By: Deborah Johnson Wood
Arthur J. Bott Sr. is awakening a sleeping giant.
Grand Rapids Plastics, which went out of business in 2003 while it was under different ownership, will add approximately 80 jobs and bring in an estimated $15 to $20 million in revenue by the end of 2008.
That's a substantial jump from the $2 million the company expects to log this year.
Bott, 73, founded the injection molding company in 1976 and built it up to some 300 employees and annual revenue of $30 million. He sold the business in 2001, and retired – he thought. But in 2006, the company was his again, with four people on the payroll.
The company, 4220 Roger B. Chaffee Drive, Wyoming, makes decorative interior and exterior auto parts and recently landed a promising contract with Chrysler.
"Chrysler wants us to be a problem solver for them, which speaks well of the technical skills of our employees," says Bott. "Currently all of the automotive industry has suppliers with financial problems, and we're a viable alternative because we're debt free."
Tier 1 automotive manufacturers are looking for financially stable long-term suppliers, Bott says. He adds that Grand Rapids Plastics has the equipment—a 20-ton crane that can move 40,000-pound dies, 1,000-ton, 1,500-ton, and 2,000-ton injection molding presses, and robotics for all the presses—and the expertise to produce 95 percent of the parts suppliers want. That includes past-model parts other suppliers don’t want to manufacture.
Source: Arthur J. Bott, Sr., Grand Rapids Plastics
Deborah Johnson Wood is development news editor for Rapid Growth. She can be contacted at [email protected].
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