It was first involved in the design and manufacture of plastic injection moulds, and assembly jigs which are used in the manufacture of an assortment of products such as electric fence reels, insulators, cow ear tags, door and cupboard handles, and door latches to name a few.

The owner proprietor Alan Reid began die making at his fathers firm Relion Products designing and creating press tools for pressing and folding aluminium extrusions in the aluminium window industry. When this company was sold, Alan moved to Yachtspars where he was employed as a pattern maker, making patterns for sand casting yacht fittings. He was then employed by a large plastic injection moulding company on Auckland’s North Shore.

In 1982 AB Reid Toolmaking began in Glenfield, Auckland, and began to diversify into the metal moulding industry, designing and manufacturing moulds for high pressure die casting and aluminium die-casting.