Simmons Machine Tool Corp. in Menands will invest $1 million to upgrade equipment and become more energy efficient.

Ralph Coon Jr., Simmons director of manufacturing operations, said the investment also will be used to improve the aesthetics of factory. The company makes industrial lathes, presses and boring machines for the railroad industry.

Coon said the improvements will benefit employees and make the manufacturing area more impressive to customers. "It changes the morale and it's overall, more inviting," he said.

Interior factory work and painting is underway.

The biggest payback will come from the installing new machinery.

The recent purchase of a sand blasting booth increased the company's fabrication abilities by 50 percent. The booth allows employees to blast, paint and weld steel pieces used in machine tool assembly. The company also purchased a boring lathe. The technology will allow for multiple-angle drilling and cutting of materials.

Coon says the new machinery will speed-up production time and offer multiple capabilities per machine, increasing revenue. 

Simmons Machine Tool Corp. will invest $1 million in new machinery and improving the workplace in 2014.