Successful companies—and their owners—should be applauded

Not an uncommon concern these days. Many companies—even the biggest OEMs—are holding onto their profits because of a lot of uncertainty in those regards. And that is just one thing that seems to be keeping the economy stifled.

However Rolando added one more sentence to his response: “Last but not least that now it is a sin to be successful.”

In response to that, another group member, a beautiful young woman named Amelia who appears from her photo to be Asian, queried: “It is a sin to be successful?”

Yes, Amelia, that is becoming a prevailing attitude among many in the United States. Hard to believe that in a country that was built on people coming here, starting businesses, and becoming successful—fulfilling the American Dream—that being successful is becoming frowned upon.

People’s stories have always intrigued me, and I love to hear the stories of those in the plastics industry who started mold making or molding companies with nothing but their skill, ambition and a few dollars in their pocket. I remember one gentleman who had a large mold making and molding company up in the Bay area of California. I did a plant tour there many years ago, and one of my interview questions was "how did you get started?"

Like many immigrants to the U.S., he had come to this country with $25 in his pocket. He’d been a moldmaker back in his native Italy, and easily found a job upon his arrival in the 1960s. It wasn’t long after that he founded his own mold making company, then got into molding and eventually became one of the biggest suppliers of molds and plastic components to a then-fledgling company called Apple Computer. He eventually sold his highly successful company to a larger molding corporation and retired. Going from $25 in your pocket to a multi-millionaire in the course of less than 40 years sounds impossible. But in the USA, anything is possible for someone who has the skills, ambition and business savvy (and perhaps being in the right place at the right time) to make it happen.

Companies are people, in spite of what we’re hearing, and they support the communities in which they operate. Recently, I received a press release from Hoffer Plastics, another American success story of a family-owned injection molding and mold making company. Fourteen of Hoffer Plastics’ employees spent a day working on an 1880s home in the Elgin, IL, Historic District that was being renovated by Habitat For Humanity of Northern Fox Valley. The day’s activities, which were sponsored by the Hoffer Foundation, included exterior painting, tiling the kitchen and trimming windows, doors and closets.

The rehab project was started in November of last year and required a considerable amount of work, including gutting and rebuilding most of the structure, taking care to ensure that the re-built home conforms to the standards of the Elgin Historic District and maintains the neighborhood’s integrity. The goal is to turn the house over to a local family of six by early Fall.

“The Hoffer family is proud to support Habitat for Humanity in Elgin,” said Gretchen Hoffer Farb, director of supply chain for Hoffer Plastics. “Giving back to the community is a core value of our company, and days like this give our employees an opportunity to live those values and help those in need.”

Bill Klaves, Habitat For Humanity’s development director, stated in a prepared release, “The Hoffer Foundation has been involved in Habitat For Humanity for a number of years, through its financial support as well as encouraging individual volunteer efforts.”

I truly believe that most successful business people are people who give back to their communities. There are exceptions, of course, such as those who took advantage of their company’s success and ended up in prison—we all know those stories.

Success, like most things, can be a blessing or a curse, depending upon what the successful person does with their success. But success in and of itself isn’t a bad thing. Most of us who are working today are working for a company founded by someone who took risks, invested their time and money and became successful.

No, Amelia, being successful isn’t a “sin.” Maybe we need to look at the example Hoffer Plastics—and I’m sure many other companies in our industry—set for us, and let our success provide avenues for making life better for others.