Just among us girls: Plastics industry management isn’t just a “Guy Thing” any more

Some believe it's long overdue, but at last women are being recognized for their accomplishments in the plastics industry. Recently, Maureen Steinwall walked away with the Processor of the Year Award, awarded by Crain Communications Plastics News. She was up against some formidable competitors - male-owned/managed companies, I might add - and it's not too over-the-top to say she was plenty excited about the recognition.

"There's still some reluctance in the [plastics] industry to accept women as owners," Steinwall said to me as we talked about whether or not things have changed over the past couple of decades.

She bases her observations on her experiences as a owner of Steinwall Inc., which she purchased from her father in 1987, admitting that there are times when she has trouble making inroads with a potential customer or winning business because of a bias in dealing with a woman-owned manufacturing company.

Of course we've all heard the joke about the client who walks through the door, and seeing a woman standing there, requests that she get him a cup of coffee while saying, "I'm here to see the President of the company." Of course she's the president. But expectations still haven't met reality in many cases.

Back in the 1980s, I was a "marketing assistant" which meant I did all the paperwork for the sales guys, such as typing up quotes, filing the RFQ's and blueprints, making phone calls and setting up appointments. I really wanted to go into outside sales in the worst way! I approached the sales manager of the molding company for which I was working at the time and asked him about getting into outside sales.

"Well," he said rather authoritatively, "women are good at selling dresses and make-up, but not injection molding and tooling."

That remark continues to amaze me as much today as it did 25 years ago. Needless to say I left that molding company and went to a smaller one that badly needed a good sales person. I helped them grow the company and I made some pretty good money along the way with some rapidly growing companies like Compaq Computer, Hewlett Packard and IBM. Not so shabby "for a girl."

From the outset of her taking over Steinwall Inc., Maureen Steinwall wanted a different kind of company with a different kind of management. "When I bought the company I wanted to run a humanistic company, and I know it will take my whole career to do it," she said. "It was really all about what impact can I have on the world and specifically on manufacturing in this little sphere of my business. The Processor of the Year Award was my 'atta boy' for doing a good job at this."

We both had a good laugh over that one!

On a more serious note, Steinwall added, "You can't fake that stuff. It's a core belief of mine that it's about what I can do in this world to develop the human potential of each and every one of my employees, and I'll do everything I can to help them attain that.

"Sure, you have to make profits to survive, but the idea is to help people become better and if you accomplish that, the company becomes better. It's about getting it to work from a human systems process perspective."

One of the things she's been disappointed in lately is the way many companies let their training programs go, or the systems to develop human potential were dropped because things were tight with the budgets. Steinwall believes deeply and passionately that success in business is about the "human element."

All kidding aside, she actually hopes that the award she received carries the message that she actually "walks the talk" at Steinwall Plastics.

"What is going on in the corporate culture with the purchase of all this high-end technology, as if that's all it takes to be successful," she continued, "people often forget that it takes the human being to turn all that stuff on know how to use it effectively, and innovatively think things through. It takes a human being to look at a print and create a mold that can mold something that others said can't be done."

For all of Steinwall's success, both personally and in business, she stated definitively that "the equipment didn't make the difference because none of the equipment can help the human be creative. The equipment can facilitate making the products that come as a result of the creativity of the human. The designer has to use critical thinking skills - and that's a soft skill that is culturally based in the company. It's not about micro-managing them or holding them accountable for every second they spend at the plant. They have to dream and they have to want to do it. And when they do the impossible, they get the thrill of doing something for a customer that others said couldn't be done. And the customers are thrilled too. Customers need to be thrilled with us."

If that sounds like Steinwall is "soft" don't be fooled. "People need to understand that humanistic management doesn't mean you don't fire people," she said. "I fire people all the time. I give people two or three times to de-program bad behaviors, and after that they must be let go. 'Your bad apple [behavior] won't pollute my corporate culture.' Being a humanistic manager is not about creating a welfare system - you can be humanistic and still be tough. Not everyone you hire is a good hire - if you need to let them go, it's okay. I fire with compassion."

Congratulations, Maureen! You've earned your recognition.