Case Study: Dixie Iron Works achieves rapid, low-cost on-demand metal and composite production with Markforged

Dixie Iron Works - Customer Case Study

Dixie Iron Works (MSI), an Alice, Texas manufacturer of valves and flow‑control equipment, faced commoditization and price pressure as competitors offshored production. To preserve U.S. manufacturing and speed product innovation, president Gerard Danos invested in Markforged additive manufacturing—starting with a Markforged X7 and Onyx materials and later adding a Metal X and a fleet of Onyx One printers—to enable rapid design iteration and in‑house part production without disrupting CNC operations.

Using Markforged technology, Dixie redesigned and printed production parts in‑house: a supplier‑priced nylon o‑ring support dropped from $4.50 to $0.47 and is produced at 400 units/week on ten Onyx One printers; a consolidated assembly used 75% less material and cut costs from $20–$30 (including labor) to about $5 of material; and low‑volume, complex metal parts (like a dart check valve stop and durable grippers) are now printed on the Metal X, eliminating tooling/setup time, lowering inventory, and accelerating innovation thanks to Markforged’s compatible hardware and software.

Dixie Iron Works

Gerard Danos

President