If your manufacturing process involves polyurethane foaming or molding, you already know that off-the-shelf equipment rarely cuts it. To achieve consistent quality, reduce cycle times, and maximize output, you need fixturing and molding equipment built specifically for your product and process. 

Enter Con-Tek Machine. A Minnesota-based partner for custom urethane fixturing and the leading U.S. specialist in custom urethane foaming fixtures and presses. 

For more than 40 years, Con-Tek has been the quiet force behind some of the most recognized brand names in manufacturing, from Fortune 500s to large, privately held businesses across the United States. We specialize in designing and building custom, engineered-to-order urethane fixturing equipment. 

Whether you are foaming panels for a commercial walk-in cooler, molding an automotive interior, or producing high-quality residential entry doors, here is everything you need to know about what Con-Tek does and how we can be the right fit for your next manufacturing project. 

Our Core Capabilities & Equipment 

At Con-Tek, we don’t believe in forcing a square peg into a round hole. Every piece of equipment we build is completely custom-designed to your specific application. Our in-house engineering team provides everything from complete fixture design to controls, safety systems, and automation to perfectly match your production needs. 

Our custom equipment is broken down into three main categories: 

1. Panel Foaming Fixtures

From standard wall panel segments to massive trailer-length panels, our panel presses are trusted by industry insiders. We build custom single or multi-cavity presses for discontinuous production. 

• Ideal For: Refrigerated transportation equipment, walk-in coolers, refrigerated warehouses, HVAC enclosure panels, and insulated doors (residential, commercial, or freezer). 

What this means for buyers: Con‑Tek isn’t offering a one‑size‑fits‑all press. They’re building the fixture system around your panel size, target flatness, thermal needs, loading strategy, and throughput goals, so the fixture supports your production plan rather than forcing you to adapt to generic equipment. 

2. Cabinet Foaming Fixtures

If you are manufacturing any type of insulated cabinet or container, we can design the exact foaming fixture you need. We specialize in single and multi-fixture solutions that offer multi-product support, easy product load/unload features, and automated model-to-model changeovers. 

• Ideal For: Food service equipment (reach-ins, ice makers, undercounter cabinets, prep tables), laboratory equipment, subzero medical freezers, appliances, and portable coolers. 

What this means for buyers: If you run a product family with multiple SKUs, or you’re trying to reduce tooling sprawl, Con‑Tek’s focus on multi‑product support and changeover options can be a direct lever on OEE: less downtime, fewer tooling swaps, and more consistent outcomes across variants. 

3. RIM Clamps & Mold Carriers

Reaction Injection Molding (RIM), Structural RIM (SRIM), and Resin Transfer Molding (RTM) require exact precision. Our clamps and mold carriers come in a variety of styles, including 4-post and clam shell designs, with features such as shuttles, booking platens and adjustable tilt capabilities. 

• Ideal For: Transportation and marine components (body panels, floors, drag reduction products), recreational vehicles (body panels), and architectural moldings. 

What this means for buyers: Con‑Tek is thinking beyond clamp force. The system options, such as tilt, turntables, booking platens, high-speed actuators, safety architecture, and controls, are what turn “a clamp” into a production cell that can scale, integrate, and stay reliable over the long haul. 

Custom Fixture Solutions: Recent Projects in Action 

What does “custom” actually look like in practice? We recently rolled out several highly specialized fixtures that highlight our ability to solve complex production challenges: 

• 12-Cavity Press for Entry Doors: We recently engineered a massive 12-cavity door press designed to consistently make flat entry doors while drastically reducing cycle times to 45 seconds. This unit is packed with custom features, including non-stick coated facings, temperature-controlled facings, a closed-loop water system, powered conveyance and safety systems. 

• 40 Products in One Fixture: Flexibility is key to modern manufacturing. Our engineering team successfully designed and built a single fixture capable of handling 40 different products, virtually eliminating the need for multiple fixtures and significant floor space requirements historically caused by a number of SKUs. 

• 120-Ton Clamp for Drag Reduction Products: Built for heavy-duty, high-volume production, this custom clamp was designed to deliver flawless, repeatable results for an aftermarket drag reduction product for semi-trailers. 

• Advanced Freezer Fixtures: We routinely design complex, feature-packed fixtures for commercial freezer units that require 100% full support cores and zero-time changeover systems. 

• Automated 10 Module Panel Press: When automation is key, we have systems for that. Like the recently completed fully automated panel press system for discontinuous HVAC panels. This high-throughput system, complete with automated foaming, produces a panel every 2min 30sec, accommodates multiple panel sizes and scales on demand, transforming what’s possible on the production floor. Higher throughput. Better productivity. True predictability. This is what engineering creativity looks like in action. 

• 4-Cavity Press for HVAC Panels: Increasing reliability and predictability in panel production is what we do. A recently installed system of ours cranked up the feature meter by adding automated operator platforms, facing temperature monitoring, quick change-out facings, non-stick coating, and a whole lot more. 

Industries Con‑Tek supports 

Con‑Tek’s fixtures and clamps support a wide range of production environments, including: 

• Refrigerated transportation equipment (from wall panels and roofs to full trailers) 

• Walk‑in coolers and refrigerated warehouses (panels, doors, frames, corners) 

• Transportation and marine components (molded parts via RIM/SRIM/RTM clamps/carriers) 

• Insulated doors (residential, commercial, entry, garage, roll-up, freezer, walk‑in cooler, and more) 

• Food service equipment (reach‑ins, ice makers, prep counters, refrigerated display cases, etc.) 

• HVAC equipment (enclosure panels and doors) 

• Appliances, laboratory equipment, insulated containers 

• Recreational vehicles and sporting equipment (and more) 

If your exact niche isn’t listed, Con‑Tek encourages you to reach out anyway, because everything they do is engineered to order. 

Service and support beyond the build 

We know what’s at stake when a line goes down. That’s why our commitment to your equipment doesn’t end at delivery; it starts there. 

Con‑Tek’s Parts & Service offerings include: 

• Spare parts support 

• Repair service 

• Remote troubleshooting support 

• Preventative maintenance service 

• Retrofitting 

• Refurbishment 

We also promote preventative maintenance visits to help customers avoid breakdowns and missed production goals. 

Are We a Good Fit for Your Project? 

Choosing an equipment partner is a major investment. You need a team that asks the right questions, understands your production bottlenecks, and delivers equipment that will be dependable for decades. 

Con-Tek is the right fit if you need: 

• Engineered-to-Order Solutions: You need fixturing designed around your product, rather than redesigning your product to fit a fixture. 

• Turnkey Expertise: We handle everything from the fixture, automation, controls, and dispensing systems to the shipping, installation, and commissioning. 

• Unmatched Durability: Our equipment is built to withstand the rigors of multi-shift, high-volume production environments for decades. 

• Total Production Support: We don’t just sell fixtures; we offer parts & service, training, preventative maintenance, retrofitting, refurbishment, and remote troubleshooting to keep your lines moving. 

Ready to Boost Your Production? 

Everything we do is engineered-to-order, which means your next step is simply starting a conversation. If you’re ready to streamline your urethane foaming or molding process with a partner who understands the stakes, we’re ready to help. 

Start a Conversation with Con-Tek