Processor of the Year to be named tonight

In just a few hours, one of four custom molders will be named Plastics News' newest Processor of the Year, but here's a video sneak peek at the finalists.

This marks the 20th year that PN has named a top processor, and this year's winner will be named during an event tonight at the Executive Forum in Naples, Fla.

Candidates are evaluated on seven criteria: financial performance, quality, customer relations, employee relations, environmental performance, industry/public service and technological innovation.

Finalists this year are, in alphabetical order:

Dymotek Corp. is a specialist in two-shot and liquid silicone rubber molding. It has two factories in small towns in Connecticut — the headquarters in Ellington and a newer factory in nearby Somers. The company runs 25 injection molding machines, ranging in clamping force from 35-440 tons.

Dymotek's markets include plumbing, electronics, medical, and commercial/industrial. Many of its parts components go into food pumping systems. Those end-market sectors are demanding — meaning that Dymotek is open to about 20 unannounced audits a year.

Evco Plastics Inc. is owned by the Evans family, and for a humble family-run business, the custom molder has grown into a global player. Evco generated $133 million in sales in North America, according to Plastics News' most recent ranking of injection molders. Global sales were not available.

Evco runs nine plants around the world, including Mexico and China, and two in its home state of Wisconsin — the headquarters in DeForest and Oshkosh — and one in Calhoun, Ga.

MTD Micro Molding takes the demanding world of micro molding a step further: 80 percent of the components MTD produces are implanted in the body — and three-quarters of those are bio-absorbable.

As its name says, MTD does micromolding at its plant in Charlton, Mass. According to MTD's own definition, those are parts so small you need a microscope to see them, or parts as large as 1-inch-by-1-inch that have micro features. According to company officials, the vast majority of products MTD makes would fit into a space of 3 square millimeters.

Nicolet Plastics Inc. is a small custom molder located in tiny Mountain, Wis., in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, about 200 miles north of Milwaukee. But Nicolet Plastics has earned an outsized reputation for its ability to manage complexity and build a cross-trained workforce.

Nicolet, which employs about 70, expects to generate about $12 million in 2015 sales. The molder has 20 injection presses, ranging in clamping force from 51-610 tons. Nicolet installed the 610-ton press, a Toyo, this summer.