2020 Year in Review for HTI Plastics was, without a doubt, an interesting year, to say the least. We want to thank all of our customers, vendors, and employees for their efforts and support throughout the year. Even in difficult times, we were able to come together and help each other out.
We look forward to a great manufacturing year in 2021, and want to continue working together and communicating to help all parties grow.
The impact of COVID-19 at HTI Plastics
Due to our industry’s nature, HTI plastics was deemed an essential business. We are incredibly grateful to our employees for working tirelessly, allowing us to continue to meet the excellent standards our customers have come to expect from us.
2020 was a remarkable year for us all. When forced to face new challenges, some out of our control, our team was ready to find solutions thanks to good manufacturing practices previously implemented. With proper modifications for COVID measurement, we provided a COVID-safe work environment for our employees.
New Projects in 2020
Amid the pandemic, we took on several new projects ranging from COVID-related products to custom injection molded projects and new customers purchasing our proprietary lines of applicators, food packaging products, and Option Pak lids and containers.
When faced with face mask shortages, our engineers and toolmakers quickly designed and built a mold for an injection molded face mask. Once produced, these face masks were available to our employees and their families.
Review and Future goals from the Engineering Department
Like many organizations, this year was a challenge for engineering due to the COVID situation. Much of the group worked off-site for two months while still moving forward on projects and mold sampling. “We were able to keep things moving without significant interruptions to timelines,” said Chris Reed, Director of Engineering at HTI Plastics.
HTI Plastics continued with 4 of our engineers going through the Plastics Technology and Engineering Certificate Program at the American Injection Molding Institute.
This new year, our focus will be on strengthening our projects’ ‘stage-gate’ process to ensure that HTI meets customer timeline commitments and ensure a successful transition from engineering to production.
Review and Future goals from the Operations Department
2020 was a busy year for our operations department, from fulfilling orders on the floor, continuing to implement 5S, creating COVID-safe workstations, and developing protocols for our new four shift formats. Through it all, we were able to continue with open communication and teamwork.
• 2020 was marked with complexity as we walked through the COVID pandemic that swept the globe. As an essential company, we had to find a way to keep running and keep our employees and products safe. By separating departments, creating safe workstations, and mandatory temperature screening, we ensured that our employees could work safely and distanced themselves from others.
•We are moving to a 6-day production schedule that required new supervisors and a whole shift of new techs. We have executed new training plans to ensure all shifts are ready to move to our new schedules on January 17th, 2021.
Investing in our People, Equipment and Facility
We here at HTI are always committed to continuous improvements by investing in our people, equipment, and facilities. 2020 was no different for us in this area. Last year we made several new hires and promoted talented individuals who positively impacted our company and customers.
Furthermore, we have invested in new equipment, allowing HTI to remain on the cutting edge of technology and serve our customers with the best, most efficient service possible.
The new equipment ranges from replacing older machines with new state of the art machines, as well as adding capacity by bringing in additional molding machines.
Finally, we continued expanding our facility with a 10k sq ft addition for equipment and mold storage. All equipment and material will be staged for product changeovers in the new year, helping us minimize the downtime required for our equipment to switch over product between orders.
Click the links below to learn more about these exciting projects that took place at HTI in 2020.
New Hires and Promotions
– Brandon Olds – Tool Room Manager
o Promoted to Tool Room Manager from Tool Room Supervisor and previously Tool Maker (both promotions in 2020)
– Rick Hall – Processing Technician
o New Hire – previously Set-up Operator
– Tony Seymour – Warehouse Supervisor
o New Hire – previously Warehouse Manager at a Distribution Center
– Brad Heywood – Operations Manager
o New Hire – previously International Sales Manager and Prior to that Operation Manager at our sister company Lincoln Plastics
– Ford Earhart – Director of Quality
o New Hire – previously Quality Control Manager at GSK
New Equipment
