Breaking the mold

Mar 17, 2024

After 50 years of owning and operating Aggressive Tool & Die, eventually located in Buckner, Roger Geary decided it was time to close up shop and retire.

When asked how he came to own the successful precision machine shop that specializes in injection molds, Geary modestly sums it up quickly: “Well, when I quit my other job, I said I was going to start my own. So, I did.” But there’s more to the story.

‘Why it takes an understanding wife’

Back in the ‘50s, the Louisville native decided to enlist in the Army. “They had the draft, so you couldn’t get a job. They couldn’t afford to train you because you’d get drafted and leave them …” due to companies legally required to hold positions of those called to serve.

“But, it worked out well …” Geary says. He was shipped to Fort Hood in 1958, actually in the same outfit as Elvis.

“Oh yeah, I saw him. He took his own clothes to the laundry, didn’t use any help …” And Geary got to spend two years in Germany, and saw a lot of the world.

After serving, he worked maintenance for a couple big companies, then became the lead person at Practical Mechanics in Louisville, building plastic injection molds and aluminum pan dies. “I took a job there in maintenance, and worked my way up to running that place for him,” he says.

But many times, he found himself working 24-hour days, something that “took a very understanding mate to put up with,” Geary says about wife Jean. “She had to change her plans, constantly, because I couldn’t leave the job because of meeting deliveries — very important with these industries …”

During this time, they had their first and only child. “We had just finished a third mold … that required 24-hour shifts, and when we shipped it, I said ‘I’m going to start on my own.’ I quit and didn’t give it any thought — I didn’t even know if I could get the equipment …”

He also hadn’t run the idea by Jean, either. “Yes, she was very surprised I hadn’t discussed it — that’s why I say it takes a very understanding wife ….”

And a wife, Geary adds, who he will be celebrating 59 years of marriage with soon. “Again, that’s why I say …”

‘As aggressive as you are …’

Geary found the equipment, and rented a small building to put it in, off National Turnpike in Louisville, where he stayed for about a year before outgrowing the space.

“Then I rented a building over on Melton Avenue, at least twice as big. People were easier to find back then (as employees),” he says.

Geary needed a punch press for an order, and went back to Practical Mechanics to borrow one. “Through our conversation, we decided to merge the two facilities, so I did that from ’73-’77, with Bud Mead.”

The Gearys moved to Oldham County in the ‘70s, and the partnership was later dissolved. But Geary set up shop on his own once again in La Grange, eventually saving enough to buy property and build a new, improved Aggressive Tool & Die off of Quality Place, by the YMCA in Buckner.

“I built that in ’96, and we’ve been there ever since — 13,000 square feet.”

Geary came up with the name for his business after he first told former boss, Mead, that he was leaving to start his own business.

“He said, ‘Roger, as aggressive as you are, you’ll make it.’ So, I named it Aggressive Tool & Die. It worked.”

When asked what he’ll miss about work, Geary’s mind immediately goes to what he won’t miss. “It’s a great relief to not wake up wondering how many quotes you’ll have to get out today, and if you’re going to meet the deliveries and keep production lines going.”

Although he doesn’t answer what he will miss, the more he talks it becomes clear.

“I could have retired before now. But I enjoyed what I did. And I felt an obligation to the employees — at one time, we had 27 …”

Geary has been instrumental over the years in helping those starting out in the industry get a leg up. Mentoring young people attempting to perfect a trade has been some of his best memories.

“I had my first apprentice boy back in 1976. After three years, he had completed his requirements to be a journeyman. There was a local apprentice contest and he won it. Then he went on to a regional contest — he won that. They had a national championship with eight different states’ finalists, and he took it all in Houston.”

Geary has had more apprentices than he can count. “A lot of them have gone into business. They start out as a trade, and then they get into making the molds. They become leaders, and they earned it.”

But he began slowing down some during COVID, and decided to quit training. Geary feels that “it was hard-headedness, that made me a good trainer.”

He grew up poor, one of six children raised in a single-bedroom home on the south side of Louisville. Both his parents are deceased, but both lived long enough to witness Geary’s success.

“Yeah, they were proud. Not that they ever said so, but — oh, yeah, I felt it. And I always appreciated my mom for raising six kids. We didn’t even have running water — we had a pump on the back porch.”

Now, at 83, he and Jean have “pretty much already done everything we’ve wanted to. We raised a daughter, been to all 50 states — that’s right, no reservations! We drive until one of us gets tired then we look for a motel.”

And this year, Geary sold his 50-year-old business and will be selling his Buckner home and moving to St. Petersburg, where he and Jean’s daughter live.

The secret to any kind of success, he says, is not only a strong work ethic, but loving what you do. “Thank goodness I got into something that I truly enjoyed. I haven’t set an alarm clock in 40 years, and I’m the first one there. When I wake up, I’m happy to go to work.”

Geary says that they will be living in their condo when they first get to Florida, “but I might get anxious and get a house with a garage, for projects.”

And yes, he says — “I have talked to Jean about this,” and laughs.