LANSING – Growing global competition and a declining auto industry have wrenched away profits and hammered Michigan’s tool-and-die-makers.

But these manufacturers are jacking themselves up and fighting to regain market share with some help from state government.

Over the past two years, the Michigan Economic Development Corp. (MEDC) tool-and-die recovery program has given state and local tax breaks to 17 coalitions composed of 131 companies.

“For 100 years, Michigan was the tool-and-die center of the world,” said Michael Shore, MEDC chief communications officer. “But local and global changes have placed competitive pressure on the industry.”

The companies manufacture molds that shape molten plastic into assorted products, as well as dies used to curve, bend, fold and transform sheets of metal into vehicle components.

Shore pointed to Internet commerce as one factor in making the global marketplace even more competitive.

“Twenty years ago, it was so hard to navigate the world to look for a die or mold,” Shore said. “Today, someone in Benton Harbor can order something from Shanghai, whether it’s 8 o’clock our time or their time.”

Mounting competition from China, Korea, Taiwan and Eastern Europe have eaten into the market share of Michigan companies, said Jay Baron of the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor.

The non-profit center analyzes the effects of international, federal and local issues on businesses that rely on the auto industry.

“It’s generally recognized that tools from these countries are not at par with our quality,” Baron said. “On average, that’s true. But in recent years, that gap has been closing.

“The recovery zones are there to make Michigan businesses more competitive.”

Patrick O’Mara, president of Lansing Tool & Engineering, said that being part of a coalition makes it easier to share the workload.

“There are times when a company overextends itself and gets more orders than it can handle,” O’Mara said. “Being in a coalition allows you to outsource the work and still be able to stay within the budget.”

An additional benefit, he added, is that companies in a coalition agree on standard rates for a range of services. Thus, there is no need to re-negotiate fees every time one company outsources work to another.

“If an auto manufacturer hands out a $30 million job, we will be able to handle it because the coalition works together.”

Lansing Tool & Engineering is part of the United Tooling Coalition formed two years ago. The 16 companies operate in Lansing, Jackson, Portage, Grandville, Greenville, Mattawan, Grand Rapids, Lowell, New Hudson, Burton, Wyoming, Rockford and Benton Harbor.

“Trust is the foundation of a coalition,” O’Mara said. “It means taking a chance in giving away some trade secrets. I’ve let people come in and see how we do things.

“I believe in old-school standards. Sometimes that means looking someone straight in eye, shaking hands and saying, ‘Let’s work together.  Let’s do business.’”

Baron said that while recovery zones help tool-and-die manufacturers stay in business, the industry will continue to shrink until automaking rebounds.

“If I had the power to do just one thing for the industry, it would be this: I’d make Chrysler, GM and Ford healthy again,” Baron said.