Letter From Les
Welcome to the first addition of the CMMA newsletter, Manufacturing Matters. You’ll receive this informational and educational newsletter quarterly, and I sincerely hope you enjoy it. CMMA had an extremely successful first year. We met our goals regarding membership growth and hope that you have found your membership to be a valuable part of your organization.
Almost through our second year, 2009 has been another year of great successes. We launched our website at www.centralmnmanufacturing.com where you’ll find great information and useful tools to enhance your membership with CMMA. CMMA meetings featured a wide range of speakers to help each of us learn and grow within our organization. We also had a strong legislative presence thanks to the dedicated group that got involved with our legislative meetings and their visit to the State Capitol. Students and others in the region have a better understanding of the opportunities available in manufacturing thanks to CMMA efforts. Our Tour of Manufacturing event was successful and well attended by our community.
I anticipate 2010 to be even better. More members are joining, our committees are growing and getting stronger, and we’ve gotten great feedback from all of you regarding what tools and speakers CMMA can offer to help you grow. Our board of directors is a strong, diverse, and dedicated group of individuals who care deeply about making CMMA a great organization for each of you. We’re also working hard to collaborate with educators in order to reach out to our bright young students to show them that there are many career choices in manufacturing that would be beneficial for them to consider.
Needless to say, I could go on and on about the past two years and the great things I’ve gotten to be involved in, however, the most rewarding part for me personally is interacting with the members of CMMA. Through CMMA we’re creating an environment where we can reach out to each other, help each other, and learn from each other. I’ve seen some strong collaborations and outreaches within our member ranks. That is really what CMMA means to me, creating a place for you to work together to make manufacturing bigger, better, and stronger for the benefit of our community. Thank you all for being a part of this great organization!
Featured Member: T.O. Plastics
Mark Schlichtman, Dave Pilarski, Sandi Karolewski
Who they are...
T.O. Plastics has been a leading manufacturer of custom plastic products and packaging for over 60 years. Originally founded by Ted Ingersoll and Oren Beech (the T and O behind the name), T.O. Plastics is now part of the Otter Tail Corporation of Fargo, ND.
What they do ...
T.O. Plastics thermoforms thin gauge, in-line products for the medical device and food industries, and heavy gauge cut sheet (rotary form) products for various industrial markets . They also manufacture a proprietary line of horticultural containers. Each of these thermoforming applications is performed in isolated departments and in a clean room environment. In a nutshell, T.O. Plastics has the expertise and capabilities to assist their customers every step of the way; from initial concept, to design, prototyping and production.
T. O. Plastics - Otsego Location
T.O. Plastics - Clearwater Location
Where they are ...
T.O. Plastics had humble beginnings in the garage of Ted Ingersoll’s southwest Minneapolis home. They eventually moved to Bloomington where several metal buildings and even an old church were used for additional production and office space. When they began producing plastic refrigerator liners for a company in St. Cloud (today known as Frigidaire), the parts were difficult to ship. As a solution, the facility in Clearwater was built. Throughout the years, the building was expanded many times to accommodate new equipment as the company’s performance, sales and profits continued to improve.
Earlier this year, in order to meet continued customer demand and to
continue to foster the growth of the company, a portion of the Clearwater
operations were moved to a new facility in Otsego.
T.O. Plastics currently employs about 200 people.
How to contact ...
For more information, please call 320-558-2407, email info@toplastics.com, or visit www.toplastics.com.
Board Bio: Tim Zipoy
Where do you work, what do you do?I am employed as a Workforce Development Advisor with Central Minnesota Jobs and Training Services. I focus on building connectivity and synergy between workforce and economic development and education. I serve business and industry, communities and schools. I am involved in business creation, retention and expansion in the central Minnesota region.
What was your first job?My first paid positions were in farm work that included hay baling, rock picking, bean walking, trapping gophers and milking cows.
Hometown: Kimball, MN.
Family: Wife Susan, daughter Hannah and sons Ted and Ben.
Do you have a favorite book or author?I enjoy western fiction writer Louis L’amour and look forward to my weekly Newsweek and Outdoor News magazines and monthly National Geographic.
Favorite movie? Wizard of Oz.
Favorite food? Pizza.
Do you have any hobbies, play any sports or favorite games?Hunting, fishing, snowmobiles and motorcycles (road and dirt) I coach little league baseball and elementary school football.
What would CMMA members be surprised to learn about you?I am a Kimball Lion’s club member. I serve on the Kimball School Board. My son Ted is a 5 time state champion pedal tractor puller and holds many national and international titles. |
Did You Know?As a member of CMMA you have a place to share ideas and information with fellow members. But that’s not all! You can look for a new job or employee and even find, sell or trade used equipment or excess supplies.
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Workforce Development: Adopt-A-School
CMMA's
Workforce Development Committee intends
to create a Central Minnesota pipeline for future workers for
the manufacturing sector.
Calling it Adopt-A-School, this effort would provide manufacturing
careers as an intelligent option for high school students. Four schools;
Royalton, Holdingford, St. Michael-Albertville, and St. Cloud Apollo,
have expressed an interest in partnering with
four manufacturers who have stepped forward to work with each of the
schools. A meeting will be held on October 20th to compare
ideas on how best to work together.
Topics already on the table include: E-mentoring, classroom speakers, material and equipment "hand-me-downs", business tours, and internships/job shadowing. Customizable, each school and manufacturer will be able to come up with ideas that work for them. No two partnerships need be alike!
If this initiative demonstrates a way to allow manufacturers and schools to work together toward this goal, CMMA intends to expand next year to additional schools. Should that happen, we will be looking for more manufacturers to "adopt-a-school".
So, manufacturers, start thinking about how this could work for you and feel free to offer any suggestions which might come to mind.
Contact Tim Zipoy at 763-271-3722, Wayne Anderson at 320-308-4803 or any other committee member with your ideas. Finally, we would welcome a manufacturer or two with a passion for workforce development to join the committee. Please call Tim or Wayne if you are interested.
Submitted by Wayne Anderson
Meeting Notes
There
was a great turnout for September’s member meeting in Big
Lake. The featured speaker discussed discrimination and harassment issues
in the workplace. Dr. Susan Strauss, a nationally recognized expert in
the field, provides customized services to help organizations create
positive changes in their workplaces and schools. Susan works closely
with clients to educate, develop policies, investigate incidents, resulting
in diminished harassment and a more respectful work environment. If you’d
like to contact Susan or find out more about her services, visit straussconsulting.net.
Upcoming meetings:
Thursday Oct. 22, 2009
The October meeting will be held at Palmer
Printing. The speaker will
be Sam Wagner of Donnelly Mfg. He will talk about Mistake Proofing Systems.
A tour of Palmer Printing will follow the meeting.
Thursday Nov. 19, 2009
The November meeting will be held at the Sartell High School. The topic of the event will be "Project Lead the Way." A tour of the Sartell High School will follow the meeting.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
CMMA Holiday party, St. Cloud.
Thursday Jan. 28, 2010
Meeting scheduled at the Intiative Foundation in Little Falls, MN. Dan
McElroy will be speaking about DEED Communications.
For full event listings and details, please visit our Events page here.
Do you have any suggestions for speakers or topics you'd like presented?
Please contact Sandy Kashmark at midwest@runestone.net
Call for Board Nominations
Nominations are being accepted for director positions on
the CMMA Board of Directors. CMMA is governed by a 12-member volunteer
Board, with each position representing a two-year term. Six of
the twelve positions are up for election each year, with new terms starting
on January 1st. Nominations will be accepted through November
1, 2009.
Please consider nominating yourself, one of your employees, or a fellow
CMMA member. All owners and employees of CMMA member companies
are eligible to serve on the board. Although nominations are welcome
from all eligible parties, there is particular interest in increasing
the representation of manufacturers. Strong manufacturing representation
on the board will help ensure that CMMA stays on track.
Call or email the CMMA office to make a nomination(s) or to inquire about
the responsibilities of serving as a director for Central Minnesota Manufacturers
Association. Get involved: youll discover that membership
provides more value to your company when you get involved!
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Copyright© Central Minnesota Manufacturers Association Sandy Kashmark • 800-654-5773 • info@centralmnmanufacturing.com |