GLOV Enterprises holds open house to thank supporters

GLOV Enterprises held a small open house on Wednesday, Aug. 21, to thank representatives from the city, county and state for the role its partners played in supporting the manufacturing firm at 412 S. Maumee Street. GLOV purchased the former Tecumseh Thermoplastics facility in March 2011. The company is an injection molder capable of engineering, tooling and manufacturing of parts.The company had 13 employees at the time of purchase from former owner, Marty Boot, and annualized sales of $2.5 million. Sales are at approximately $8.5 million now, and the company’s goal is to employ 100 employees and have sales of at least $12 million by June of 2014, and likely will go higher, according to Gordon Young, Managing Partner. He said by next year the company will have invested just under $1.5 million in the business.“None of this would have been possible without the support of our partners at all levels,” said Young, who added that United Bank and Trust worked with them from the beginning from a financial perspective. “We’ve been profitable since our first month and wouldn’t have experienced that if we hadn’t had the assistance that we did.” Young said that the company originally was under pressure from one of its largest customers to locate the business in Kentucky, and they’d also looked at a site in Indiana. But with the help of city officials and others, they were able to come to the conclusion that Tecumseh would be the best location for the business.The City of Tecumseh and its economic development department played a key role helping the company obtain funds for new equipment through a Community Block Grant of approximately $360,000, which the company utilized in the form of purchasing machinery and equipment.“The company has had pretty phenomenal growth and we’re glad to have them here,” said Tecumseh Economic Development Director Paula Holtz. “We really wanted them to be able to grow right here in Tecumseh, and have been helping them to do that.”Tecumseh City Council also approved an industrial facilities tax abatement, and GLOV obtained other assistance and incentives through the Lenawee Economic Development Corporation (LEDC) and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC). LEDC Director Jim Van Doren was accompanied by Tony Brownfield, Manager of Retention and Growth, and Tom Tarleton, Business Development Manager for Lenawee County, representing the State of Michigan at the event. Tecumseh City Manager Kevin Welch, Mayor Richard Johnson, and city council members Ron Wimple and Pat Housekeeper were also present, along with UBT officials.Young and his partners Louis Farkas and Moritz Von Moller are pleased with the progress they have made in Tecumseh in such a short time, and the business continues to grow. In fact, they have just purchased more machinery and are looking to add a 100-foot extension to the plant on Maumee St.“We’ll be moving the larger machinery in there because it will have 20-foot ceilings and keep the smaller presses in the existing space,” Young said. “We’ve just purchased a crane to use for that. Right now, we have to use a forklift to move anything.”GLOV manufactures both automotive and non-automotive products, from small flappers that go inside vents in Mercedes Benz and BMW products, to Mustang seat parts, to a molded plastic product that protects pumps in lawn sprinkler systems, made on the company’s largest machine, a Van Dorn 1500. Employees typically start as temporary workers, but many of them are hired after a three-month period. Young said the company is impressed with the dedication of the employees. They have also been part of an annual bonus plan from the beginning.The business partners and staff have been working to organize the facility’s space to make the operation as efficient and smooth as possible, and will continue to do that with the arrival of the new machines. They also remain on the lookout for new customer opportunities. Farkas pointed out a new product line that just launched making parts for the Ford 4-liter engine’s intake assembly, which will ultimately have several shifts of workers.The trio has known each other for decades, but had not previously worked side-by-side together on a daily basis. Farkas said the management team is working out well, however.“I’m the Director of Business Development and do sales and engineering,” Farkas said. “Gordon is Finance, and Moritz is Operations, so the three of us truly go at every problem from different directions,” and we don’t always agree. But that’s one of the strengths of this company — we approach problems from different angles. I’m really proud of how we’ve come together to manage this company.”

Tecumseh Herald

 

110 E. Logan St.
P.O. Box 218
Tecumseh, MI 49286
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