Monthly Archives: April 2016

AIN Plastics O&P Team Golfing for Charity

Hanger Charity Golf Challenge 2016 004thyssenkrupp Materials AIN Plastics Division has a team that is dedicated to the business of providing engineered plastic solutions for their customers. But the team also enjoys taking part in events in their communities, from tkactive 5K walks and bike rides, to collecting shoes for Soles for Souls the team at AIN is always looking for, and finding, fun ways to be involved in their local communities and to help others.

On Thursday, April 21, 2016, Dick Cubero (AIN Plastics Florida Branch) and Scott Moore (AIN Plastics Industry Segment Manager for Orthotics and Prosthetics) enjoyed a day on the golf course as participants in the 13th Annual Hanger Clinic Golf Challenge held at the Kissimmee Bay Country Club in Kissimmee, Florida. To learn more about Hanger Clinics visit them online.

This annual charity golf event supports Our Children’s Rehab Center, Inc. located in Winter Haven Florida.

The Winter Haven Children’s Rehab Center is dedicated to facilitating each child’s maximum independence and communicative abilities by a team that includes a Speech Language Pathologist, and Occupational and Physical Therapist who use innovative interventions when working with newborns, infants, toddlers and children through 21 years of age.

Hanger Charity Golf Challenge 2016 003Last year’s Annual Hanger Golf Outing, in which AIN Plastics also participated and sponsored, raised an incredible $8,500 for the rehab center.  Donations and sponsorship dollars from the annual golf outing have provided funds for a variety of programs and projects throughout the years.

• Therapeutic Gym
• The creation of a Sensory Garden
• New school bus with wheelchair lift
• Adapted horse tack for therapeutic riding
• The purchase of a prone stander to allow children in a wheelchair to be upright

Moore said, “I am truly proud to work for a company that is not only dedicated to the Orthotics, Prosthetics and Pedorthics industries but a company that cares and gives back to the local communities.”

FYI – If you would like to learn more about AIN Plastics O&P Program please join us online:

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AIN Plastics for Orthotics and Prosthetics

O&P Corner on the AIN Plastics Blog. Here you’ll find videos and downloads of our literature.

See in the blogosphere again soon!

lisa_anderson_001CroppedAbout Lisa Anderson
Ms. Anderson has been ThyssenKrupp Materials AIN Plastics Division for over 4 years. She brings 20+ years of advertising, award winning graphic design, social media and marketing. She has worked in book publishing, advertising agencies, printing, manufacturing, and the apartment industry. Ms. Anderson has a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Arts from Calvin College, Grand Rapids, MI.

Jerry Lane Retires from AIN Plastics

In a time when the average person holds approx. 10 different jobs throughout their career the plastics industry stands out. It is often said that plastics chooses you and once you start working in plastics you stay in the business. For AIN Plastic’s Jerry Lane that has been a very true statement, but after a lifetime in plastics distribution Jerry Lane is saying ‘bon voyage’ and heading into what we all hope will be a long and happy retirement.

I sat down with Jerry and chatted with him about his time in the plastics industry and how it lead to a lifelong career with the majority of those years being at AIN Plastics.

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A Memento of the original AAA Plastics Supply

One of the first things we talked about is what has been the biggest change Jerry has seen in the plastics industry at large. After graduating Babson College in Wellesley 20 miles west of Boston Jerry joined the Coast Guard Reserves and was accepted into a Masters Degree program. 1966 Jerry went to work for his father who had a small plastics distribution company called AAA Plastics Supply. In 1985 this company merged with AIN Plastics which had 5 locations and was looking to expand and AAA Plastics Supply was a good fit. It was in Boston and then Norwood for 16 years before settling in Canton which is the current AIN location. Jerry reminisced that this past Washington’s birthday was the 31st anniversary of agreeing to the terms with Norman and Alex (The original A and N in AIN Plastics) to merge his family’s business with AIN Plastics. On April 19 of that year the formal agreement was signed and he began with AIN. Jerry feels this type of merger has been the biggest change overall in the industry. “There has been a huge consolidation of independent distributors. 30 years ago there were many small entrepreneurs. Now there are fewer but larger.” Jerry went on to add “Most manufacturers were also domestic, now the majority of suppliers are foreign-based companies.”

Jerry also noted one other major change has certainly been the Internet. “The ability to search online has provided the ability to make people smarter. There are so many resources out there. People research and shop differently now.”

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Jerry Lane working the phones at AAA Plastics Supply which became part of AIN Plastics.

One of the things that differentiated AIN Plastics during this time period was it’s internal structure and catalog systems. Jerry explained that AIN Plastics relied on a robust outcall program. He said one of Norman Drucker’s favorite sayings was, “if you aren’t taking a call you are making a call!” In the days before Internet AIN Plastics also managed a large catalog business with separate catalogs for different industries. The largest of these catalogs was a school catalog that was mailed to every school in the country, primarily to shop programs that would teach machining of plastics, metals and other materials. They also had a catalog that went out to distributors. As part of the catalog system one thing that has not changed is AIN Plastics was, and is, known for having strong inventory and fast shipping. The merging with thyssenkrupp Materials NA has only strengthened this aspect of AIN by becoming part of the thyssenkrupp nationwide logistics system.

When asked about what job he held at AIN Plastics Jerry says there have been many. Jerry says he started at the very beginning sweeping floor and doing warehouse work, but as he gained knowledge and experience Jerry has ended with a well balanced and broad career including time in:

• Corporate Operations and Management
• Corporate Quality
• Sales
• Freight and Logistics

Out of all those things, Jerry said one of the most gratifying times was on a recent trip to the AIN Plastics Yonkers facility. The team brought in a retirement cake and Inside Sales Representative George Marotta told Jerry we all wouldn’t be here is it wasn’t for the 2.5 years Jerry worked at our branch.

Of course no retirement chat would be complete without asking the question – What are you most looking forward to? After all, it’s the question we all ask ourselves about retirement or winning the lottery. For Jerry he says the first thing is to enjoy the city he and his wife and family have been a part of for so many years. “The first thing is site seeing beginning with Boston, and enjoying time with our new Grandchild due in just a short time. This will be our 2nd grandchild and first grandson.”

After that Jerry said in all his years of travel for work he has been to all of the AIN Plastics branches except TX and Missouri, “but I have not spent time in the actual cities so we plan to tour the US and enjoy being tourist travelers.”

Lastly we talked about what Jerry will miss the most. He said the AIN people are such a big part of his life and that will be what he misses the most. He went on to say, “I have a couple of projects that I know I won’t get to see finished that I know will be really good for company so I really will miss seeing those to their completion. But, there will always be those projects because it’s a part of our future and how we are growing.”

From here, Jerry will be handing over the logistics portion of his job to Lydia Gonzalez who has worked with Jerry for 24+ years. Jyoti Gorur will expand her Financial Analyst job to include some reports Jerry did as well and Debbie Shunk will take on R&A items so everyone will be in good hands.

 

Best Wishes to you Jerry!

and to everyone else –

See you in the blogosphere again soon

 

Lisa Anderson

Marketing Manager
ThyssenKrupp Materials, NA
AIN Plastics Division


lisa_anderson_001CroppedAbout Lisa Anderson

Ms. Anderson has been ThyssenKrupp Materials AIN Plastics Division for over 4 years. She brings 20+ years of advertising, award winning graphic design, social media and marketing. She has worked in book publishing, advertising agencies, printing, manufacturing, and the apartment industry. Ms. Anderson has a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Arts from Calvin College, Grand Rapids, MI.

AIN Plastics Madison Heights HQ Moving to Auburn Hills, MI

thyssenkrupp Materials AIN Plastics branch has greatly enjoyed it’s Madison Heights location for many years. However, growth has brought a need for a larger facility so the Corporate office of AIN Plastics will be moving to Auburn Hills, Michigan in April.

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AIN Plastics Branch Manager, Jeff Garden

Branch Manager, Jeff Garden has been facilitating the move and stated, “we are on track to have our first day in Auburn Hills on April 20, 2016.” However, Mr. Garden also noted, “as with any big move we have a lot to do once we are in Auburn Hills so the branch will not be fully operational until April 26, 2016.” To that end, the Madison Heights Team including Inside Sales, Outside Sales, Warehouse fulfillment, and AIN’s Purchasing team, also housed at Madison Heights, has been working hard to ensure a smooth transition into the new facility. Jeff added, “everyone is really looking forward to the space which will be approximately double in size from the current Madison Heights location.”

The staff asks that if you are planning to come to the branch between April 20 and April 26 that you call ahead. 877.246.7700.

 

The new address for the AIN Plastics Michigan Branch is:

thyssenkrupp Materials NA

AIN Plastics Division

10 Corporate Drive

Auburn Hills, MI 48326

Oh but what about the phone number? No worries! The phone number is still 877.246.7700. This phone number for AIN Plastics will automatically put you in contact with your nearest branch.

As for what the new site looks like, we have a few photos to share and word is it will be bright and modern. We will share more here and on our social channels in the weeks ahead.

LinkedIn 

Facebook

Twitter

 

A Sneak Preview of the new Auburn Hills Facility. The walls are going up and things are beginning to take shape.