Redline's ‘outrageous cultural behaviors' retain top employees

Manitowoc, Wis. — When you walk in the front door at Redline Plastics, the first thing you see is a large sign that says "Redline Cultural Behavior #7. Don't be a jackass."

That's one of 14 of the company's self-described "outrageous cultural behaviors" that emphasize honesty and good communication.

"There's a lot of golden rule or core messages here that speaks to everybody in the organization," President Nick Murray said.

Are they working? The company has been a Plastics News Best Place to Work for three years in a row, and this year finished in second place.

Redline Plastics is also a 2022 Processor of the Year finalist — proof that it excels at more than employee relations — and winner of the PN Excellence Award for Employee Relations.

Other areas of strength include community relations, financial performance, technological innovation and quality.

You might say that Redline Plastics is both the oldest and youngest 2022 Processor of the Year finalist. The company dates back to 1922 as Dow Canvas, a maker of products for the tent and awning industry.

But it didn't move into plastics until 2016, when it purchased Premier Plastics Inc. and renamed itself Redline Plastics.

"We took a step back a couple of years ago and decided to define ourselves not by the markets that we serve, because they're very diverse, but by the capabilities that we have in house. So we do rotational molding, vacuum forming, cut-and-sew, and some fiberglass-reinforced plastics," Murray said.

In 2018, the company sold its DowCo Inc. marine division to Patrick Industries Inc. and kept the plastics business, as well as its powersports-centered cut-and-sew operations. At the time, but plastics unit was based in a 25,000-square-foot facility.

"That gave us the opportunity to build something that was catered toward our manufacturing capabilities," which ended up being the current plant on the western edge of Manitowoc. "We had our first machine spinning in December 2019 before we had the four walls up."

Within two years, the company doubled the size of that building to 223,000 square feet and expanded employment to about 180, up from 55 in 2018. And it's been off to the races ever since.

Deciding to focus on plastics meant a fresh start for Redline, and that's where the "outrageous cultural behaviors" come into the picture.

"The cool thing is we were really given a blank slate after we sold the marine division, to really try and define who we are," Murray said. "I attended a seminar that talked about cultural behaviors, where they talked about things like mission, vision and values. And they always say something like 'we want to deliver high-quality product on time at a competitive cost. So that's essentially Business 101, right?

"We wanted to develop something that spoke to all of our employees. So we came up with a bunch of core concepts about how we wanted to act. And then we put some marketing magic into the definition of the culture," Murray said.

Workers embrace the "get amped" and "be a ninja" culture. But how about customers?

"One of our biggest worries was that we'd have a customer come through here who has a very corporate culture who would be turned off by this.

"But to my knowledge, we haven't seen that. All of our customers really like it," Murray said.

The culture also comes through in the company's social media. Redline has a "fun committee" charged with coming up with team building efforts that it features on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and even TikTok.

"There's always a lot going on, fun things for people to do," Human Resources Manager Nikki Paider said.

Another area of strength is in community relations. This company has a reputation as a recovery-friendly employer, and it works closely with Lighthouse Recovery Community Center, an addiction resources center in Manitowoc.

Managers are proud to offer those workers a safe working environment to support their journey.

"Some of our best employees are on that road to recovery. So we definitely partner with them, and we won their Recover Ally of the Year Award for 2022," Murray said.

Paider said some workers who have come to Redline through the program have excelled.

"I can think of a few off the top of my head who are in team lead positions, so I would say they're doing an excellent job if they've been promoted up to that level. So it's been very positive for us," she said.

Dylan Swoboda, a process technician on the second shift, came to the company through the program. He praised the company for participating, and also for its culture.

"Everybody here is super-welcoming and very friendly," he said. "It's a great atmosphere to be around, and the people are what make it the best."

Swoboda said his favorite outrageous cultural saying at Redline is "the only I in team is hidden in the a-hole."

"It kind of speaks for itself, right? If we don't work together as a team, we're not going to get the things done that we want to. And that's what's so great about Redline, is everybody works together to get where we want to be.

"It's like being synchronized and making sure that all of our product is coming out properly, we need to work together," Swoboda said.

Murray recommends that other companies consider similar partnerships with recovery institutions in their own communities.

"It's oftentimes difficult because everyone has their own needs and what they need to be successful as well. So you definitely have to have that in mind when opening your business up to options like this. But it's definitely doable, and we've had nothing but good results so far."

Technology is another strength. That includes elaborate moving platforms for its massive rotomolding lines that make the process safer for employees to load powder and unload finished parts.

"When we bought into plastics, we had operators working from ladders and step stools to serve molds and things of that nature. Not very ergonomically friendly," Murray said.

The company also repurposes the heat from its rotomolding lines to heat the building in the winter.

"And as far as resin, we have a lot of good relationships with material suppliers, so we're typically their first or second step when they want to try something new," Murray said.

Redline Owner Chuck Webster believes the company can continue to grow at the same pace.

"We're still mostly running two shifts, so we have a lot of capacity," Webster said. "It's great to be having this much fun, and seeing this much growth."