SHELBY — Nanogate North America and Jay Industries were selected to receive the 2019 Ralph Phillips Business Partner of the Year at Pioneer Career & Technical Center on Thursday night.
Located in Mansfield, Nanogate North America started life as the plastics division of Jay Industries. Today, Nongate North America is majority-owned by the Nonogate Group. Based in Germany, Nanogate is a world-leading specialist in design-oriented high-tech surfaces and components.
Jay Industries is a privately owned company in the Mansfield area that has considerable size and diversity. Through four generations, the pride and dedication of the people at Jay Industries has allowed the company to continue to grow and excel in metals and plastics parts manufacturing.
The company traces it heritage to 1917 when Glenn Taylor formed the Taylor Dise Company-a company producing radiant gas heaters. That beginning led to the formation of Taylor Metal Products in 1928.
In 1968, Dick Taylor, Glen’s son, created JayPlastics-an injection molding division. The next twenty years provided continued growth. In 1989 the facility became a separate entity, and developed into a multi-faceted business led by Dick’s son, Rick. The organization officially became known as Jay Industries in 1995.
The company remains family owned and has continued to show growth in areas such as automotive, lawn and garden, agricultural and other OEM Markets. As a vertically integrated metals and plastics manufacturer, Jay Industries has a unique ability to control the manufacturing process from the raw materials to the finished product while always maintaining superior quality standards and aggressive market pricing.
Several years ago PCTC started a program that formally honored the business partners who had done so much for Pioneer and it’s students. Martin Dzugan, the Computer Aided Drafting Instructor with the help of the then Superintendent, Ms. Glenna Cannon felt the need to honor the honoree Ralph Phillips, owner and president of Phillips Mfg. In 2006, Pioneer honored their first Business Partner of the Year, Ralph Phillips.
The next year, they formed a committee and set formal criteria for Business Partner of the Year. They decided that the criteria needed to be designed around the attributes that the public most admired in Ralph. The criteria included: a commitment to education; support and participation in mentoring; job shadowing; support of Career-Tech Student Organization; support for student field trips; and community projects; service on Pioneer committees; financial support; advancement of Pioneer levies; hiring of Pioneer students; and utilization of Pioneer training opportunities.
In 2010, the Board of Education passed a resolution to name the award in honor of Ralph Phillips, the very special person on whom the criteria for the award was based upon and who was the very first recipient.
Past recipients of the award are: 2018-Tramec-Sloan; 2017-Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course; 2016-I B Tech; 2015-Gorman Family Foundation & Gorman Rupp; 2014-MTD Products; 2013-ArcelorMittal; 2012-Covert Manufacturing; 2011-R & R Niese Farms; 2010-Milliron Industries; 2009-Hess Industries; 2008-Med Central; 2007 Eagle Crusher Company; and 2006 Phillips Mfg. & Tower Company.
Present at the dinner was RC Commissioner, Marilyn John and Greg Timberlake, Dean of Kehoe Center, North Central State College.
Also recognized guests: Mitch Noel, 2015 Graduate of Industrial Electricity Technology program; also was in the internship program with IB Tech during his senior year and is currently employed with Nanogate North America.
Also, Devin Alspach, 2015 Graduate of Industrial Electricity Technology program; was in the internship program with IB Tech during his Senior year and is currently employed by Nanogate North America.
