American Plastics receives Economic Development Award at TSEP meeting

American Plastics, a plastic injection molding company located just south of Tiffin, Ohio, was the recipient of the Economic Development Award at the Tiffin-Seneca Economic Partnership 2020 Annual Meeting. TSEP recognized American Plastics for its investment of $4.5 million into the Tiffin operation and hiring of more than 130 employees. "We're very honored and very excited to be the recipient of his year's economic development award," said Joe Roth, plant manager for American Plastics in Tiffin. "American Plastics is very pleased to be growing alongside the City of Tiffin. It's a great community, we decided to put business here, put our investments here because there are a lot of roots here in the City of Tiffin. There are good, quality people in this city and we really enjoy being part of that." American Plastics was founded in 2017 by Highview Capital and Victor Park equity firms, and as a whole, the company has 15 facilities nationwide, including plants in Sycamore and Findlay. In Tiffin, the company services 26 injection mold machine and one extrusion machine. The plant specializes in the production of plastic shelving, plastic totes and storage boxes, including the Commander and Blue Hawk name brands for Lowe's; and Husky for Home Depot; and Tough Box for Sam's Club. American Plastics has 14 other facilities throughout the United States, and Arizona. In the past 12 months, American Plastics has been primarily producing plastic shelving and totes for the Craftsman brand. The Tiffin division is the sole manufacturer of plastic shelving for the Craftsman brand, to be available at the more than 2,000 Lowe's stores in North America. In 2019, American Plastics invested $3.5 million in new presses at the 68,000-square-foot Hopewell Township plant, adding to the completion of $1 million investment in equipment and facility upgrades in 2018. Company employment, which was 27 at the beginning of 2018, was at more than 160 by the end of 2019. Roth said it was an extreme team achievement to have grown that amount while improving relations, quality standards and earning outstanding safety records. "To think back to where we were two years ago, with only 27 total associates, diminishing contracts and to see where we are just two years later, it takes a total buy-in of everyone from the top to the bottom," Roth said. "My management team I have here have bought in to it 100 percent, and they are really the key to core to the success of the Tiffin facility." Roth said that he believes in providing quality benefits for his employees that go beyond base pay. American Plastics offers a $2 an hour incentive for employees who show up to work on time for a week, management greet employees on the floor and many of the updates at the facility have been done to improve employee morale. "At the end of the day, you can set your hourly pay structure as high as you want, but we believe that class of people deserve a safe, comfortable, friendly and appreciative environment," he said. To view video about the award winner, visit https://tinyurl.com/2020edaward. For more information about Tiffin-Seneca Economic Partnership, visit www.tiffinseneca.org.