Congratulations to Jarden Plastic Solutions, the Springfield, Mo.-area Chamber of Commerce 2007 Manufacturer of the Year.

The award, announced at a luncheon today, honors a Springfield-area company based on business stability and growth, employee development, product development and sustainability, environmental and safety performance, community involvement and industry analysis. The news release announcing the honor has this to say about Jarden:

Originally founded in 1973 as Unimark Plastics, Jarden Plastic Solutions (JPS) is a division of the global Jarden Corporation. JPS specializes in high-volume, precision injection molding for the healthcare, precision consumer, lawn/garden/recreational sports, and closure markets.

Over the past year, JPS began producing plastic containers for Microsoft to use with its new Vista and Office products. This required them to create a new product and material application. Another big client Winchester began using JPS as a consignment inventory, which means JPS “holds” all inventory and Winchester purchases the product as needed.

JPS is committed to clean and lean manufacturing. Among several environmentally friendly efforts, they are part of Operation Clean Sweep, a plastic industry initiative to reduce and remove plastic pellets from the environment. JPS employs lean manufacturing to ensure continuous improvements, specifically with product flow and the use of floor space, staff and materials.

We know Jarden pretty well. The company, which at the time was known as Unimark Plastics, was winner of our 2003 Processor of the Year award. Congratulations!