Asked to cite the single biggest change at Lapeer Plating & Plastics, Inc. (LP+P) since the company was profiled February 2024 in Manufacturing in Focus magazine, Operations Manager Shaun Ryan points to a recent spike in the firm’s personnel. “I’d say the single biggest change is our workforce. Our workforce is growing tremendously,” says Ryan.
Based in a 135,000-square-foot facility in Lapeer, Michigan, LP+P is a Class A automotive component manufacturer specializing in chrome plating, injection molding, and assembly. Secondary services include acrylic production, design and engineering, painting, and post-painting.
LP+P primarily serves clients in the automotive sector, although it’s also doing an increasing amount of work for commercial trucking firms. While most of its customers are based in North America, Lapeer ships its products worldwide and is deeply committed to client support.
Key LP+P products include emblems and ornamentation (emblems being decorative car components that manufacturers utilize to brand their vehicles), moldings and grilles, and decorative trims. Chrome-plated interior trims accent luxury features inside cars while exterior trims do the same for the outside.
Since April of last year, Lapeer Plating + Plastics has added nearly 100 new workers, boosting its total workforce to approximately 260 people. The company at times takes an unorthodox approach to its recruiting, working with groups such as Goodwill, the Lapeer County Community Mental Health agency, Michigan Rehabilitation Services, and the Job Corps to secure new hires. Run by the U.S. government, the Job Corps is a career training initiative spanning the entire country.
While LP+P has been saluted for its outreach efforts (the firm won an award from Michigan legislators in honor of its work with community mental health organizations, it needed another talent stream to tap into. “At the beginning of 2024, we were really challenged to find local employees,” Ryan shares.
Fortunately, Lapeer discovered an overlooked source for potential workers. “We had conversations with Latinx people and realized there was a whole [talent pool] out there that we hadn’t explored yet with the Hispanic community,” recalls Ryan.
Based out of Mott Community College in nearby Flint, Michigan, the Latinx Technology and Community Center (LTCC) offers supports to Hispanic people, whose numbers have been growing in the region. The Interstate 69 corridor, a major highway system in Michigan, recently “received a large influx of individuals of Hispanic descent from down south, Florida and Texas,” explains Ryan.
These individuals arrived in the area as a result of LTCC initiatives, but also for employment opportunities and the affordability of housing in Flint. Some of the newcomers were trained at the Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center (MMTC), a statewide organization offering consultation and training for small and medium enterprises. Other members of the recent wave of job seekers are already working at the LP+P plant.
“They’re on all three shifts in all three departments. We have them at the operator level, we have them at the supervisory level. We have them in maintenance and in skilled trades. They’re doing very well,” says Human Resources Administrator Joe Du Breuil.
LP+P remains a one-stop shop that offers multiple services at one locale. The company’s leaders want the business to be as vertically integrated as possible and handle most services in-house. To this end, LP+P’s highly capable staff utilize cutting-edge solutions to self-perform most tasks. The design and engineering department uses CAD (Computer Aided Design) software while the electroplating section applies chrome, matte, and other finishes using the latest equipment. LP+P also uses robotic systems to aid the injection molding process.
The Lapeer plant also features overhead cranes, more than 30 injection molding presses (some weighing over 1,400 tons), hot stamp presses weighing up to 10 tons, vacuum metalizing gear, ultrasonic welding equipment, and a facility for wastewater treatment.
To stay current, LP+P devotes considerable resources to R&D and new equipment. The firm is revamping its plating line starting in March and has purchased new presses for molding purposes. “We’re in the middle of acquiring three additional presses this year. These vary from 300 tons to 1,100 tons,” Ryan tells us. These machines “are the electric variety” as the company explores the advantages of electric molding presses versus hydraulic presses based on efficiency, cleanliness, and energy use, he explains.
LP+P’s moves have not gone unnoticed, and the company has been winning industry kudos for its determination to improve and enhance its operations, including the 2024 Turnaround Award from the M&A Advisor in the “Restructuring” category for companies under $100 million. Founded in 1998, the M&A Advisor is the “preeminent organization recognizing excellence, honoring achievement, presenting thought leadership and facilitating connections among the world’s leading dealmaking professionals.”
Always attuned to quality, LP+P has 16949:2016 IATF (International Automotive Task Force) certification for producing and applying decorative plating to plastic products, as well as comprehensive Quality Assurance procedures. Each department has a quality auditor who is turn reports to a quality manager. There are daily discussions about areas for improvement and a team constantly monitors activities and collects data to determine if the company is maintaining its high standards.
The addition of nearly 100 new workers, and a push to garner new business in the commercial trucking sector, can be seen as a continuation of LP+P’s focus on expansion, quality, and self-improvement, explains Ryan. “Automotive is still our target, but we are growing on the commercial [trucking] side as well. We have acquired two new jobs coming up this year on the commercial side. Right now, we are working on two new programs through Ford and General Motors,” he shares.
LP+P has also branched into new products, “exploring illuminated emblems,” for example.
But despite the rapid expansion of its workforce, LP+P remains a modestly sized industrial enterprise—an advantage as far as management is concerned. “I think us being on the smaller side makes us more nimble. Customer requirements and production needs can be met quickly. There’s not this chain of command that needs to be gone through. We’re pretty turnkey,” Ryan notes.
It also helps that the business is “made up of individuals who know the business inside-out, from the ground floor up,” he adds.
Indeed, the company prefers to promote from within and encourages loyalty and longevity among its staff, which in turn reinforces institutional knowledge. The leadership team is largely composed of individuals who worked their way up the ranks, rather than outsiders. In terms of new hires, Ryan prefers “individuals that have targets and goals, whether it be growth in the business or growth in themselves… someone who comes in each and every day, trying to better—not only themselves, but the business along with them.”
In return, the company looks out for its workers by keeping them safe and engaged. LP+P takes a proactive approach to safety, identifying potential hazards before they become issues and encouraging a “safety-first” mindset among all staff. A safety committee conducts regular plant-floor audits and walk-throughs to discuss concerns. Extra lighting has been added inside the plant, to complement extensive railings and further enhance worker safety. “We have a nice, robust safety process in place,” summarizes Ryan.
When it comes to promotion and recruitment, LP+P works with a breadth of community organizations, including Mott Community College. Lapeer takes part in job fairs, including MiCareerQuest, a huge event for middle and high school students organized by Michigan Works! (a statewide work and career support program). During MiCareerQuest, local manufacturers demonstrate their equipment and procedures, welcoming students to touch, examine, and even try their hand at working the machines, to get a feel for careers in the industry.
In our previous article, recruiting and hanging on to talent was cited as the company’s biggest challenge; now, thanks to the influx of new workers, this is no longer the case. In fact, things are going so well, LP+P has introduced an apprenticeship program.
Today, keeping on top of economic and technological developments is more of a pressing concern than recruitment. “I think the biggest challenge right now is to continue to make sure we are viable in the market we’re in and making sure we are exploring new technologies,” says Ryan.
As for the future, he adds, “My vision and mission is to be the employer of choice. The reason I say that is, we’re doing everything right—meaning we’re satisfying customer need, we’re being competitive, we’re building a place where individuals want to work because we are competitive and profitable, and we encompass everything a good business should be.”
Going forward, he concludes, “I feel Lapeer is heading in the right direction.”
