Shape Corp. announced Thursday that the company signed a letter of intent with West Michigan metal stampings and assembly manufacturer, Ridgeview Industries, to sell certain assets related to Shape’s stampings operations located in Spring Lake, Mich. Shape and Ridgeview are continuing a strategic partnership of more than 20 years with the deal, which includes a long-term supplier agreement. “Ridgeview has been a trusted supplier of advanced stamped products and assemblies,” said Shape president Mark White. “With Shape being one of their largest customers over the years, we see this sale as a natural transition that will benefit both companies. The advantage comes into play as stampings is a core competency […]

The room was packed with fellow Toyota suppliers at the annual Bluegrass Automotive Manufacturers Association (BAMA), sponsored by Toyota, conference last week. Daric Morell, director of manufacturing, walked up to the stage to speak in front of hundreds of people about Shape’s journey with the Toyota Production System. BAMA reached out to Daric, Jay Blanchard, continuous improvement manager, Craig Arends, 1900 plant manager, because of the unique story behind Shape’s journey. Usually when Toyota comes into manufacturers to help them with their production systems, it’s because the supplier is in crisis mode – meaning that if they don’t change their ways, they could ultimately shut down Toyota. But this wasn’t […]

What started out as an internal campaign to raise awareness about safety, has turned into an opportunity to share our best practices with the entire Toyota supply base. Our “Work Safe, Have Fun” campaign focuses on being safe so you can enjoy your favorite activities outside of work. The iconic logos and tag-lines have been placed throughout the facilities to reinforce good safety habits. After the BAMA Safety Committee meeting this December, in Franklin Tennessee, Toyota requested attendees to share some of their best safety practices. Mike Westbrook, safety and environmental manager, sent in our “Work Safe, Have Fun” campaign to the group. Toyota liked the campaign so much that […]

Shape is partnering with FuturePrep’D again, to inspire and educate students about the manufacturing industry. Students received the opportunity to learn more about Shape, the manufacturing industry, career opportunities that fit their interests. During this program, they will also obtain more confidence going into secondary education and workforce. The program allows students to explore different career opportunities within Ottawa County. These students will spend several weeks visiting the locations and investigate problems that they could help solve. They will be paired with a Shape associates who will help mentor them through the problem solving process and ultimately prepare them to speak in front of Shape and a final competition.