If you want to know what 2025 felt like at Vantage Plastics, skip the spreadsheet and picture the sounds instead.
A forklift backing up in Bay City. A thermoformer cycling in Standish. A team huddled around a part, doing that quiet, obsessive thing manufacturers do best: asking, “How do we make this safer, stronger, simpler, and more reusable?”
That was this year. Not one giant “ta-da” moment, but a string of moments where craft and purpose kept showing up, again and again.
It started with a day that did not feel like a normal workday. In March, our operations became a stop on a Made-in-America manufacturing tour, with the U.S. Vice President visiting and speaking on site. Whatever your politics, it is hard not to feel a surge of pride when national attention lands on the people who keep production moving, solve problems fast, and build things the right way.
Spring brought the kind of recognition that makes you stop and look around at your teammates a little differently. In April, we were selected to receive the Outstanding Business Award from SVSU’s Scott L. Carmona College of Business. It was a meaningful nod to performance, leadership, and community engagement, and it belonged to every person who takes ownership of quality and keeps raising the bar.
Then came another win that felt very “Vantage.” Not flashy, just deeply technical and earned. At the 2025 SPE Thermoforming Parts Competition, Vantage Plastics received Silver in the Cut Sheet Heavy Gauge Vacuum Form category for an Automotive Gear Tray. It is the kind of award that only happens when engineering, forming, and execution all line up.
While all of that was happening, the heart of the year kept beating in the background: solving real customer needs and building the community infrastructure that makes work possible.
In September, that “infrastructure” became very literal. Vantage Plastics’ participation in Michigan’s MiTri-Share was part of a bigger story about supporting working families with more affordable child care, alongside The WELL Outreach and local partners. Manufacturing is a career path, but child care can be the make-or-break reality underneath it. We are proud to be part of solutions that help families stay steady and keep moving forward.
By fall, the calendar sped up in the way it always does. We went from work boots to show floors at PACK EXPO Las Vegas, connecting with peers and partners in the Reusable Packaging Pavilion. It is energizing to swap ideas with people who care about durability, automation, and circular design as much as we do.
October brought a milestone we were excited to put into the world: expanded EV battery packaging options featuring a Non-Halogen Flame Retardant (NHFR) formulation, engineered to slow ignition, reduce heat release, and resist melt-through. Safety expectations are rising, and we wanted to meet that reality with material choices designed for the real world, including reuse and end-of-life pathways.
Also in October, we leaned all the way into “fun with a purpose.” The Run for the WELL of It 5K showed up as a Halloween-spirited community run where costumes were strongly encouraged, dogs were welcome, and the mission was bigger than the finish line.
And earlier in the year, The WELL Outreach’s school supply giveaway helped kids start the school year equipped and confident, which is the kind of ripple effect that lasts longer than any headline.
November had two moments that felt like bookends.
First, we hosted a Women in Manufacturing Southeast Michigan tour at our Bay City facility. If you have ever wished more people could see what modern manufacturing actually looks like, you know why days like that matter.
Then, Vantage Plastics was honored as Manufacturer of the Year by the Michigan Sustainable Business Forum at the 2025 Michigan Sustainable Business of the Year Awards. Recognition is nice, but what it really signals is this: sustainable manufacturing and circular economy work is not “extra” anymore. It is the work.
So that was 2025. A year of spotlight moments and quiet wins. Of community investment and technical progress. Of teams doing the hard things, repeatedly, and making it look normal.
As we step into 2026, we are not chasing noise. We are chasing results: safer systems, smarter design, and manufacturing that leaves people and materials better than it found them.
If you have a 2026 program that needs a durable, plant-ready solution, we would love to talk. Thermoforming, injection molding, sheet extrusion, and recycling support across our family of companies.