HOLIDAY SCHEDULE

Please be advised of our holiday schedule. The plant, office and warehouse will be shutdown as follows:

Christmas holiday: Closed Monday, December 24th and Tuesday, December 25th

New Year’s holiday: Closed Monday, December 31st and Tuesday, January 1st

We appreciate your business throughout this past year and wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

CPI NOW HIRING

Over the next month, Confer Plastics will be bringing on 19 new personnel in our production department. These individuals will take plastic product from our machines, cut & trim it, conduct light assembly and then package the items.

Those interested in becoming a machine operator should contact the local job placement agency, Adecco. Do so very soon, too! We don't hire direct, but we do work with Adecco with the full intent of going temp to perm.

Adecco's two locations in Niagara County are:

511 Bewley Building
Lockport, NY

1700 Pine Ave.
Niagara Falls, NY

CONFER PLASTICS LOOKING FOR A BACK-UP TRUCK DRIVER

Confer Plastics has a perfect way for a retiree or part-time worker with a CDL to pick up some extra cash. We need a back-up for our truck driver.

But, we aren’t looking for a full-timer or a standard part-timer. You could say we're looking for a "part-time part-timer".

We’re looking for someone who could be our driver when our main driver is on vacation or taking a personal day. That might be 15 to 17 days a year. Some of the days would be individual days, while others might be taken as a week at a time. Hours would be 5:00 AM to 2:00 PM and they would on weekdays with only the occasional Saturday.

This would not be over-the-road driving to any of our customers or vendors. The driver’s primary role is to make transfers between our main plant at the corner of River and Witmer Roads in North Tonawanda and our warehouse and distribution centers on Liberty Drive in Wheatfield and in the former Bell Aerospace plant in Wheatfield. 

Confer Plastics would pay for your health exam and your license renewal.

If interested, send a resume to Bob Confer via either of these methods:

Email:

bob@conferplastics.com

Postal mail:

Confer Plastics, Inc.

97 Witmer Rd.

North Tonawanda, NY 14120

ECONOMIC IMPACT: WHERE OUR COWORKERS LIVE

A question often posed to us is "where do your employees live?"

It's an excellent question because the answer shows how far-reaching the economic impact of a company really is. It's just not in the community where the plant is located. 

Our coworkers earn their wages in North Tonawanda, but as you'll see below, they pay rent, own homes, buy their gas & groceries and spend their discretionary income all throughout the Niagara-Buffalo region and across 4 counties.

We currently employ 152 people and here is where they hail from...

City/town distribution

Niagara Falls: 48
North Tonawanda: 33
Lockport: 21
Buffalo: 12
Tonawanda: 10
Ransomville: 4
Cheektowaga: 3

Gasport: 3
Sanborn: 3
Williamsville: 3
Medina: 2
Amherst: 1
Arcade: 1
Getzville: 1
Grand Island: 1
Kenmore: 1
Lewiston: 1
Middleport: 1
Newfane: 1
North Collins: 1
Wilson: 1

County distribution

Niagara: 116 or 76.3%

Erie: 33 or 21.7%

Orleans: 2 or 1.3%
Wyoming: 1 or 0.7%

THANKSGIVING HOURS

Confer Plastics will be closed Thursday, November 22nd through Sunday, November 25th so that our coworkers can enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday with their families. Regular hours will resume on Monday, November 26th.

May you and your families have a memorable Thanksgiving. The entire team at Confer Plastics is thankful to have customers and vendors like you!

TOYS FOR TOTS

Confer Plastics has just completed a month-long Toys for Tots drive at the plant. Our coworkers and the company donated a wide variety of toys that the U. S. Marine Corps Reserve will distribute to less fortunate children in the community as a means to brighten their Christmas.

Thank you to all who donated, and a special thanks to second shift's Mark Leveille (shown above) for bringing the Toys for Tots initiative to the plant and coordinating pick-up and delivery.

For more information about Toys for Tots, visit http://www.toysfortots.org/Default.aspx

CPI HELPING THE BOY SCOUTS

Confer Plastics is doing some interesting community service this Friday: Our Liberty Drive warehouse is serving as the distribution center for the Greater Niagara Frontier Council's (Boy Scouts of America) popcorn sale that the boys partake in to work their way towards summer camp and other Scouting events.

Scoutmasters: Our address is 2107 Liberty Drive in Wheatfield (Niagara Falls maildrop).

MIKE SMITH JOINS THE 20 YEAR CLUB

A picture of Mike from 2003

This week, second shift’s quality inspector, Mike Smith, joins the coveted 20 Year Club, of which he’s the 25th person to achieve that milestone.

Mike started working here on November 13, 1992. His first job before working here was as a maintenance man for 3 years a real estate company in Buffalo.

Upon coming to CPI, he worked in the secondaries department where he spent about two-thirds of his career. He got his start packing ladders and working on voting machines.

Through the years he has been the assistant and the manager of the secondaries department, third shift foreman, and quality inspector, which he is now, utilizing his 20 years of knowledge of our products and our customers’ expectations.

How long ago was 1992? Well, a few of the guys in the plant weren’t even born yet. Of those who were, see if you remember these events from November of that year….

Bill Clinton won the presidential election over the first George Bush

Riddick Bowe beat Evander Holyfield to win the heavyweight title

The Rifleman – Chuck Connors – died at 71

The Dow Jones was at 3,200

Gas was $1.05 a gallon nationally

CONFER PLASTICS: 57th IN NORTH AMERICA

This week, Plastics News -- the industry's go-to weekly magazine -- released their annual ranking of North American blow molders based on sales volume. Their analysis includes bottle makers as well as large-parts blow molders like us.

Confer Plastics is ranked as the 57th largest company on the continent. The company was 52nd last year and 63rd the year prior.

Read Plastics News' editor Don Loepp's blog about the ranking here:

http://www.plasticsnews.com/blog/2012/11/a_peek_behind_our_blow_molders.html

NEW BROCHURE NOW ONLINE

Swimming pool dealers and distributors: You can download our new brochure for the 2013 season at the link below. It features our complete line of pool ladders and steps, including the brand new Curve step system.

http://conferplastics.com/Confer_Plastics_2013_Ladder_brochure.pdf

OUR BOOTH AT THE 2012 INTERNATIONAL POOL & SPA SHOW

6100 INPOOL LADDER SEES CHANGES FOR 2013 SEASON

The popular 6100 inpool swimming pool ladder is getting a facelift for the 2013 season, just as our 7100 did.

First, the color is being changed from all white to warm grey, the more subdued light grey that is the color used on our 7200 ladder and our Leisure Accents patio furniture line. This will allow the ladder to more match today’s swimming pool colors.

Secondly, the 6100-B will become the 6100-X thanks to an engineering change. The rails have been split in two and connect together with nuts and bolts.

This won’t at all affect the functionality, strength or quality of the product for the consumer, but it will yield lower costs for consumers and dealers/distributors alike.

How so?

By splitting the rails in two, we shrink the size of the carton. What was once 74” long is now 54” long. That means more ladders on a truck (decreasing shipping costs), more products on the shelves (decreasing warehousing costs) and lower UPS/Fed-Ex costs for single ladder shipments. As more dealers add internet stores to their offerings and more internet stores without brick-and-mortar store fronts come into the industry, single unit orders shipped to the end consumer are becoming more common.

Just look at the savings afforded by the modified ladder through UPS…

From our plant to California, what was once $42 is now $33.

From our plant to Florida, what once was $28 is now $20.

From our plant to Illinois, what was $25 is now $16.

Those are some pretty significant savings.

If you’d like more information about the new 6100, please contact Bruce Neubauer at bruce@conferplastics.com

VISIT CONFER PLASTICS AT THE POOL & SPA EXPO

The 2012 International Pool/Spa/Patio Expo is moving to New Orleans for the first time in 9 years and will be held November 6-8, 2012 at the Morial Convention Center, with the educational conference taking place November 2-8. The show website is www.poolspapatio.com

Confer Plastics will exhibit in our largest space ever in booth #1461. On display will be our complete line of ladders, steps, and spa products, including some attractive alterations to our popular 7100 and 6100 ladders. 

What will really bring people to our booth, though, are our brand new Curve steps for aboveground and inground swimming pools. These super--attractive pool steps really round out our product line, making us the one-stop choice for your swimming pool entry systems. 

Stop by our booth and say "hi." We look forward to seeing you!

SPA PANELS ARE UL & ASTM COMPLIANT

One of the new product lines for 2012 was our spa cabinet program through which we could offer high-quality blow molded panels and corners to hot tub manufacturers.

We just received notice from an accredited testing lab that the panels are UL and ASTM compliant. We wanted to verify they survived, after lengthy exposure to ultraviolet light, the tensile strength standards called out in UL 746C and the impact tests identified in ASTM D638-03 and D256-06.

As we expected, the product survived with flying colors, proving the survivability of our product in outdoor settings.

 

CONFER PLASTICS CAN DONATE TO YOUR WNY FUNDRAISER

Confer Plastics loves to give to the community, with a special emphasis on more-localized events and fundraisers that help smaller organizations or, especially, families that are in great need in times of health issues and other crises.

Every year we give away dozens of our pub/patio sets -- and other Leisure Accents products -- to such events (in just the past week alone we donated to 9 various events). They make great raffle and door prizes and can help the organizers bring in some big money.

If your Western New York community organization or cause is looking for a prize to give away at a fundraising event, please feel free to contact us. We'll gladly help out.

Contact Bob Confer at: bob@conferplastics.com

CONFER PLASTICS INTRODUCES NEW POOL STEPS

For the past month and half we’ve been rolling out our new pool step system to pool/spa distributors. Dealers will be getting information in the coming weeks and will be able to see the products at upcoming trade shows. New for 2013, this system will feature a standard up and down step that gets a modular add-on kit that transforms it into a sweeping, rounded step…the “wedding cake” look that so many pool owners desire. This step will be available in a 4-step model for aboveground pools and a 3-step model for inground pools.

TOYS FOR TOTS TOY DRIVE

It’s not too early to be thinking about Christmas, especially when preparing to make the holiday brighter for underprivileged youth.

One venue through which to do this is Toys for Tots. According to their website, the mission of the U. S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program is to collect new, unwrapped toys during October, November and December each year, and distribute those toys as Christmas gifts to less fortunate children in the community in which the campaign is conducted. For details about the program check out their website at: www.ToysForTots.org

We will be having a Toys for Tots toy drive during the month of October and first half of November. On November 16th we will deliver the goods to the local Marine unit.

The toy collection box will be placed inside the plant. There is no obligation or requirement to donate. But, if you do, make sure that the gift is new and that it does not have Christmas wrapping paper on it. Anything you can give will be greatly appreciated.

The company itself will also be donating to the cause.

Thank you to second shift’s Mark Leveille for getting this started.

NOW HIRING: SET-UP TECHNICIAN

Confer Plastics is in a growth phase, and with that we are accepting applications for the position of set-up technician.

The set-up technician will put the tooling and molds into our blow molding machines and then tune in the machine to produce the required parts.

A background in plastics is preferred. In absence of a plastics history, a background that consists of one or all of the following is acceptable since these skills may translate into the set-up role: mechanical, electrical, hydraulic, construction, automotive repair.

Salary is based upon experience.

Interested and qualified applicants should email their resume to Bob Confer at bob@conferplastics.com or send it in the postal mail to:

Bob Confer

Confer Plastics, Inc.

97 Witmer Rd.

North Tonawanda, NY 14120

LABOR DAY

Confer Plastics will be closed Saturday, September 1st through Monday, September 3rd in observance of Labor Day and in celebration of everyone who works at CPI. Enjoy Summer's last hurrah!

7100 SWIMMING POOL LADDER GETS A FACELIFT

The popular 7100 a-frame swimming pool ladder is getting a facelift for the 2013 season.

First, the color is being changed from all white to warm grey, the more subdued light grey that is the color used on our 7200 ladder and our Leisure Accents patio furniture line. This will allow the ladder to more match today’s swimming pool colors.

Secondly, the 7100-B will become the 7100-X thanks to an engineering change. The rails have been split in two and connect together with nuts and bolts.

This won’t at all affect the functionality, strength or quality of the product for the consumer, but it will yield lower costs for consumers and dealers/distributors alike.

How so?

But splitting the rails in two, we shrink the size of the carton. What was once 74” long is now 54” long. That means more ladders on a truck (decreasing shipping costs), more products on the shelves (decreasing warehousing costs) and lower UPS/Fed-Ex costs for single ladder shipments. As more dealers add internet stores to their offerings and more internet stores without brick-and-mortar store fronts come into the industry, single unit orders shipped to the end consumer are becoming more common.

Just look at the savings afforded by the modified ladder through UPS…

From our plant to California, what was once $42 is now $33.

From our plant to Florida, what once was $28 is now $20.

From our plant to Illinois, what was $25 is now $16.

Those are some pretty significant savings.

If you’d like more information about the new 7100, please contact Bruce Neubauer at bruce@conferplastics.com

CONFER PRODUCTS CAN BE RECYCLED

A few times a year we are asked if our products can be recycled.

The material used in our products is high density polyethylene (falling under the number "2" recycling logo) and the compounds used to color them are free of heavy metals, ensuring their recyclability if you planned to dispose of your product. We hope you don’t: Confer Plastics does not manufacture commodity or disposable items. We manufacture only durable goods of the highest integrity. Unlike many products on the marketplace, all of our goods are manufactured with long-term UV additives which ensure they do not fade or become brittle because of the sun’s rays. We don’t want our products in a dump because of poor quality. We want them – and expect them – to last a lifetime.

But, we understand that some parts may require disposal -- such as when you convert one of our a-frame swimming pool ladders into a deck ladder. When you do make that conversion, if your local municipality has a recycling program in their waste management systems, they will take the leftover parts.

CONFER PLASTICS NOW HIRING

In the next couple of weeks, Confer Plastics will be bringing on new personnel. We are looking for 3 machine operators for each of our 3 shifts. These individuals will take plastic product from our machines, cut & trim it, conduct light assembly and then package the items.

Those interested in becoming a machine operator should contact the local job placement agency, Adecco. We don't hire direct, but we do work with Adecco with the full intent of going temp to perm.

Adecco's two locations in Niagara County are:

511 Bewley Building
Lockport, NY

1700 Pine Ave.
Niagara Falls, NY

You need to apply in a timely fashion. Our "boot camp" will be held on Thursday, August 30th with work beginning on September 4th.

MACHINISTS POSITIONS FILLED

In recent blog posts and listings on the Department of Labor database, we had been looking for skilled machinists. The search has concluded. Over the past 2 months we hired 3 machinists, so now our machine shop is fully staffed.

LITTLE MISS CONFER SHOWS OFF OUR "MADE IN AMERICA" SPIRIT

NIAGARA UNIVERSITY SUMMER CAMP TOURS CONFER PLASTICS

On July 25th, 25 high schoolers who will be entering the 10th grade toured Confer Plastics as a part of Niagara University's Career and College Readiness Camp. These inquisitive and mature teens are all Niagara Falls city residents who are striving to be the first generation of their families to attend College.

They got to learn about manufacturing and the skill sets & educational requirements required for a career in industry, and they got to see our blow molding operations first hand.

The 3-week long Camp was established by NU professor Dr. Roselind Bogner to serve as a springboard to the Smart Scholars Early College High School (ECHS) program. The state-funded initiative pairs institutions of higher learning with public school districts to give select high school students the opportunity to earn up to 30 free college credits.

“Career development is a process that requires students to be self-aware, as well as knowledgeable about the world of work,” stated Dr. Bogner. “In order for students to make a successful transition to a career and college, they must be academically and developmentally prepared to meet many challenges.”

ANNUAL SHUTDOWN WEEK

Confer Plastics will be closed from Saturday, June 30th through Sunday, July 8th. This is our annual shutdown week & plant-wide vacation.

The scheduling of this shutdown gives our coworkers some time to rest and enjoy the summer with their families. It also gives us time to focus on preventive maintenance of our blow molding machines and electrical infrastructure.

No manufacturing or assembly will be occurring during that week. There will, though, be a skeleton crew on site to handle shipping and receiving as well as some basic business functions over abbreviated hours (9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., on July 2, 3, 5 and 6).

If you would like to ensure shipments during this period, please get in touch with your Confer Plastics contact as soon as possible so accommodations can be made.

Enjoy the Independence Day holiday!

TRUCK DRIVER UPDATE

In a recent post we mentioned the need for a back-up truck driver. That position has been filled. But, we will accept applications for the "back-up to the back-up". This is perfect for a retiree who might be looking to pick up just a handful of days of work each year.

CONFER PLASTICS ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR A MACHINE SHOP MANAGER

Confer Plastics, Inc. is looking at an increase in business in the coming months and with such growth comes the need for more technical personnel. CPI is now accepting applications for the position of machine shop manager.

The machine shop manager will coordinate the machine shop staff of 5, overseeing scheduling and project management. This is a hands-on job, as the manager will also be a a machinist who will conduct repairs and upgrades of our countless blow molds, toolings and fixtures. A typical day may be divided between 20% management and 80% machining. An extensive background in machining is mandatory, with at least 7 years of machine shop exprience required.

The position is full-time permanent, Monday to Friday on our 1st Shift (7:00 am to 3:25 pm). Starting Wage is commensurate with experience.

Send resume to:

BOB CONFER

CONFER PLASTICS, INC.

97 WITMER ROAD,

NORTH TONAWANDA, NY 14120

EMAIL: bob@conferplastics.com

FAX: 716-694-3102

Please, no phone calls.

CONFER PLASTICS LOOKING FOR MACHINIST (FULL OR PART TIME)

Confer Plastics, Inc. is looking at an increase in business in the coming months and with such growth comes the need for more technical personnel. CPI is now accepting applications for the position of machinist.

Our machinists modify/repair blow molds and design, build, and modify tooling and fixtures needed in the blow molding process. Knowledge of machining is required; a minimum of 3 years experience as a machinist is preferred.

The position is full-time permanent, Monday to Friday on our 1st Shift (7:00 am to 3:25 pm), but we would be willing to hire a machinist who retired early from one of the local automakers (like Delphi) who might be looking for something to do to earn some extra bucks. For an individual like that, we wouldn't mind offering, say, 24 hours a week, Tuesday to Wednesday, if the retiree isn't interested in a full-time job.

Starting Wage is commensurate with experience.

Send resume to:

BOB CONFER
CONFER PLASTICS, INC.
97 WITMER ROAD,
NORTH TONAWANDA, NY 14120

EMAIL: bob@conferplastics.com

FAX: 716-694-3102

Please, no phone calls.

CONFER PLASTICS HIRING SOON

Confer Plastics will be bringing on approximately 15 people 2.5 months from now. If you'd like a production job, or over the summer months you find that you know of someone who would, contact the Adecco office in either Niagara Falls or Lockport (we hire on a temp-to-perm basis) and let them know you are interested in our plant.

CONFER PLASTICS AWARDED PATENTS FOR 7200

One of our most popular swimming pool ladders is the 7200 with its interesting tambour design -- like a roll-top desk -- that can cover the treads and is used to inhibit unauthorized entrance to the swimming pool.

The company and our design engineer Dave Lipniarski were just awarded patent numbers for the various aspects of the 7200 ladder.

Patent numbers 8,191,681 and 8,191,682 went into effect on June 5th, 2012. Read about them here:  http://www.freepatentsonline.com/8191681.html and  http://www.freepatentsonline.com/8191682.html 

This shows yet again how innovative Confer Plastics is. Who would have thought that in 2012 you could patent anything associated with an a-frame ladder?

If you are a pool/spa dealer or distributor interested in carrying the 7200, contact Bruce Neubauer at 716.693.2056 (x 103).  

CONFER PLASTICS LOOKING FOR A BACK-UP TRUCK DRIVER

Confer Plastics has a perfect way for a retiree (or overnight truck driver) to pick up some extra cash. Our full-time truck driver is moving on and his back-up (who had other duties at the plant) will assume his role.

Now we need a back-up.

But, we aren’t looking for a full-time coworker or a standard part-timer. You could say we're looking for a "part-time part-timer". We’re looking for someone who could be our driver when our main driver is on vacation or taking a personal day. That might be 15 to 17 days a year. Some of the days would be individual days, while others might be taken as a week at a time. Hours would be 7:00 AM to 3:30 PM and they would occur only on weekdays.

This would not be over-the-road driving to any of our customers or vendors. The driver’s primary role is to make transfers between our main plant at the corner of River and Witmer Roads in North Tonawanda and our warehouse and distribution center on Liberty Drive in Wheatfield (just a few miles apart). Almost all of your driving will take place on River Road, Liberty Drive, and maybe Williams Road. During the kayak manufacturing season, you might have to make transfers to some warehouse space we rent at the former Bell Aerospace plant in Wheatfield.  

Confer Plastics would pay for your health exam and your license renewal.

If interested, send a resume to Bob Confer via either of these methods:

Email:

bob@conferplastics.com

Post:

Confer Plastics, Inc.

97 Witmer Rd.

North Tonawanda, NY 14120

MEET OUR NEW C.F.O.

Confer Plastics is proud to announce the recent hiring of Frank Fedele as our Chief Financial Officer.

Frank comes to the company with an impeccable background, one almost tailor-made for our manufacturing environment. Born, raised and educated in Buffalo, Frank graduated from Canisius College with a B.S. in Finance. Frank has over 30 years of management accounting/finance and business experience to include, State Farm Ins. (Houston, Texas), Westwood Pharmacuetical (Bristol -Myers Squibb), Rich Products, and Practice First (Medical Management Solutions). Additionally, he has owned and operated a custom residential closet and garage organization company and business consulting practice.

Our customers and vendors will be hearing and seeing a lot of Frank...but fear not, it's all good. Frank is a hands-on CFO who values the entire operations -- from product development to production to distribution -- who will do well in saving money for Confer and all of our business partners. He's friendly, insightful, and intelligent...you will enjoy working with him.

Kelly O'Hara -- who previously oversaw financial functions -- is still at Confer Plastics and will continue to foucs on special projects and customer service in our custom molding operations.

GET INTO YOUR HOT TUB SOONER & LESS EXPENSIVELY WITH OUR SPA PAD

With spring in the air and the past winter having been as easy as it gets across the North, peoples’ thoughts are turning to home improvements. Many have bought or will be buying a hot tub.

One of the biggest delays – and surprise added costs – associated with spas are the bases. Many people opt for concrete pads or wooden decks. In either case, you have to wait for the weather to cooperate (and the ground to be dry) and for the contractor’s (or your) schedule to open up. In most cases, this could delay the set-up of your hut tub by weeks. It will cost you a pretty penny, too, nearly $800 dollars.

Our spa pad (also known as the Handi-spa pad) is a faster, cheaper alternative to concrete pads and wooden decks. For $449.99 (MSRP), you can buy 6 of our modular pads, which connect together to make an 8’ x 8’ area, more than sufficient for most hot tubs. Additional pads can be purchased if you have a larger spa. It goes together in minutes: Simply place the pads where you want them, lock them together with the built-in connectors, and you're ready to go. No mess, no waiting, no hassles, no problem.

The Handi-Spa Pad is constructed of durable, weatherproof, high-density polyethylene, offered in a gray color. Each pad measures 32” x 48” x 2” thick and weighs 15 lbs. The underside of the Handi-Spa Pad is formed with built-in “strength” pockets. It has been tested to withstand 300 pounds of pressure per square foot. This was accomplished by applying a total weight of 7000 pounds over a 21-foot square area.

The Handi-Spa Pad is very versatile, and can be used in many outdoor applications such as underneath pool filter equipment (although not under gas heaters), underneath plastic sheds, under trash cans, and inside the garage.

To find a spa pad dealer near you call us at 1.800.635.3213, use the dealer locator on our website, or send us an email to plastics@conferplastics.com

EASTER HOLIDAY HOURS

Confer Plastics will be closed Friday, April 6th through Sunday, April 8th in observance of Easter.

On Easter Monday, April 9th, only the office and shipping/receiving will be open. Full production will resume on Tuesday, April 10th.

Have an enjoyable Easter weekend with your family!

CONFER PLASTICS FEATURED IN NIAGARA GAZETTE

Confer Plastics recently hosted Leadership Niagara. Among this year's LN class is Michele Deluca, the features writer at the Niagara Gazette. In her "Leadership Chronicles" column she follows the monthly adventures of her class. In Sunday's paper she wrote this glowing piece about the company....


March 5, 2012
LEADERSHIP CHRONICLES: Places in Niagara you don't see everyday
By Michele Deluca Niagara Gazette

NIAGARA FALLS — I smiled as a worker walked by, carrying a bundle of gracefully posed, pale white arms. You don’t see that every day.

Nearby, birdhouses were being created, with walls just thick enough so the sun can’t poach the little eggs that might soon be laid inside.

Behind me, there were swimming pool ladders and kayaks. And little pink tables designed to delight any 5-year-old looking to have a cup of pretend tea.

Doesn’t that all sound like a dream someone might have during an uneasy night’s sleep?

It’s actually the orderly, colorful, three-dimensional world of Bob Confer, owner of Confer Plastics in North Tonawanda.

Just the other day, during the February outing with my fellow “students” in the 2012 Leadership Niagara class, I finally got to meet Confer, whose columns appear weekly in the Niagara Gazette.

For years I’ve been reading his impassioned, deeply opinionated columns about all the matters that govern the life of a Niagara County residents. I would look at his picture and wonder how a man who looks so young could write with such certainty about so many topics, often completely against the grain of popular opinion.

He did not disappoint.

His company sits just off River Road in North Tonawanda, where so many have probably passed his place a hundred times without noticing it.

And yet, it’s a thriving, world-class manufacturing company, located in the Niagara Region, run by a third generation owner who wants to help change the world for the better. You don’t see that everyday.

Confer, a Leadership Niagara graduate himself in 2006, was the driving force behind our “Small Business Day” outing. My group had a chance to immerse ourselves in issues that impact those who struggle to make a living for themselves and their families —and their employees — in our region.

In peak season the company employs 230 people making plastic products and sending them all over the world. Just to give a sense of scale, last year they produced 40,000 kayaks, each created in about five minutes. They also produce plastic boat docks and containers for rescue kits, and many other things you wouldn’t think were made in the USA. let alone right here in good old Niagara County.

Confer told us it’s extremely difficult to find machinists to work at his place. There’s apparently a waiting list for the kids that come out of BOCES’ machine shop programs despite the fact that its graduates can earn more money than some people do with college degrees.

Confer Plastics was started by Bob’s grandfather, inventor of the living hinge, a thin strip of plastic that was the forerunner of all sorts of boxes that open and close without hardware. There was no patent on the device. But, Confer’s grandfather’s legacy of inventiveness and drive lives on through his grandson, a leader of Boy Scout leaders whose working motto is “do onto others ...”

After the tour of his plastics company, Confer traveled with our group to Audubon Machinery in Wurlitzer Park, named one of the “fastest growing private companies in the USA,” by Inc. Magazine.

Audubon Machinery is another surprising showplace. The company is a highly honored “green facility” that makes oxygen generating machinery of the type that hospitals in third world countries require to help patients breathe. They also make box-car sized washers to clean animal cages in research labs, as well as solar supplies and micro wind turbines.

The long line of colorful flags that hang over the pristine factory floor is visual evidence that this North Tonawanda company with about 52 employees serves the world.

Who knew?

After a delightful lunch at Suzanne’s Fine Dining, we spent time with Confer and Frank Budwey of Budwey’s Supermarkets. Frank is funny and irreverent and candid about doing business in New York state, and shared his frustrations with the crazy laws and taxation in this state; and how the cost of doing business in any other state is about half of what it is here.

And don’t even get him started on the bottle deposit laws which put the job of collecting dirty, sticky bottles square on the shoulders of supermarkets.

Frank Budwey is a man with a lot to say about changing the way we do business in New York state. Somebody looking for an impassioned speaker would do well to seek out him or Confer. Listening to them it’s clear that those who make the laws governing small business in New York state have never actually tried to run one.

It’s hair-raising to hear their issues, but their words are seeds for a revolution of change. Restoring vitality to the small businessman seems the only way to restore our battered economy. Binding their hands and taxing them to death does not.

In this Leadership Niagara class I am quickly learning that even someone like myself — who thinks they know so much about the region — still has so much more to learn.

Next month we’re heading to Buffalo to meet with the president of First Niagara Bank. We’ll be joined by the 2012 class of Leadership Buffalo.

Molly Anderson, the director of Leadership Niagara said at our first session that her non-profit agency is slowly creating an army of change agents — leaders who understand the benefits of using their power for good. You don’t see that around here every day. But I hope that someday, soon, you will.

Source:

http://niagara-gazette.com/features/x579804399/LEADERSHIP-CHRONICLES-Places-in-Niagara-you-dont-see-everyday

CONFER TO HOST EXPLORER POST IN 2013

Exploring is a worksite-based program of the Boy Scouts of America and is designated for young men and women who are 14 through 20 years old. Exploring units, called "posts", usually have a focus on a single career field, such as police, fire/rescue, health, law, aviation, engineering, or the like, and may be sponsored by a government or business entity.

Stuart Schnettler, an executive with the Polaris District of the Greater Niagara Frontier Council of the BSA, had approached Bob Confer regarding the idea of a manufacturing Explorer post at Confer Plastics. It was an easy sell, as we're always looking for ways to educate the community (especially our youth) on the importance of USA-based manufacturing.

This fall the GNFC will begin the recruitment process for youth to join the post. The program will run in calendar year increments and will feature the following agenda that will follow the life cycle of a product line from start to finish:

Jan: Introduction to Confer Plastics and manufacturing
Feb: Sales & marketing
Mar: Design and engineering
Apr: Production Part 1
May - Aug: Break
Sept: Production Part 2
Oct: Quality & safety
Nov: Distribution, warehousing & HR
Dec: Management and leadership

The kids will be manufacturing experts when they're done!

Detailed sign-up information will be provided later this year.

THE INGENUITY OF THE GREATEST GENERATION

In his weekly newspaper column, Bob Confer ponders the achievements of Confer Plastics founder Ray Confer and his generation in regard to engineering, innovation and science...


CONFER: The ingenuity of the Greatest Generation
By Bob Confer Niagara Gazette

Column by Bob Confer — Last Sunday marked the birth date of my grandfather Ray Confer, who, along with my father, had founded Confer Plastics. Had he been alive he would have turned 90. On that day I had spent some time pondering some of his many inventions, especially his most ubiquitous, something we all use in our day-to-day lives: the living hinge.

Ray designed the living hinge in the early 1960s as a means to more efficiently make plastic tool cases. The addition of metal hinges always added cost to the final product due to materials and assembly and such hinges always placed limitations on overall product design. So, Ray came up with an ingenious way to eliminate the metal hinges by molding a plastic hinge in process as a part of the case itself, rather than as an add on.

Basically, the living hinge is a thin section of plastic that connects two halves of a part to keep them together and allows the part to be opened and closed over and over again. It can be found in toolboxes, tackle boxes, and those plastic clamshells that are used as takeout containers and storage boxes for produce; Ray’s invention is everywhere. This was just one of his many patented ideas and countless more that went unpatented and became norms within the plastic industry and other manufacturing sectors.

His nearly limitless ingenuity got me thinking about how special he and his generation were in regard to engineering and innovation.

The Greatest Generation left an indelible mark on America from the experiences they shared during the Great Depression, the Second World War, the Korean War, and the Golden Era that followed. But, they also introduced so much advancement to us in what was, comparatively, such little time. In a few decades they pushed the limits of technology (and therefore humanity) to extremes that would have been deemed unapproachable just a few years earlier.

Men like my grandfather and other Western New York geniuses like Wilson Greatbatch and Herbert Hauptman devised so many things that dominate our lives today, as did their peers in the local aerospace industry who helped put man into space and then onto the moon. Their compatriots developed transistors, microchips, and the foundations for today’s computer technology.

It can be said without any exaggeration that the generation preceding the Baby Boomers featured the greatest and largest collection of highly-achieving thinkers, designers, engineers, and scientists ever assembled at one time. Most all them lived and worked in anonymity, outside the boundaries of fame, unlike the previous but smaller collections of bright minds of greater renown like our Founding Fathers, the scientists and artists of the Renaissance, and the Greek philosophers.

Who knows if we’ll ever see a peer group even remotely close to the creative intellect of the Greatest Generation. In recent decades it so seems that technology and science aren’t growing at the leaps and bounds they once were under the watch of today’s oldest seniors. Sure, there have been developments in efficiency and communication, but where is the next big thing that’s not a phone or tablet? Why did space travel stall at the Space Shuttle? Why is solar energy still so inefficient? Why are people still starving around the world? Why are we still so dependent on oil?

If Baby Boomers and my generation were even half as talented as their parents and grandparents, those questions — and more — would have been sufficiently answered by now. But, we’re not and chances are none of our heirs will be. The Greatest Generation is known as that for a reason. They set the bar high and it’s difficult for just anyone to attain their heights.

But, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try. They set a good example — no, a great example — for us. There’s a lot we can learn from them — not only what they did, but how and why they did it — and that should serve as a template for success and progress far into future generations.