Kenneth M. Groff founded Venture Plastics Inc. in October 1969 in a small plant in Warren, Ohio. Today in Newton Falls, Ohio, Venture Plastics celebrated 50 years of continuous business with an open house for customers, suppliers and various members of the local community. Founder Ken Groff was presented the key to the city by the mayor of Newton Falls while many of his longtime employees participated in the event.
“It continues to amaze me that I am an owner of a successful custom injection molding company that has thrived for 50 years,” Groff said. “I got my start in the late 1950s in the estimating department of a producer of rubber and plastic parts. In 1969, I had the opportunity to launch a company to mold a clothes steamer for a specific customer, and I jumped for it. However, this project was full of challenges that almost closed our company for good. Luckily, I found a way out and swore I would never let my company become dependent on a single project ever again. I know this is the biggest reason we are standing in this first-rate plastics molding plant today 50 years later.”
Groff said he believes his company has survived by ensuring the company lives by these five simple rules:
- Never, ever, be satisfied with where you are or what you’ve achieved.
- Take advantage of opportunities and problems.
- Be fair and honest to earn the trust of your employees and customers.
- Never stop looking for ways to separate yourself from competitors.
- Choose your customers wisely.
Today, Venture Plastics operates a plant composed of 92,000 sq. ft. across three facilities, with 50,000 sq. ft. dedicated to molding, 25,000 sq. ft. for warehousing and the rest for engineering. There is also a 60,000-sq.-ft. molding operation in El Paso, Texas. Both ISO-IATF 16949 facilities contain a wide range of injection molding machines ranging from 55 tons to 1,440 tons. They serve a diversified customer base in the industrial-consumer, appliance, truck-agriculture, automotive, fuel delivery and communications industries.
In addition, the company provides customers with many secondary value-add services, such as engineering and project management support, over-molding, insert molding, decorating, plating, assembly and welding, plus expertise in a wide variety of engineered grade materials.
To learn more, visit http://www.ventureplastics.com/.
