 3D metrology system — adding nanometer-precision measurement on parts under 1 mm to MTD's in-house metrology lab, alongside its existing CT capability.