Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Profile: Ronald E. Ernsberger, 20/20 Custom Molded...

Ronald E. Ernsberger, president of 20/ 20 Custom Molded Plastics, Ltd., has worked in the plastics industry since 1965. His career began in compression molding, moved to injection molding, and in 1978 he became involved in low-pressure structural foam molding. During this time he has worked in every

20/20 Custom Molded Plastics was built from the ground up to be a custom structural foam molding facility. When the facility was originally built, 20/20 built its offices and manufacturing area only. The company is just now finishing a 45,000 square foot warehouse addition that includes four additional truck docks. Approximately 30 percent of the space will have high bay storage racks installed for raw material inventory. The balance will be used for finished goods.

Ernsberger's plan has always been to build a company that is the most innovative, technologically advanced, and userfriendly in the industry. The company's machines allow it to maintain cycle times and part weight consistencies that it has never been able to achieve in the past, according to Ernsberger.

In October 2003, 20/20 installed a robot on one of its 500ton structural foam machines and in two to three years the company plans to have robots on all of its machines. The robots have been proven to minimize scrap, stabilize machine cycles, reduce overall cycle time, dramatically reduce operator fatigue, and increase employee safety.

With five structural foam machines and five high-pressure injection machines, 20/20 does not plan to add any more machines to its current facility. According to Ernsberger, the size of the company makes it a very manageable company that allows everyone to know everyone else, and also makes for a good working environment.

In three to five years, 20/20 would like to duplicate this facility in the west / southwest United States. The company has looked at Albuquerque, New Mexico and Henderson, Nevada as possible site; for future expansion. Currently there are no custom structural foam molders in that part of the country, according to Ernsberger.

The decisions 20/20 made on presses and equipment, prior to starting the company, were based on the management team's desire to build a company that would ultimately lead the industry in innovation and technology. 20/20 continues to push the processing envelope and look for ways to automate and upgrade everything it does both before and after the part is molded.

Ernsberger cites his employees as the company's single most important asset. The company works hand-in-hand with its employees to ensure every one understands the importance of each person's job and the responsibilities that go along with it. Due to the fact that it is difficult to find people with -any kind of employment background in the structural foam industry, 20/20 trains its own people and promotes from within whenever possible. In an effort to keep everyone informed and to address any concerns or questions, each shift and department selects one person each quarter to act as their spokesperson during an open round table meeting with Ernsberger. The results of that meeting are then posted on the employee bulletin board for everyone to review.

Working in the structural foam industry for the entry-level employee is sometimes overwhelming until they understand that they can do the work. Some of the company's parts weigh up to 130 lbs. and the machines that produce them are larger than a locomotive. Add a 12-hour work schedule to that and it becomes critical that 20/20 spend as much time as possible with each new employee in the early stages of their employment so they do not get discouraged. The company's best and most experienced press operators on each crew - are promoted to the position of lead operator. They take the lead in the responsibility to train the new employees and orient them to the company in as much time as it takes to make them feel at home. Some of the employees at 20/20 have worked with Ernsberger's team's various companies since 1980.