Tessy's Beck takes hands-on approach

CNY Business Journal (1996+), Mar 25, 2005 by Rombel, Adam

ELBRIDGE - Roland Beck shows a visitor around Tessy Plastics Corp.'s bustling Elbridge plant. Machines are spitting out molded-plastic items such as battery cases, disposable end pieces for medical-diagnostic devices, and automotive parts.

He and the workers exchange, "Hi, how are you doing?" and other greetings. Beck has a hands-on style of management and spends a lot of time on the factory floor.

"I see every one on every shift," he says. "I hate sitting in an office all day."

The 41-year-old president of family-owned Tessy Plastics took over the top spot after many years working in the factory in virtually every job imaginable. "I wouldn't do it any other way," says Beck, adding that he feels he understands his people better because he's performed their jobs. "I really wonder how someone could run a company without years of experience on the shop floor and understanding how everything works."

Beck has worked at Tessy ever since he was 14 years old, except for a couple of brief stints where he moved away.

After receiving his associate's degree in plastics technology from SUNY Morrisville in 1983, Beck headed for Florida to pursue his avid interest in motorcross racing and work in construction. In 1987, he moved to California to work for a plastic-molding company called Los Angeles Die Mold. "I just wanted to work for somebody other than my father." Beck says. He says he returned after a year because "I missed my mom's cooking."

Beck says he likes working with his hands and had no desire to get into management for a long time.

In 2001, Beck's father Henry wanted to retire, and it was "time for me to step up," Roland Beck says. He started as an executive vice president before taking the top job in 2002.

The younger Beck assumed the mantle during a tough time economically, following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the economic slowdown.

"The economy was really bad. We were having a tough time, losing money," Beck says.

Tessy Plastics lost a major piece of business when a large customer, Xerox, stopped making ink-jet printers; Tessy had been providing the plastic for the printer cartridges.

Beck had to make some tough decisions, including cutting 150 jobs in Elbridge.

The company rebounded by diversifying its product line to increase production of plastic moldings used in medical equipment.

"We decided to [shift] the direction of the company to the high-end, technological work that not every [plastic-molding manufacturer] can do," Beck says.

He says the medical business provides for better margins.

Welch Allyn and Johnson & Johnson (J&J) are big customers. The plastic medical parts Tessy makes include the plastic molding for otoscopes and ophthalmoscopes; canulas or flexible tubes used to put cameras inside a patient's body to take diagnostic images; and plastic cartridges that hold sutures.

In 2003, Tessy Plastics started growing again and embarked on expansion. It built a 60,000-square-foot addition to its main Elbridge plant to make more plastic molding for Gillette (Tessy makes the plastic for deodorant dispensers). In 2004, Tessy built another 40,000-square-foot addition to make more plastic parts for J&J.

The two expansions cost a total of $11 million, including construction and equipment costs, and will add a total of 200 employees to the company's work force. So far, Tessy has hired about 165, Beck says.

Tessy Plastics generated $105 million in revenue in 2004. That's up from about $80 million in 2003 and $60 million in 2002. Beck forecasts about 15 percent growth this year.

"We've made it back, and then some," Beck says. "And we have a more diversified group of customers, which helps." FACT SHEET

Roland Beck

CEO and President

Tessy Plastics Corp.

* Age: 41

* Education: AAS in plastics technology from SUNY Morrisville, 1983

* Residence: Auburn

* Family: Wife, Susan; two sons: RJ, 13; Daniel, 11

* Year became CEO: 2002

* Favorite part of the job: "Seeing projects and people become successful."

* Hobbies: Motorcross, snowboarding, and snowmobiling

* Favorite book: "Who Moved My Cheese?" by Spencer Johnson

COMPANY PROFILE

Tessy Plastics Corp.

Route 5 West

Elbridge, N.Y 13060

Phone: (315) 689-3924

Fax: (315) 689-7393

www.tessy.com

* Type of business: Plastic-parts manufacturer; makes plasticinjection molding.

* Year founded: 1973

* Locations: Elbridge; Lynchburg, Va.; and Shanghai, China

* Number of employees: About 1,000 (About 500 in Elbridge, 200 in Lynchburg, and 300 in Shanghai)

* Headquarters square footage: 256,000

* Company owners: Roland Beck, his two brothers Ken (who also is the Lynchburg plant manager) and Ralph, and parents Henry and Helga Beck.

* Other key officials: Joseph Raffa, vice president and general manager; and Nancy McCormick, controller

* Annual revenue: $105 million in 2004; projecting 15-percent growth in 2005