In 1995, Thomson Plastics, Inc. (“Thomson” or the “Company”) began business in Thomson, Georgia. Since then, Thomson has grown to become an industry leader in large-tonnage plastic injection molding concentrating on power sports, lawn and garden, industrial and automotive sectors. Less than 4% of the roughly 8,500 enterprises in the US that can turn a plastic pellet into a part also have large tonnage capability. Plastics News defines large tonnage capability as having at least one large machine with an injection pressure of more than 1,200 tons. More than 20% of Thomson’s fleet is larger than 1,200 tons. In fact, they can reach injection pressures of up to 4,400 tons!
The re-shoring or near-shoring of crucial components for original equipment manufacturers (“OEMs”) remains one of the key developments in Thomson’s’ market today. Many OEMs have been compelled to reassess long-held ideas on strategic sourcing because of the brutally difficult lessons learned during the most recent worldwide pandemic. Given that large plastic parts are difficult to ship (the space cubes out before you can weigh out, and plastic is relatively light), Thomson’s proximity to all locations east of the Mississippi River, with four locations (Thomson, Georgia; Lexington, North Carolina; Spartanburg, South Carolina, and Howell, Michigan), makes it an excellent choice as a supply partner.
Thomson Plastics: Taking The Company Ahead
The collecting and pumping of data as close to real-time as feasible to give Thomson’s’ operations teams the best chance to service their consumers remains a crucial area of progress in this sector. To position the Company as the supply partner for the future, they relentlessly pursue continuous improvement across all parts of its business as opposed to others who simply approach continuous improvement from the standpoint of the shop floor. To ensure that they offer flawless quality, on time, and within budget, Thomson’s talented team of specialists continuously improves all systems and processes. This helps to ensure the Company’s long-term stability and success. Due to the efforts of Ms. Tina Williamson, Vice President of Finance, one of Thomson’s process victories has taken place in their accounting department.
Recently, Tina and her talented team focused on reducing the cycle time it took to close the accounting period, which resulted in an improvement of 92%! This allowed for the closing financial package to be prepared and distributed to various parties, including the operations teams, so they could then utilize the data to focus and identify areas for improvement and cost savings opportunities. They are a very metric-focused Company, guided by the select-few critical indicators that best position the Thomson team to satisfy consumers. A “red” measure does not necessarily mean “bad”; rather, it means to focus, as the team decided early on. The team at Thomson approaches both internal and external issues with laser-like accuracy by focusing on the rapidly pulsating, accurate data of the crucial few metrics driving their total performance.
Thomson Plastics serves as a one-stop shop for all its clients’ plastic injection molding requirements, providing a wide range of features and services that its rivals do not. However, their dedicated and aggressive team works hard every day to offer Thomson’s partners value-added options that give them a competitive edge in providing top-notch products to customers in a remarkably short amount of time. In the market, Thomson stands out due to its technical proficiency in tool design, process design, and manufacturing execution, as well as its best-in-class pulsing of useful data.
Conclusion
Finding innovative methods to employ data as a force multiplier for its partners is a new initiative for Thomson. To continue to tighten the supply chain and ensure precise daily execution, they are concentrating on constant improvement in the pulse of data and information to their clients.
A crucial component of delivering Thomson’s total customer experience is Tina Williamson, who places a strong emphasis on continual improvement and ensuring the Company has the data and insight to fuel its next steps.
Per Tina, “Operating in any business in the environment we are currently faced with requires one to have real-time data, complete transparency, to have the ability to pivot and focus on what is critical, identify process improvements and keep the focal point on what our goals are. Working with a family-oriented team is just a bonus.” She adds, “With the work that our leadership and employees have entailed, we are looking forward to continued profitability, new customers, new markets, and continued investment.”
For further information concerning Thomson Plastics, Inc. or their capabilities, please e-mail pr@thomsonplastics.com or contact them at (706) 595-0658.
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