Vantage Plastics Recognized as Manufacturer of the Year by Michigan Sustainable Business Forum

Company is a leading circular economy innovator in Michigan.

Michigan Sustainable Business Forum named Vantage Plastics its inaugural Manufacturer of the Year at the 12th Annual Triple Bottom Line Bash last month at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park in Grand Rapids. The Manufacturer of the Year Award is the Michigan Sustainable Business of the Year Award given to a mid-size manufacturer whose products or operations are substantially increasing sustainable business outcomes for Michigan industry and its supply chain.

The Vantage Plastics Family of Companies specializes in sustainable solutions across a wide range of processes, including thin and thick gauge thermoforming, injection molding, plastic sheet extrusion, and innovative recycling practices.  

Through a portfolio of seven companies, including the advanced recycling capabilities of Edge Materials Management, Vantage Plastics combines advanced manufacturing techniques with a commitment to sustainability, helping to shape a better future for business and our planet. It is working To Form Solutions, Form Better Lives, and Form Sustainable Futures.

Its circular economy programs are pioneering reusable packaging and recycled content, while introducing impactful new solutions for key segments.  Among other initiatives, it has developed packaging to address the unique safety needs of electric vehicle chains and introduced solutions for vertical farming and sustainable agriculture.

“We’re a solutions-based company so we’re always looking for answers, and our favorite thing to do is to find a solution for a problem that somebody doesn’t even know exists yet,” said CEO Paul Aultman.

The signature event of the state’s sustainability community, this year’s Triple Bottom Line Bash hosted more than 350 professionals, supporters and their families to recognize businesses, institutions and professionals from around the state.  This was the first year for the Michigan Sustainable Business of the Year Awards program, which had previously been organized as a regional event focused on western Michigan. Award winners and finalists were nominated by Forum members and selected by a committee of their peers.  

“Vantage Plastics was the very first company selected by the committee once we expanded the program to a statewide footprint,”  said Daniel Schoonmaker, executive director of Michigan Sustainable Business Forum. “It exemplifies everything that we have been trying to promote with our circular economy programs.”