Mid-South Extrusion Die began operations in 1969 with three employees in a 10,000-square-foot manufacturing facility. The business grew rapidly and was forced to open another plant called Central Extrusion Die in 1979. At that time, the company was reorganized and began operating as Cockburn Enterprises with Mid-South and Central operating as divisions. Although manufacturing aluminum extrusion dies accounts for approximately 98 percent of Mid-South s business, it also produces dies to extrude magnesium, copper, brass, silver, rubber, vinyl and plastic. The company also manufactures various extrusion tooling, such as dummy blocks, stems, horseshoes, pressure plates, rings and shear blades. The ISO 9001:2000 certified facility utilizes modern computer-aided design software and centralized network-configured milling stations.