"The two companies never competed but cooperated on helping each other out," Andrew Hobson said in an email.
He grew up in his family's shop and learned the mold business from the ground up. For the last several years, he was in sales for international blow molding machinery manufacturers as well as a board member for the Society of Plastics Engineers blow molding division.
Hobson has a deep working knowledge of blow molding machines and processing and through his role on the SPE board gives back to the industry by helping develop new opportunities for up-and-coming students, Skip Heise said in an email.
"I have known Andy for 10 years because Heise has worked with his previous employers, and we crossed paths frequently at trade shows," Heise said. "His experience on the machine side and the mold side is very unique and I think it will complement our existing experience at Heise.
"Andy exemplifies the qualities that I want to have at Heise as we start to transition to Heise's next generation of ownership. Andy is ethical, honest and trustworthy and it shows in all the relationships he has built over his career. It is a group of core principles that will help us grow over time."
Skip Heise is the only member of the third generation involved with the company. He said he has been part of most high-level decisions since he started in 2010.
"Over the next year, we will start to see several executives starting at Heise," he added, noting Tad Heise will remain owner and head the board of directors.
Skip Heise has been project manager since starting in sales five years ago. He said he will keep that title as he fills several executive positions.
"I plan to surround myself with the best options in the industry," Heise said. "At 26, I worked at Heise-Vietnam for three years overseeing operations. Then, I moved back to Connecticut in an operations role, and I have been in sales for five years. For the immediate future, I think it is important for me to be in front of customers to continue the legacy and reputation that has been created by Tad over several decades of work."
Heise Industries has been heavily focused on increasing market share by maintaining and growing sales in Southeast Asia, South Africa, South America and North America.
Hobson is helping already, Heise said.
"With the addition of Andrew, we have already finalized exclusive partnerships with new customers for the foreseeable future domestically and globally," Heise said.
Hobson said he was able to hit the ground running for his new employer.
"We have two different backgrounds and different sets of contacts, so we complement each other quite well," Hobson said, adding the position was "a chance to get back to my mold building roots."
"Heise has a great heritage and reputation to build on. With my geographic location in the Midwest, we can expand our local service area as well," Hobson said. "With our combined contacts in the blow molding industry, we can reach a wider audience and build on the almost 60-year heritage and trust that Heise customers have placed with this excellent company."
Heise Industries has start-to-finish operations at each of its three locations, including sales/project management, engineering, programming and manufacturing. Operations began in Mexico in 1994 and in Vietnam in 2007.
"Mexico was started through a joint venture with an existing injection mold maker. Vietnam was started as a result of looking to support some of our global customers," Heise said.
As for Hobson Mould Works, it went out of business soon after entering Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in late 2000. Company officials couldn't find a buyer at the tough economic time despite the business being considered one of the nation's leading blow mold makers.
A few years later, Gerald Hobson purchased the assets of another mold making company that had stopped production and was on the sales block, Preferred Die & Mold Corp. of Elk Grove Village, Ill. He moved the equipment to Shell Rock and formed a new company, Preferred Tooling LLC.
In May 2011, Preferred Tooling was purchased by Hawkeye Mold, and Gerald Hobson retired.
