Wepco Plastics Inc. CFO Shares Three Favorite Articles: Social Stories, Bright Spots and Sticking to the Plan

Charles Daniels is the chief financial officer (CFO) for Wepco Plastics Inc., with a unique blend of finance, sales, marketing and operations experience. Charlie has been with the company for nine years in his role as CFO and has been working to grow the business by focusing on improving operational and financial processes, cost containment, asset management and building strong internal and external relationships.

Here, he continues this year’s Editorial Advisory Board (EAB) series (see Kelly Kasner’s and James Jergens’) by sharing his three favorite MoldMaking Technology articles and how this content has been valuable to his work.

“Given the wealth of valuable content that MMT has offered through the years, I knew it would be a daunting job when Christina Fuges tasked me with choosing my three all-time favorite articles,” Charlie says. “Off the top of my head, I could already think of a few, but the more I pondered, the more content that came to mind. Add to that my discovery of some articles I hadn’t previously come across, and you can imagine how difficult it was to pick three! To narrow things down, I considered that I’m not someone directly involved in building molds, so I wanted to speak to some of the content that resonated directly with me, taught me something or inspired me.”

1. May 2015 – Social Media in Manufacturing

#DontBAHa8er. People use the internet to find what they are looking for, and it is your responsibility to be seen and remain relevant.

This article covered a topic that led to my relationship with MMT. When Wepco Plastics was beginning to expand our reach online, this article validated many of the things that we found to be true in this digital age. In addition, it gave us the confidence to continue the time investment in building our brand and engaging our community. Not just as a sales tool but a way to tell our story to many audiences in a fun, informative and authentic way.

Author Danny Mishek stated, “Aren’t we fighting a skills gap in our manufacturing workforce? How are we getting the word out there to let people know how cool manufacturing is and its relevance to our economy and community? Social media can be an important tool for recruiting our next round of employees or a way to educate the community on what we do in their backyards.” These are all ways that we have and continue to use social media.

2. May 2020 – MMT Chats: Fighting COVID-19 with Collaboration

Next Chapter Manufacturing, Muskegon Community College, PCS Company and Concept Molds chat about a coalition they formed to produce face shields to help fight COVID-19.

After reading this, I noticed how well Christina used her channels to share information and generate conversations. At a subsequent American Mold Builders Association (AMBA) Conference, I asked to be introduced to her, and the rest is history! As an ode to the many ways that MMT provides content, this next article presents a piece of digital content.

In this MMT Chat, a few companies for which I have a great deal of respect discuss how they worked together to solve a problem and provide a critical product to their community. The trust they showed in each other and a sense of purpose was truly amazing. While the entire COVID saga has been terrible in so many ways, this story highlights one of the bright spots.

3. September 2021 issue – Leadtime Leader Award Winner: Westminster Tool—Perseverance with a Plan

Westminster Tool’s latest commitment to the plan—investment in new technologies, processes and capabilities, workforce development/training and sales & marketing—helped them edge out this year’s competition.

My favorite article of all time has to be the cover story featuring MMT’s 2021 Leadtime Leader Award Winner. Westminster Tool has long been a company I have admired. They have been terrific friends and perfect examples of what is possible when you put your values first, stick to your word and heavily invest in your team and community. It is apparent by reading this article how wonderful the Coombs family and their team are.

As a Connecticut resident, I am pretty fortunate to live in a state where they work so hard to improve every day. From workforce development to process improvement, Industry 4.0 initiatives to brand development, this article has tried and true solutions and success stories for the issues that all of us struggle with on a daily basis. Told humbly and honestly by true innovators in our industry, this is an absolute must-read!

I hope that I have given you some motivation to go back and read some of your all-time favorites or even discover something new. Thanks, MMT!