Traverso also had an interesting start, where he vowed never to work for a family-owned manufacturing company again.“ I am not an engineer; I have a background in economics and math from Willamette University.” He started his career in banking and consumer finance. But he ended up working in metal manufacturing as part of a sales program. They were doing sheet-metal fabrication for Daimler, which he said went out of business in 2013 due to military contracts drying up. He was recruited as a sales manager and has now been with Vision Plastics for eight years. Today, he said,“ I really like this type of business, the role, and what we are doing.” He added,“ We make other people’ s designs as a build-to-print company.”
The business is a $ 25 million-a-year company, currently focused on healthcare, electronics, information technology, and industrial equipment, with room to grow in injection molding, assembly, engineering, and automation. partner with us to evaluate materials, processes, and tooling to identify meaningful cost-saving opportunities while maintaining quality. A recent example is a component we previously had painted— through their guidance, we eliminated that step entirely and reduced the cost by 50 %. This kind of insight and collaboration is exactly the value we aim to achieve in our supplier relationships.”
The company has over 45 injection molding machines, according to their website visionplastics. com, and has begun adding cobots to the factory floor. It is also embracing AI and Large Language Models( LLM), Ferguson said: " We are trying to make tedious, manual tasks faster. Any job that is dangerous, dirty, or difficult; we are looking at data. AI is helping me understand my business ecosystem and how to communicate it better."
As a manufacturer, problem solving for customers is critical. Ferguson shared a story about almost telling the customer their project was a no-go, saying it would have been a mistake. He said they had to understand the needs of
According to Traverso, long-term relationships and projects are the name of the game for Vision Plastics. He shared, " We are not a transaction; we are supporting production lines that will last 20-25 years." He sees that work as a form of sustainability for families in their community.
Ratto echoed their commitment to customers:“ Their commitment is not just appreciated— it’ s a key reason we continue to rely on them as a trusted partner.” She said Vision Plastics offers next-level value:“ They proactively
26 NORTHWEST AEROSPACE NEWS
" WE ARE NOT A TRANSACTION; WE ARE SUPPORTING
PRODUCTION LINES THAT WILL LAST 20-25 YEARS."