6S Products in Anna started with five family members, one injection molding press, and a mission to find a niche while building a foundation of trust, dependability, and value.
“We didn’t have a goal of being a large company; we just wanted to be able to personalize and help find solutions for companies when they need it,” says Neil Schroer, who owns the company along with his wife, Genny; two of their daughters, Emily Schroeder and Tracy Platfoot; and son-in-law, Josh Platfoot.
(By the way, entrepreneurial spirit runs through the family: Neil and Genny also have a son, Eric, who manages a local machine shop with his wife, Karen, and another daughter, Jacquelyn, who owns a gluten-free meal prep business.)
The origin of 6S Products, a member of Urbana-based Pioneer Electric Cooperative, goes back a long way. Neil had co-founded and co-owned a different manufacturing company in Lakeview when Emily and Tracy were young, and both worked there as teenagers. When Tracy started dating Josh, he got a job there, too.
6S Products started with five family members and today has an average of 15 associates on the payroll, while contracting an additional 15 to 20 sub-assemblers.
When Neil sold his share of that outfit in 1999, the family members went in different directions professionally — ranging from the U.S. Postal Service to real estate and accounting. But they recognized the need for their expertise and the niche market they could provide in plastics manufacturing.
“We stayed out of plastics for a few years and then finally realized there was a role that we could fill,” Neil says. “With our combined experience, we thought we could add value to the industry overall.”
And so they founded 6S Products in 2003 — each bringing different expertise to the business. Josh and Emily, who previously worked as production injection molders, became the company’s plant manager and warehouse manager; Tracy, who had worked in quality control, became the company’s quality manager; Genny handled the accounting and human resources; and Neil focused on building the infrastructure and securing a customer base.
“We sat back and said, ‘OK, we know we can do this, but we have to fill a niche,’” Neil says, “and that was to stay small and agile enough to allow us to change with the industry.”
Primarily a third- and fourth-tier vendor, 6S Products manufactures items such as fasteners, clips, and assemblies that are used throughout the automotive industry in dashboards, doors, motors, and interior areas that, while they may not be seen by the consumer, are a vital part of the finished product.
As with many startup businesses, the early years were not easy.
“We started with one press until we had more sales than that one press could handle,” Tracy says. “We used to have a couch and a TV in the office, and when that press required a constant operator, that couch became a bed. We did whatever it took to keep that first press up and running.”
Today, the company utilizes 15 injection molding presses that run 24 hours a day, seven days a week, producing hundreds of different types of products. That translates into millions of parts shipped per month — all weigh-counted and constantly verified, Josh says, to ensure they meet customers’ requirement and standards.
“Twenty years ago, there were people standing in front of a press and making one part at a time,” Neil says. “We believe that adding automation to the newest technology is the key to supplying reliable, quality products and enabling competitive pricing for our customers.” The high-precision presses are the latest available, with innovative, robotic equipment to ensure process control and repeatability.
Still, the company has an average of 15 associates on the payroll (including the five owners) and contracts an additional 15 to 20 sub-assemblers.
“We have a good workforce, and that is really important,” Neil says. “We provide a flexible, family-oriented, clean work environment, and staying small gives us an advantage because we don’t have to layer management and can keep our pricing competitive. Everyone does whatever needs to be done.”
Of course, the all-electric Cincinnati Milacron presses make the electric cooperative an important partner as well.
“I wanted this business to be on co-op lines,” Neil says. “They are great at keeping us informed, and we are pleased with how quickly they respond to get us back up and running if there are outages due to storms or other issues.”
And that small, family-oriented atmosphere means they can get be a little more personally involved with their customers, which Neil says is a benefit for both.
“We recently had a gentleman come into the office who told us, ‘This product is my dream and I want to make it a reality by taking it to market,’” Neil says. “We were able to help him put his ideas on paper and put him in contact with a tooling company to produce his mold. We produced the product for him, and he was able to package and market his dream. It’s a great feeling to be able to be a part of that process.”
