A second generation at Gaim takes on work of turning ‘trash' into treasure

After more than three decades under the leadership of owner and founder Skip Glatt, Gaim Plastics Inc. is entering a new era as the family business passes from father to son.

As of Sept. 30, Glatt is officially retiring at 71 and selling the company to his older son. The injection molder, doing business as Gaim Engineering Inc., makes parts for original equipment manufacturers and consumer products for the retail market. It's been in business since November 1989.

Many of Gaim's products are completely biodegradable and made from recycled material or scrap. Illinois-Gaim buys medical scrap — for example, improperly made syringes that are never used — and feedstock for such products.

"Nobody [else] buys trash," he said Sept. 8 by phone. "They let it go to a compounder, who plays around with it and then sells it for a tremendous amount of money." Gaim eliminates the middle man.

Glatt is particularly proud of his company's efforts to help customers turn their ideas into viable products.

"A lot of people have the greatest idea in the world but they can't get it to market," he said. "We have products in all the big-box stores." Gaim helps with everything from new product development and prototypes to marketing, packaging and shipping.

That's where his son comes in.

He said Ed Glatt, the firm's soon-to-be president and owner, has been a tremendous help in the marketing department, both for Gaim and its customers. Ed Glatt first worked in graphic design and marketing before joining the family business in 2009 as vice president of sales and marketing.

As it turns out, those were good skills to have coming into the company, "which didn't have any marketing or design — they had to farm that out," the son, Ed, said in a recent phone interview.

Smart Spring lawn and garden products came soon after Gaim purchased EcoTurf Midwest Inc. in 2012.

"EcoTurf had one idea for a biodegradable product, but it wasn't designed for the market we wanted to go into: landscape," Ed Glatt said.

That soon changed. Through Elmhurst, Ill.-based EcoTurf, Gaim now sells its Smart Spring products, including biodegradable seed blankets and stakes for turf and erosion control; watering mats for trees, bushes and potted plants; and hanging and stackable/vertical planters.

The Smart Spring line also includes a wedge-shaped downspout gutter guard and the Heft, a secondary handle that attaches to long-handled tools to make them ergonomic and ease back strain.

Neither Skip Glatt nor the company is slowing down. In fact, Gaim just moved into a larger facility in December, relocating from a 16,000-square-foot facility in Bensenville, Ill., to a 22,000-square-foot factory in nearby Elmhurst. The company has added three new Niigata presses in the past year, bringing its stable to 16 machines with clamping forces of 55-385 tons.

Gaim, with annual sales of about $3 million, employs 18 people and runs three shifts, including one that runs lights-out.

As for Skip Glatt, he and his "very supportive" wife, Susan Glatt, celebrated their 46th wedding anniversary Sept. 13. They met on a ski lift and continue skiing to this day, along with golfing, tennis and pickleball, which combines elements of pingpong, racquetball and tennis.

"I got rid of the summer home, the camper, boats, windsurfers, some furniture. I won't have the taxes or upkeep," he said, adding that he's now free to travel more and visit his two other children, Eric and Amy, who both live out West. "We're probably headed for the Canadian Rockies. We'll take our Chevy and grab our dog," Rosie, an English chocolate lab.

He said he's leaving the company in good hands and is not worried.

"Ed's doing a great job. And I taught our people well," he said. "I jumped down in the trenches on a daily basis."