Plex Systems Honors Unstoppable Manufacturers with 2021 Impact Awards

Hatching Stamping Company, Omega Bio-tek and Thai Summit America are recognized for their commitment to manufacturing excellence

Troy, MI, June 8, 2021 — Plex Systems, the leader in cloud-delivered smart manufacturing solutions, today announced that Hatch Stamping Company, Omega Bio-tek and Thai Summit America are the 2021 Plex Impact Award winners. The three Impact Award winners were recognized during PowerPlex, the company’s annual conference, for pushing the boundaries of what’s possible – during the midst of a pandemic – and embracing smart manufacturing to help them achieve success.

“Smart manufacturers drive to reach new levels of success not only for their own businesses, but also to set the pace for the entire industry,” said Todd Kisaberth, chief customer officer at Plex Systems. “The companies that we recognized this year with Plex Impact Awards are true leaders who when faced with challenges to their supply chain, their workforce and more, they used technology and innovation to forge a new path forward and deliver exponentially for their customers. They are truly unstoppable.”

The following manufacturers were honored as 2021 Impact Award recipients for their ability to transform, innovate, and lead the industry in significant ways.

Omega Bio-tek for Transformation: This industry-leading manufacturer of nucleic acid purification kits tackled a global issue head-on last year: the critical need for PCR-based COVID-19 testing kits to support pandemic response worldwide. With the use of the Plex Smart Manufacturing Platform, Omega Bio-tek rapidly scaled its production to help meet this demand. Immediate inventory visibility, full product traceability, enhanced production floor controls and instant transparency into order and job statuses powered significant growth. Finished good output increased 100%, and the company produced and shipped more than 32 million nucleic acid purification kits used in PCR-based COVID-19 testing around the world. These efforts earned Omega Bio-tek this year’s Business Operations Transformer Impact Award.

“In preparation for what would be a global pandemic, we were able to quickly and significantly scale our production efforts and deliver nucleic acid purification products that would be used in PCR-based Covid-19 testing worldwide,” said Alyson Brock, operations director at Omega Bio-tek. “The ability to quickly increase our manufacturing capacity, while maintaining full product traceability and inventory management using Plex ERP/MES, was critical to our success in supporting the world during this global crisis.” 

Hatch Stamping Company for Innovation: Global automotive manufacturer Hatch Stamping Company began its digital transformation more than a decade ago, embracing cloud technology to power its operation. The company has continued to lead the way in technology adoption, using the Plex Smart Manufacturing Platform, including Plex IIoT and Plex Mach2, to evolve its plant floor. Hatch Stamping Company has automated serialized piece production, established proactive maintenance tracking and root cause analysis and, during the pandemic, established COVID-19 screening workflows. The manufacturer has increased OEE, decreased material downtime and reduced production error recording. For these incredible results, Hatch Stamping Company received the 2021 Product or Technology Innovator Impact Award.

Thai Summit America for Industry Leadership: From its plant floor results and employee engagement programs to its impact on driving interest in STEM careers among the next generation, Thai Summit America is leading in more ways than one. This Tier-1 automotive supplier of Class A stamping and assemblies is using the Plex Smart Manufacturing Platform, including Plex Mach2 to drive business-changing results, including more than $9 million in production efficiencies in one year. Thai Summit pushed through the pandemic to deliver on 14 launches, all on target and ahead of schedule. In addition, it launched an employee suggestion program, generating millions of dollars in savings for the company and rewarding employees with rewards up to $10,000. Its standout achievements earned Thai Summit America this year’s Industry Leader Impact Award.

PowerPlex 2021 brought together more than 1,500 manufacturing professionals, Plex partners, and industry experts virtually, May 24-26, to share best practices, industry trends and innovations that will enable and inspire smart manufacturers of the future. Recordings of the mainstage sessions, Impact Award presentations, dynamic unstoppable stories and more are currently available on-demand for free at PowerPlex.com.