Hart takes hands-on approach

When Melanie Hart walks the floor of one of her plants, she solves problems.

One technician has questions for Hart about his attendance at NPE. Another tells her that he's experiencing a small, annoying shock at his work station. She and the plant manager discuss both issues immediately. Problems solved.

Hart enjoys the one-on-one interaction. But it bothers this company president that she no longer knows the names of everyone at Tasus Corp. where she has worked for 25 years.

“That's why I'm so bent on no more than 200 employees [per plant],” Hart said during a December visit to Tasus' newest plant in Florence. “Not for me, because that means there are going to be 800 with the four locations, but I want the plant managers and the management team to really know every employee.”

Hart works to keep the small company feel at Tasus. That's not an easy task. Tasus is projected to reach $80 million in sales by August. This from a company that Hart described as struggling with $15 million in sales before she became president at age 34 in 1994.

Much has changed in 20 years.

One plant in Bloomington, Ind., is now four in North America. This injection molder has become laser-focused on the automotive end market, too. The customer list is an impressive group of Tier 1 suppliers and OEMs — Automotive Lighting, Denso, Johnson Controls, North American Lighting (largest customer), Tokai Rika, Honda, Nissan and Toyota.

“We supply almost every carmaker that has a plant in the United States,” Hart said.

Making that supply chain convenient is her goal. Hart's team is considering some acquisitions, but opening a new facility in southern Tennessee seems to be higher on the priority list.

“If our Indiana plant is at capacity and this [Alabama] plant will soon be at capacity — it makes some sense to locate someplace in between the two of them so that location can take some of the pressure off both plants and still be close enough to our customers to meet their needs and not cause increased freight costs,” she said.

Hart tells a great story about becoming president of Tasus. She traveled to Japan to present a business plan to the president and chairman of her parent company, Tsuchiya Co. Ltd. As Hart waited for the right moment to make a formal presentation, they spoke of their families and made lots of small talk. By the end of the conversation, the chairman suggested that if Bloomington could have a female mayor, then Tasus could be led by a woman, too.

“They were just wanting to get to know me. They completely trusted me. They didn't need to hear the plan,” Hart said.

Is it difficult for Hart to manage in this male-dominated manufacturing industry?

“I can't tell you how many times I've been the only woman in the room. That's an advantage,” she said.

Hart, who earned a degree in industrial relations from Cornell University, says women need to see plastics and manufacturing as a career option.

“I can't find a female engineer. It's really tough to fill our companies with the number of women I'd love to have in it. It's still very much a man's world,” she said.

In Hart's first five years as president, she was up a lot at night. Now, not so much.

“I think if I could pin down that greatest concern, it's that balancing the demand from our customers and required investment with this volatile economy,” she said. “Sure, everyone is buying automobiles. But they aren't building houses. So, there's something really wrong here. I don't know what the outcome is, but at some point, something has to shift. And I'm just a little worried about that shift. So, it's balancing that.”

Hart smiles easily. She happily says she'll become honorary chairman when she moves on from her presidency, staying in Bloomington in an advisory role. But that day is in the distance. Her sense of obligation and gratitude toward her employers in Japan remains strong.

“I don't want to disappoint them. I want to make this thing go. That's what drives you. That's what I try to instill in our employees, too. Just this desire to make this fly. It's what you hope for.”

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