When Maurice “Skip” Dowding opened a small tool and die shop near the family home, he never imagined how big we’d become, let alone the who’s and how’s he would need to arrive here. “Hunting and fishing all day was what I loved to do. So, I figured, hey I’m going to start my own Tool and Die Shop so I can set my own hours!” Little did Maurice “Skip” Dowding know that 24/7 would become his new work schedule! Skip set up shop in a small garage near his home on Narrow Lake back in 1965.

His entrepreneurial spirit is what drove him to keep pursing new manufacturing challenges and opportunities for decades to come. As he built the business, he quickly realized that to truly be successful, he had to build people, not just parts. And it wasn’t before long that additional plants and facilities were needed to maintain the high-level satisfaction his customers had come to expect. In 1998, Skip consolidated Dowding Industries into a single location in Eaton Rapids, Michigan – a place we still call home today.

The company has remained within the Dowding family throughout its history and is now led by CEO Christine Dowding-Metts, a proven master with the tenacity to lead. Under her leadership as CEO, the mission of Dowding Industries has continued to advance. Today, Dowding Industries and our team members aren’t in the pursuit of happiness, we’re helping to build it – piece by piece for the organizations we serve.