News

A Look Back at the History of Team 1 Plastics

As part of the year-long celebration of its 30th anniversary, Team 1 Plastics, a plastic injection molding company for the transportation industry, has highlighted different milestones in its history through a series of articles. As the finale of the series, this article shares the thoughts of Craig Carrel, President and Co-owner as he reflects backward over 30 years of Team 1 Plastics and then looks forward toward the next 30 years.

“It is truly amazing to reflect back on everyone who has played a role in our 30-year journey,” Carrel said. “The reflection starts with all of our customers whom we have been privileged to serve – with a special focus on II Stanley and Tokai Rika who have been with us since almost the beginning of the company. Our Team Members have played a critical role in our success and have allowed us to build an exceptional company focused on them. We have also developed strong partnerships with our suppliers and strive to work together with them in the same spirit of mutual trust and respect that we do with our customers. Reflecting back also reminds us that we may not have even started Team 1 Plastics without the support, encouragement, and financial resources that the City of Albion and its Economic Development Corporation have provided us over the years. One of the things that we take great pride in at Team 1 Plastics is that we work hard to develop strong partnerships with all our stakeholders so that all parties have the ‘Freedom to Succeed.’”

Looking forward to the future for Team 1 Plastics, Carrel said that the next few years have great potential for growth. “We are excited about 2018 and 2019 and have some real growth opportunities with a couple of key customers. If they come to fruition, we have an opportunity to reach our strategic planning goal of $20 million in sales by 2020 with above average industry profit margins.”

And then he and co-owner, Gary Grigowski, can begin to transition themselves out of a job. “If we hit our sales and profitability targets by 2020, Gary and I will begin to transition from our current day-to-day responsibilities to more of a strategic role. One of the key reasons for our goal of reaching $20 million in sales with above average industry profit margins is to create a secure business that can outlive both owners. For more than seven years, we have been working on stretching our team and looking at ways we can develop them to lead the company in the future. We understood that the company had to grow to a certain size that would allow us to develop a leadership team that could run the day-to-day business without Gary or me. Of course, we want to make this transition smooth and seamless to our customers and other stakeholders.” Carrel continued, “This process will continue, and it is more evolutionary as we learn and grow together over the next three to five years. The key is for us to make sure the culture that we have worked hard to develop and foster over the last 30 years continues without us. After that we will have to see what develops. I can envision Gary and me involved at a strategic and planning level for Team 1 for many years to come.”

What about thirty years from now? Carrel replied, “In 30 years, I think neither of us plan to have an active role at Team 1 Plastics, but we both hope to be able to attend and participate at the opening of our Time Capsule on November 21, 2047.”