Molding innovations, employee relations help drive Modroto

Madison, Ind. — It's a new era for a tried-and-true brand.

After more than a year of transitions and changes, rotational molder Modroto Inc. is sporting a new name, a new look, a new headquarters, new leadership and sharp new focus for the same products its been making for more than 80 years.

In that time, the company has been known as Meese Inc., Oribitron Industries, Dunne Plastics and Meese Orbitron Dunne Co. The headquarters has migrated from Saddle Brook, N.J., to Ashtabula, Ohio, and finally earlier this year to Madison, Ind., home of the original Meese Inc. side of the business that started out specializing in canvas laundry carts.

“We just closed down the last of the sewing and basket lines and moved what was left of that operation down to Atlanta,” said Michael Bruce, corporate operations manager. “We needed more floor space and there wasn't enough work to justify having those lines in two places.”

Laundry carts are still the backbone of the company's business, along with material handling carts and recycling containers. But Modroto's own innovations in molding are helping expand the business into more custom molding, said J.R. Ryan, who was named president and chief operating officer of the company late last year.

A proprietary in-mold foaming technique that fires polyethylene foam behind the high density polyethylene skin of a laundry cart creates a light but “extremely, absolutely extremely rigid” prison-grade laundry cart that doubles as a food transportation hand truck, moving hundreds of meals around a facility at one time, Ryan said.

It's also part of the secret sauce behind Bruce's rotationally molded two-man fishing boat, which was two years in the making.

“The basics are that you inject the foam, cook it a second time and they bond together,” Bruce said. “The hard part is that the machine has to kick off the foam at the right temperature or else it goes all over. And, of course, the design of the whole thing.”

The electric boat comes ready to roll, “all the customer has to do is put in the battery,” he said, with two motors, a foot-controlled steering mechanism to keep hands free for rods and reels, a fish finder, cup holders, and even a molded-in ruler for measuring your catch. Modroto expects to sell 400 of the two-person, 200-pound boats this year after initial sales of about 250 in 2015.

Product lines have not been the only thing changing since Ryan took the helm in December. Bruce went from being the Madison plant manager — a position Modroto is still looking to backfill — to the newly created corporate ops manager position and he and Ryan have been working to create a more employee-centric workplace, starting with the Madison plant and eventually expanding programs to the New Jersey, Ohio and La Mirada, Calif. locations.

Ryan and Bruce kicked things off by simply seeking suggestions on how to run the business better from the people who run the machines — and who are no longer referred to as “employees” and are instead “team members.”

“We have had dozens and dozens and dozens of fantastic ideas that come from the people who do the work every day,” Ryan said.

A new feedback system lets employees know their ideas have been heard and they are updated when and how they are being implemented, he said. Plus, usable suggestions are rewarded with $25 gift cards.

There is also a newly established “team member experience committee,” whose meetings are closed to Ryan and Bruce so folks can speak freely, focused on coming up with ideas and concerns for improving morale and working conditions at low or no cost. The first item of business? A new, less-rigid attendance policy that Modroto has already implemented.

The Madison plant, now also home to key personnel and engineering staffs, all of customer service, accounts receivable and procurement and any new company-wide corporate positions, has also seen a starting rate increase and overall wage rate increases in the last year and half. Ryan says there is more to come.

“I don't want to pay higher wages to mediocre workers but I will gladly pay higher wages to good workers,” he said. The Madison facility is soon implementing what will be third pay increase in 12 months. A company-wide quarterly bonus now accrues throughout the year and pays out Dec. 1 as a holiday bonus — and the company has agreed to eat the taxes across the board, Ryan said, making sure employees actually pocket their full, expected bonus amount.

A new referral bonus system has also been instated to encourage workers to bring friends and neighbors on board, as long as they are ready to stick with Modroto for the long haul, Bruce said. New hires are reviewed at 30, 90, 180 days and get a wage increase each time. The referring worker gets $50, $100 and $150 bonus as the new-hires they recommended passes their reviews.

“I only want good people,” Ryan said. “And we have to stay competitive.”