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| Bekum Celebrates 25 Years in
Michigan |
| Bekum America Corporation
celebrated 25 years of successful operations in
North
America
with two days
of festivities at its
Williamston
,
Michigan
facility. The events started
on
Friday, September 10,
2004
, with a formal
ceremony which recognized the excellence the
company has achieved.
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| The company paid tribute to Mr.
Gottfried Mehnert, Bekum’s founder, and
dedicated a state-of-the-art blow molding
learning center to him for his innovation and
unrelenting drive to make Bekum the
successful company it has
become. |
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Martin
Stark
, Bekum
America
’s
President, was also honored for over 23 years of
outstanding service. In addition, the
company thanked its loyal customer base, its
extremely innovative vendors, and its highly
skilled and talented employees, which the
company considers the core of its
success. |
| The festivities were highlighted with
tours of Bekum’s facility, machine
demonstrations, plastics materials exhibitions,
information, and education.
There were more than 250 customers,
vendors, and employees, as well as state and
local officials in attendance at this
ceremony. Chris Holman, a
Lansing TV and radio personality, acted as the
master of
ceremonies. |
| David Hollister, Director of
the Department of Labor and Economic Growth for
the State of
Michigan
,
presented a special tribute to Mr. Mehnert for
Bekum’s outstanding service to the community,
noting that the company is “exuberant and
remarkable.” In total, Bekum
received 13 special tributes from various
United
States
,
State of
Michigan
,
and local government and university
organizations. |
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| Bekum was also honored with tributes
from the Society of the Plastics Industry, the
Michigan Manufacturer’s Association, and
numerous customers and
vendors. |
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On Saturday, September 11,
2004, the company hosted an open house to
celebrate its partnership with the community,
government and education.
There were in excess of 600 visitors who
were treated to plant tours, machine
demonstrations, and a PlastiVan national
learning program presentation, sponsored by the
National
Plastics
Center
and Museum, and the Society of the Plastics
Industry.
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From its Williamston base,
Bekum participates within its community in many
ways. It is a leader in the
state sponsored “School to Registered
Apprentice” (STRA) program, having graduated
three apprentices from its 4-year, 8000 hour
work-study program, with six more students
learning their trade at various stages of STRA
completion. In addition, it
sponsors an annual scholarship award to a
graduating
Williamston
High
School
senior; it makes various contributions to the
Williamston
Senior
Center
,
and grants annual contributions to various
Williamston
High
School
programs.
Furthermore, Bekum executives
actively participate at the highest levels in
the management of various national, state and
local
associat
ions,
including The Society of the Plastics Industry,
The Society of Plastics Engineers, The Michigan
Chapter of the German American Chamber of
Commerce, and the Lansing Regional Career
Connections Board, as well as actively
participating with numerous other organizations,
such as the Lansing Regional Chamber of
Commerce, Lansing Community College and the
Capital Area Manufacturing
Council. |
| Although the company has
established itself as a global powerhouse in the
blow molding industry, Bekum aims to maintain a
family-like environment for its
employees. The approach seems
to have worked well, as a dozen staff members
have been with the company since the day it
opened its doors in
1979. |
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| These employees received special
recognition during the Friday
celebration. Chris Holman
remarked, “It’s hard to imagine that there is
this much emotion
associat
ed
with building blow molding
machines.” |
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