Although The Athens Machine Company started its manufacturing in a building of 7,000 square feet, it had grown to 65,000 square feet and to employ 315 hourly members and 50 salaried members by the time it was purchased by the Abex Corporation in 1970. The tire mold industry had bloomed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, producing passenger, truck and agricultural tire molds in their entirety including the world’s largest tire mold at the time. In 1972, demand for tire molds lessened due to the energy crisis and the beginning of radial tires. By the time the late 1970s rolled around, Abex had to close their location in Athens, OH leaving 240 people jobless. In 1981, the plant was purchased by two local businessmen primarily with the purpose of keeping the industry in Athens naming the company Athens Boring and Milling Co. Unfortunately, the company was short lived, and the plant was back on the market a few years later. Jack D. Thornton, founder and owner of the Jax Group Companies, who knew the potential of the once Athens Machine Company, quickly purchased the plant in 1985 and started producing tire molds once again in Athens, OH under the name Athens Mold and Machine, Inc.