It’s a rare business that can survive 100 years, and the feat is doubly hard in the tool and die industry, where competition is fierce and a sudden cutback by one large client often can be the death of a small shop.

Since 1915, the Maumee Pattern Co., located in East Toledo, has walked that tightrope and the family owned business is hoping it has done all the correct things needed to sustain it for another century.

“Diversification is the key. We do a lot with the auto industry, but we still do work for other industries,” said Jeff Neuman, who with his brothers, Dave and Mark, co-owns Maumee Pattern. “There’s little nuance to every one,” he added.

Besides the auto industry, the company works with suppliers to the railway, marine, aerospace, and industrial equipment industries. The privately owned company would not disclose its sales figure.

The company works with its clients to design and manufacture molds made of steel, iron, and copper, which later are used by foundries to manufacture parts. Often, several thousands parts are made from one set of molds produced by Maumee Pattern.

Secrecy is a huge emphasis at the company because its client list — or the end user of a part made from a mold — is a who’s who of top manufacturers. Maumee Patterns has done work frequently for General Motors, but also for Honda, Fiat Chrysler, Dana Holding. Some of the Tier 1 parts manufacturers for which it has supplied molds has constructed parts used in the Toledo-built Jeep Cherokee and even Tesla autos.

“We have to be careful we don’t show something to a company’s competitor,” Mr. Neuman said.

The company, which is in a newer building but still in its original location at 1019 Hazelwood Ave., began in 1915 making wood and metal patterns mostly for General Motors.

Old black and white photos the company possesses show early mold makers with large wooden molds used to make locomotive parts.

The Neuman brothers’ father, the late Howard V. Neuman, purchased Maumee Pattern from a previous owner in 1967. The father was a longtime patternmaker at the company before buying it.

In 1981, Howard Neuman made the key decision to upgrade equipment at Maumee Pattern to a series of costly CNC (Computer Numerical Control) machines to accurately cut molds from blocks of metal.

The company has 13 such machines now and Jeff Neuman said the machinery has continually given the company a leg up on the competition by allowing it to do complex molds, which is needed for today’s more complex autos, engines, and other machinery.

But despite possessing the latest in CAD/​CAM design software and a 3-D printer, some parts still demand handcrafted expertise. That is why Maumee Pattern has four skilled patternmakers among its 27 employees.

“Detailed work on a pattern, that’s a learned skill. It takes time,” said Alex Neuman, a sales engineer at the company and the son of Jeff Neuman.

Maumee Pattern gets much of its business based on its good reputation and word-of-mouth. “In this business it’s hard to get a new customer to trust you,” Jeff Neuman said. If the tool and die shop does a poor job, time, money, and sometimes a product can be lost, he added.

Contact Jon Chavez at: jchavez@theblade.com or 419-724-6128.

First Published October 29, 2015, 4:00 a.m.