The Shape Family is helping dreams and robots come to life! The Grand Haven High School robotics team “Bucs N’ Gears” finished 5th in the qualifying rounds at Grand Valley State University. They were eliminated in the quarter finals but are still hopeful they will make it to the state championships at Saginaw Valley State. […]

The Shape Family is the stage sponsor for this summer’s Tuesdays in the Park. 92.1 WGHN hosts this exciting summer concert series every summer. To kick off the first week, they are welcoming back Chris Wiser & Andy Frisinger on Tuesday, June 19th at the Grand Haven Central Park. Each concert is a FREE event! Grand […]

Some impressive new technology is coming to Shape’s 172nd facility, and it has got our team members excited. The plant is currently prepping a site for the new Driestern mill that will be shipped in all the way from Germany. Team members broke ground on May 21st to prepare for the addition of roll 117. This […]

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 […]

Shape’s innovative spirit was on display at the 2017 CAMX—the premier composites and advanced materials event and for four days the center of the composites world. Shape was in attendance as a finalist for an Award for Composite Excellence (ACE), the composite industry’s stand out award showcase. The ACE awards are an annual competition hosted by […]

The latest edition of Shape on the Roll has been released. The Summer 2017 edition includes a message from president, Mark White, information on Shape’s new business pursuits, veteran’s programs, and the future of Shape.  You can view an online version of Shape on the Roll here.

Shape China was awarded the General Motors Supplier Quality Excellence Award for the 2016 calendar year. This is the second time that Shape China has been recognized with this award; the previous time being in 2014. This award speaks to Shape’s strong performance from our manufacturing and quality organization and further solidifies us as a […]

Shape’s new partnership with the Society of Manufacturing Engineer’s PRIME program and Grand Haven High School has been making headlines all across West Michigan. Last Monday, June 19, Shape announced alongside Grand Haven Area Public Schools, the Michigan Manufacturers Association, their collaboration through SME’s Partnership Response in Manufacturing Education (PRIME). The PRIME initiative will instill […]

Shape’s bright future and the innovative radius-pultrusion system are featured in the June edition of Composites World, the world’s leading composites publication. The center fold article profiles Thomas Technik’s curved pultrusion process and features details regarding Shape licensing the technology for use in the automotive industry. While a number of licensees were highlighted in the […]

On Tuesday May 23, Shape Czech was recognized for the third consecutive year in the Sodexo Employer Awards. In 2015, Shape Czech was named first in the region and fifth in the state at the Sodexo awards. The following year, Shape Czech was named the 2016 Employer of the Year for the Pilsen region. The […]

Thanks to votes from our team members and community, Shape was voted the Best Manufacturing Company to Work For in the 2017 Grand Haven Tribune People’s Choice awards. After a month-long nomination process, the top five nominees are presented and move on to the voting stage. There were more than 100 categories for people to vote on. […]

With the pace of industry changes and improvements occurring in Kunshan, the local government recognized 10 companies who contributed to technological transformation and upgrades. Shape is one of the companies to receive the honorable award. Shape’s investments in robot welding to increase productivity was one of the key areas that aligned with the needs of […]

We came. We saw. We benchmarked. On Monday February 6, Doug Peterson, vice president of human resources; Julie Davidson, talent acquisition,, manager; Mike Johnston, vice president of government affairs for the Michigan Manufacturing Association; Mike Roberson, assistant principle at Grand Haven High School, and Jeremy Case, technical education teacher at Grand Haven High School, traveled […]

We are pleased to announce that Shape has been selected as a Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency bronze-level status Veteran-Friendly Employer.  This certification demonstrates that Shape Corp. has made a commitment to help better recognize and support veterans and the valuable skills and experiences they bring to the workplace. Thank you to all veterans who registered […]

It is not often that Toyota finds a supplier who actively pursues their mentoring. Shape was one of the unique companies who reached out for Toyota’s support nearly 18 months ago. After a few phone conferences and a formal meeting at Shape, Toyota took the plunge to help us continue our lean journey. Through intense […]

Society of Plastics Engineer’s (SPE) Automotive Innovation Awards program is the world’s oldest and largest recognition event in the automotive and plastics industries. Each year the combined ingenuity and creativity of the automotive engineers, designers, and their suppliers yield the latest and best results of the dynamic nature of the automotive industry. Many teams submit nominations describing […]

They came into work each day producing quality parts, solving problems and never missing a shipment. Last week the team members at 1835 and 1820 celebrated after receiving the General Motors (GM) Supplier Quality Excellence Award. With hard work and determination, these teams each earned the recognition that is limited to GM’s top 2.5% of […]

Science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) career opportunities are on the rise, while the qualified workforce is projected to decline. Last week a team visited the University of Michigan to explore the different options to partner with the elite university and tap into the talent of the next generation of workers. Gary Verplank, CEO, Jeff […]

Congratulations Comstock Facility! In August 2016 the Shape Corp. Comstock Facility was awarded the MIOSHA Gold award from the Consultation Education and Training (CET) division. The Gold Award is the highest award in the MIOSHA CET awards. Awards are given to companies who have implemented an effective safety & health management system (SHMS), and who […]

We’re known for our innovation, complex designs and flawless execution. Recently, University of Michigan’s Alec Gallimore, dean of engineering, came to visit and was impressed with what we had to present. Shape’s relationship with U of M began more than 60 years ago with Midge Verplank, CEO of Verplank Trucking and co-found of Shape, completing […]

“When we put everyone on the table and asked, ‘Who was the most innovative?’ Shape was the unanimous vote”, said Jimmy Seacrist, director of quality at Futuris Automotive. We currently make seven products for Futuris, a leader in automotive seating components. These products are components to structures on Tesla’s Model X second row seating. This […]

“There’s been so much pull from the other regions to learn about the processes,” said Jay Blanchard, continuous improvement manager. “Before the week was done, I had leaders from other regions asking when I could come to their facilities to teach more of their team members.” Eager to start learning and applying the Toyota Production […]

When Gary and Midge Verplank started their companies, they made a promise to give back to the community where they were founded. Over the years, Gary and Midge have helped give back to different causes in the West Michigan area, including United Way. “We are not the singular reason for the success of our companies,” […]

Southern hospitality is alive and well, just ask Shape CEO Gary Verplank and President Bob Currier. Both were on-hand for Friday’s dedication ceremony in Athens, Alabama to recognize Shape’s newest manufacturing facility. Representatives with the City of Athens, Tennessee Valley Authority, Limestone County Commission, Alabama Department of Commerce, Limestone County Economic Development Association and JESCO […]

Getting onto Training Top 125 list is no easy feat. Companies are graded on training programs, metrics, human resources, training infrastructure and more. This year, Shape beat out some tough competition and was ranked #12 – the highest in our history. Training Top 125 is a worldwide ranking of organizations that excel at training and […]

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 […]

More than 600 suppliers make products for Dongfeng Nissan Passenger Vehicle Company (DFL), and Shape China just topped their list, earning an honorable supplier award. DFL is a joint venture between Japan Nissan and China DongFeng Group. On December 22, on behalf of Shape China, Michael Wang, sales director and Lee Li, sales account manager, traveled to […]

Out of 103 suppliers at Herman Miller’s Supplier Day event, only eight were recognized as a Gold Supplier and Shape was one of them. During the event held on September 24, Herman Miller wanted to properly recognize suppliers who went above and beyond. Shape was recognized as a Gold Supplier for our performance in quality, […]

If there’s trash in your yard, you probably pick it up and dispose of it. However, picking up trash on the side of the highway is a little different and much more dangerous. You need reflective safety vests, reaching tools, appropriate highway pick up bags and gloves-because you don’t know what you might find. Last […]