Pictured Above: Eric Southworth and Family
Eric Southworth has been with Vantage Plastics since June of 1999, which is shortly after our inception in September of 1996. Thus, Eric is a repository of a great deal of organizational experience. Eric started with us right out of high school at age 18. Eric says, “I signed up to take a summer job. It has turned out to be a really long summer.” Eric started on the production floor but has worked his way through just about every floor position, including machine operator, high-low driver, team leader, and trainer. Several members of our team pay tribute to Eric for the training he provided them. Eric now serves as a Quality Technician. In this position, he has studied 5-S, lean manufacturing, and a number of other quality-related subject areas. Eric inspects all sample and initial production parts as they come off from prototype tooling and eventual aluminum production tooling. He also runs compression testing on the in-house testing machine. If any potential quality issues are detected, he then works with our design and engineering teams to develop solutions.
When asked what has led to his “really long summer” at Vantage Plastics, Eric says; "I really enjoy helping to get things up and running and constantly learning new things every day. I also like interacting with our customers when they come in to see the products we are making for them. I know the particular things they are looking for based on the upfront information gathered by our sales, design, and engineering team, and can quickly address those items.” Eric adds further that, “I have always enjoyed the family environment that exists here at Vantage Plastics.”
Eric grew up in the area and enjoys what it has to offer. He lives on a twenty-acre property which is a piece of the farm he grew up on. He has several members of his extended family living nearby. Eric is married to his wife Kayla and has four children. He has a daughter, Brooklyn, age 21, a son, Cody, age 19, and two twin daughters, Reese and Ciara, both age 13.
Outside of his career at Vantage Plastics, Eric maintains a down-to-earth and active lifestyle. He enjoys the abundant hunting and fishing opportunities that exist in this area of the state. While we haven’t had a lot of ice on the area lakes, he indicates that ice fishing is probably his number one hobby. Since he lives on twenty acres with some woods, he cuts some of it and heats his home by utilizing an outdoor boiler. He also enjoys planting and harvesting a full range of items from his garden. During the past year, he and his twin daughters planted a pumpkin patch. They ended up harvesting fifty very good pumpkins that his twin daughters sold. This was a great entrepreneurial learning lesson in addition to being a fun growing project.
We are very grateful to have Eric Southworth as a member of our team. As a member of the Vantage Plastics’ Team, Eric has certainly been helping fulfill the Vantage Plastics’ Mission of Forming Better Lives, Forming Solutions, and Forming Sustainable Futures.
Experience the thriving work environment at Vantage Plastics, where positivity and professionalism flourish. Our exceptional team is the cornerstone of our success, and we invite you to be a part of it. Don’t miss out—apply today and join the Vantage Plastics team!
