When Edward Dominion started his company, D6 Inc., a Portland, Ore.-based thermoformer, his top priority was to change the way clients were able to get prototypes.
He wanted to get prototypes "from concept to the clients' hands had to be under 48 hours" — a goal that was accomplished in the six-year-old company.
Dominion graduated from Portland State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in finance and marketing and worked for Packaging Direct Inc. in Gladwin, Mich., before launching D6 Inc.
Q: Describe your company, what it does and its culture.
Dominion: D6 Inc. is the fastest concept-to-market thermoformer in the world. We can develop a concept from an idea to having it on the shelf in under eight weeks, anywhere in the world. D6 Inc. operates in eight different time zones and is leading the way in post-consumer PET. Sixteen percent of the world will touch a product that D6 Inc. makes.
In 2014, we had zero sales and now are in the top 20 thermoformers in North America. Our culture is second to none. We have over 47 percent women at our firm and proud of it.
D6 Inc. is leading the charge at modernization of what a thermofomer should be. Our company won most sustainable company in all of Oregon, which a packaging company has never won this award, by the Portland Business Journal. I am so proud to have built company and will continue to lead the charge to devillainize plastics.
Q: What's the most interesting or unusual job you've ever had?
Dominion: I ran human resources for six years. There are stories I would love to tell but can't.
Q: What was your first job in plastics?
Dominion: I worked for Packaging Direct Inc. out of Gladwin, Mich. I ran sales for their value-added group.
Q: Tell us about a mentor you've had in your career.
Dominion: I've had a few, such as Bob Sherry, Bryan Herr and Joe Stone. Bob taught me everything about how to merchandise for bulk produce. Bryan Herr taught me how to run a business in the right way. Joe Stone, from Stone Plastics, taught me how to prototype, thermoforming and how to make a product that no one can compete with.
These three people plus many others have shaped me into who I am today.
Q: When did you become CEO, and what was your first goal?
Dominion: I started the company on Feb. 1, 2014. As employee No. 1, it was very easy to be the CEO when it's all of your money running the place. My first priority was to change the way prototypes were made — from concept to the clients' hands had to be under 48 hours. And did we do it! A byproduct of that goal is that in 2019, D6 Inc. is also the largest privately held industrial 3D Printer in the world. We invented our own polymer that can take heat ranges never seen before.
Q: What's the best career advice you've received?
Dominion: "You have to want to win just as bad as you want to breathe."
Q: What advice would you give to someone starting at your company tomorrow?
Dominion: Be prepared to not have a social life for about five to six years, if you really want to set it on fire.
Q: What associations do you belong to or actively participate in?
Dominion: Produce Marketing Association and International Dairy-Deli-Bakery Association.
Q: What industry events do you attend?
Dominion: PMA events, K show and IDDBA's trade show.
Q: What do you want your legacy to be as CEO?
Dominion: That I was a good man and I did the best I could do with the time I had for my work family.