Oji Intertech News

Intertech Products employees honored

Eight employees at Intertech Products, North Manchester, were recently honored for their tenure with the company.

Honored were:

• Lucas Courtney, Maintenance Tech, 5 years.

• Duncan Muga, Team Lead, 5 years

• Luke Crouse, Team Lead, 5 years

• Phil Hill, Maintenance Tech, 20 years.

• Jerrid Edmonson, Set-up and Material Handler, 5 years

• Aaron Richardson, Winder Lead, 10 years

• Dale Colebank, Material Handler, 5 years.

• Ryan Robison, Team Lead, 5 years.

Intertech Holdings Announces Acquisition of Oji Intertech

NORTH MANCHESTER, INDIANA – Intertech Holdings today announced the acquisition of Oji Intertech, Inc. The company, which will operate as Intertech Products, Inc. going forward, serves the automotive/transportation and industrial packaging industries, with core competencies centered around compression molding, die cutting, assembly and extrusion coating/laminating.

The company, headquartered in North Manchester with approximately 100 employees and annual sales nearing $30 million, will now operate under the ownership of Wayne Robison, a Northeast Indiana businessman from North Manchester.

“North Manchester is an incredibly special place, and it’s meaningful to me to invest in the town that has provided my family with such a positive sense of community, opportunity and quality of life for decades. I jumped at the chance to purchase Oji Intertech because it’s a company headquartered in my hometown that is growing and successful with strong leadership and a unique, positive culture,” said Robison.

Rick Sereno, who has served over 30 years at Oji Intertech and has been integral to the company’s success, will continue to serve as President of Intertech Products, Inc.

Sereno noted, “It has been an honor to lead the exceptional team at Oji Intertech, and I know our future is bright under the organization’s new ownership. I am thrilled for the opportunity to work alongside Wayne Robison and our leadership team to maintain and grow our business, continue to provide world-class products and service to our customers, and offer an excellent culture for our team members.”

North Manchester Town Manager Adam Penrod said, “Intertech Products is one of the largest companies in North Manchester, employing approximately 100 people. The success of industry within a community determines the growth and vibrancy of the area, and it’s exciting to see a successful local business leader invest in the future of this important company, and ultimately in our community.”

Added Keith Gillenwater, president and CEO of economic development organization Grow Wabash County, “Oji Intertech, now Intertech Products, has been a major employer and industry partner in Wabash County for over 30 years. The company is known as an innovative, leading lean manufacturing organization in Northeast Indiana, and we look forward to maintaining our close working relationship with Intertech Products under its new ownership and the continued leadership of Rick Sereno.”

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About Intertech Products

Intertech Products, Inc. (formerly Oji Intertech, Inc.) is a leading lean manufacturing company serving the automotive/transportation and industrial packaging industries. In business since 1985, the company’s core competencies are centered around compression molding, die cutting, assembly and extrusion coating and laminating. Production technologies offer customers an array of products that solve problems across multiple industries. Intertech Products is an associate, community, and stakeholder-focused, lean company that strives daily to flawlessly execute in providing its customers with value-add products and services.

 

Intertech Products, Inc. (F.K.A. Oji Intertech, Inc.) announces the promotion of Wendell Aldrich to Vice President of Operations

Intertech Products, Inc. (F.K.A. Oji Intertech, Inc.) announces the promotion of Wendell Aldrich to Vice President of Operations.  Wendell has been a part of the Intertech team for a combined 18 years, most recently serving as the General Manager.  Wendell has proven himself a results-oriented and capable leader.  This promotion to Vice President is the direct result of the skill, work ethic, and commitment that he brings to his job every day.

I look forward to working alongside Wendell in his new capacity as we continue to build the company around our associates, lean business practices, and technologies.

Please join me in congratulating Wendell on his promotion.

Rick Sereno
President
Intertech Products, Inc.

Business of the Year Wabash County

Barrows named 2019 Distinguished Citizen
By Joseph Slacian

As Bill Barrows sat at his table at the Honeywell Center’s Legacy Hall on Thursday night, Oct. 10, he listened intently as 2018 Distinguished Citizen Larry Curless began reading the details of the 2019 award winner during the Grow Wabash County annual dinner.

“I was scanning the room trying to figure out who it would be,” Barrows told The Paper of Wabash County. “All of a sudden, it all sounded very familiar. When it got to the subject of fastpitch softball, it was more than coincidental.”

Moments later, Curless unveiled to those who had not yet figured it out, that Barrows was the 2019 Distinguished Citizen.

After making his way to the Legacy Hall stage, he was joined by his family, noting “my wife is supposed to be out of town.”

In addition to Barrows being honored as Distinguished Citizen, Oji Intertech was honored as 2019 Business of the Year.

“I am extremely humbled,” Barrows told the 300 people attending the annual dinner. “Never, ever, ever have I ever remotely dreamed or thought about this.

“I don’t know what to say, other than thank you to everyone who had anything to do with this. Wow. All of the things that Larry talked about, I have done. And there’s a lot of other things we don’t want to talk about.

“But I really appreciate this.”

Curless, during his introduction speech, noted that Barrows was born in Peru and moved with his family to Wabash when he was a youngster. After graduating from Wabash High School, he received a degree from Purdue University.

“This individual had many hobbies and diverse interests – which always seemed to be directed toward sports – notably baseball,” Curless continued. “this unknown individual became a sports broadcaster of baseball, basketball and football. As time went on just talking about sports was not enough; involvement was needed. The satisfaction of being actively involved as a coach and administrator of youth sports led him to a true sense of who he was meant to be.”

Barrows also has served on numerous boards and committees, including the Wabash Chamber of Commerce, Wabash Marketplace Inc., the Streetscape Committee, the Wabash Service Board, the Wabash Plan Commission and the YMCA boards.

“He will be revealed by his involvement as a fast-pitch softball player under coach Bob Vanlandingham,” Curless said. “(He) also was Mr. Alumni of Wabash High School in 1999. That same year he was inducted into the Mid-America Baseball hall of Fame and was instrumental in creating the Chris Rood Memorial Baseball Tournament.”

In 2018, Barrows was one of 38 people from Indiana chosen to participate in a fellowship entitled “The Journey,” honoring those who work to service youth. He also worked to help create the Field of Dreams, and he currently serves as an assistant coach to the Wabash Apache baseball team.

Oji President Rick Sereno accepted the Business of the Year on behalf of the company employees present. Also present was Kazuo Irikura, an executive from Oji Intertech’s parent company in Japan made the trip from Japan to attend the evening’s festivities.

Oji, then known as Efton Inc., opened in June 1995 in North Manchester. It changed its name to Oji in 2002 to better related with its parent company. The firm serves the automotive, transportation and industrial packing fields, Grow Wabash County board chair Jason Callahan said in introducing the firm.

“Even though they are part of an enterprise based out of Japan, Oji Intertech Inc. is committed to investing in the communities their employees and families call home,” he said. “Oji believes strengthening North Manchester, Wabash County and Northeast Indiana is not only ethical, but makes good business sense.”

In addition to supporting various organizations and causes as a company, the firm gives each employee two days a year in which they are able to volunteer for those causes close to them.

Sereno said that in preparing his remarks, he reflected on the firm’s 20 years in North Manchester. He highlighted many of the products that the firm helps to produce and noted that automotive parts produced in North Manchester “are shipped around North America and the world on a daily basis.”

“Having said all that, none of that would have been possible without the support of this community,” he continued.
In 1996, he said, company officials met with then Mayor Robert McCallen Jr. to explain what the firm was looking for in a site.

“Before I could complete my sentence, Mayor Robert McCallen jumped across the table, grabbed my hand and said, ‘Son, you have come to the right place,” Sereno reflected. “We chose a plot of ground in North Manchester’s newly developed industrial park. The State of Indiana and the local community made us offers in terms and abatements on the land building and property that we simply could not refuse.”

During the recession, the state and county offered training grants, which the firm used to partner with Purdue University to develop additional skills. In its most recent expansion, the state and county offered more training grants and abatements to help the firm.

However, none of the firm’s success would have been possible without its workforce, Sereno said.

“You don’t often hear it said, but this community and the people who live in it and around it still value work,” he said. “The work ethic, and the general sense of fairness that resides through our local workforce, has allowed us to develop new technologies, to launch new products into new markets, and improve all aspects of our business on a daily basis.”

On stage with Sereno were two Daruma dolls which Japanese citizens have used for centuries to wish good luck, child birth and prosperity. He invited Callahan to color in the left eye on one of the dolls, to wish for continued prosperity for the State of Indiana, Wabash County and Oji Intertech.

The left eye was colored, Sereno explained, because in the Japanese seating arrangements, the left is more important than the right. One eye was only colored to signify opening one’s mind up.

“In closing, I would like to thank our grandparent company, Oji Holdings, and our parent company, Oji Intertech, for their many years of support,” he said in closing. “I would also like to thank Mr. Irikura for being with us here tonight. I would also like to thank all of our current and past employees, the county of Wabash, the State of Indiana, and all of you for coming here tonight to celebrate with us and all the other award winners tonight.

“So, Wabash and Indiana,” he said, lifting up one of the Daruma dolls above his head, “to another 20 years of prosperity.”

In another presentation, Gary Larson, CFO of Ford Meter Box and treasurer of the Grow Wabash County Board of Directors was honored as the 2019 Volunteer of the Year.

To end the evening, three Oji employees led the crowd in a traditional Japanese “tejime” that involved clapping and bringing the gathering to a positive and happy close.

Source: http://thepaperofwabash.com/index.php?subaction=showfull&id=1571145451&ucat=4&template=FrontPage&

Consumer51 Recognized for Website Design for Oji Intertech

Consumer51, an international consumer-experience company with business operations in Pennsylvania, New Mexico and Indiana, announced being the recipient of three Communicator Awards for their work with Oji Intertech.

The annual awards, celebrating 25 years this season, is sanctioned by the Academy of Interactive & Visual Arts, an invitation-only group consisting of top-tier professionals from acclaimed media, communications, advertising, creative and marketing firms. One of the largest shows in the creative industry, it receives over 6000 entries world-wide.

Consumer51 was recognized in the distinctive category for website design in the general manufacturing category, visual appeal to improve functionality, and use of images.

“Oji Intertech is known for its culture of excellence, safety, and innovation,” said Ari Banerjee, Chief Executive Officer of Consumer51. “We wanted to capture everything that goes into manufacturing the high-quality products that the company produces and supplies to companies around the country. We believe the new website tells the story in an accurate and engaging way, and we’re proud that the work we did with our client Oji Intertech received these awards. We’re very grateful for the opportunity to produce such award-winning work and showcase the manufacturing power for a company that operates in the same Indiana community as we do.”

Oji Intertech, Inc. serves the automotive/transportation and industrial packaging industries, with specialization in compression molding, diecutting, assembly and extrusion coating.  Consumer51 designed a custom website that boasts a custom Oji Intertech theme and is fully responsive. World-renowned photographer Steve Vonderman was engaged to capture images of the facility.

About Oji Intertech: The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Oji Interpack, Ltd. (https://www.intertechproducts.com),  Japan. Oji Intertech, Inc. took roots in North Manchester in 1990 and has since expanded its operations to accommodate a 80,000 sq. ft. manufacturing facility and steady employment to over 100 associates.

About Consumer51: Consumer51 LLC is a privately held consumer-experience company, providing marketing and technology solutions for today’s connected world. The company provides a wide range of services including web design, web development, web hosting, domain registration, email management, user experience design, mobile application development, brand identity design, inbound marketing, creative services and consulting to clients ranging from startups to Fortune 50 brands. For more information about Consumer51, visit http://www.consumer51.com.

Opening Wabash to the world

An exchange student program, contact with the parent company of a local industry and the creation of a sister city for the City of Wabash.

Those are just some of the things to come from a two-week trade mission between representatives of the City of Wabash and officials with cities in Japan and China.

The delegation left in early November and returned shortly before Thanksgiving. It’s first stop was five days in Japan, with the rest of the mission spent in China.

Members of the delegation – Mayor Scott Long, Grow Wabash County Executive Director Keith Gillenwater, Wabash City Schools Superintendent Jason Callahan, Honeywell Foundation Executive Director Tod Minnich, Bob Mason, The Ford Meter Box Co.’s International Sales Manager, and Lisa Ford – met with members of the media on Tuesday, Nov. 27, to discuss the trip.

“I think moving forward, we’re going to open up Wabash to the world and the world up to Wabash,” Long said. “This is the initial step toward that.”

Sister city program
During the mission, Long and the mayor of Linhai City in China signed a declaration forming a sister city program between the two locations.

“I think the opportunities are endless on all fronts, from arts and culture to education and economic development to the sister city relationship,” Long said.

He noted that he and Linhai City Mayor Mei Shimiao already share a common bond, in that they are both former police officers.

“I found out he had been an officer for six years in China,” Long said. “That kind of knocked the wall down because I had mentioned I was a retired police officer.”

Plans are already underway, the mayor noted, to host a delegation from Linhai City, probably sometime in the spring of 2019.

“We’ll send a written invitation to have a delegation from there to come over next year, and they’re ready to do that,” he said.

This article is originally posted and taken from The Paper of Wabash County Inc.