Sherl Hill, general manager at Freelin-Wade, a McMinnville-based plastic tubing manufacturer, knows how to make lemonade out of lemons.
In 1987, after being downsized out of her previous job, she picked up the News-Register classifieds and saw Jack Burns and Fred and Linda Plews were looking for a bookkeeper for their modest local operation.
Hill knew what she wanted to do as soon as she got into the interview. "I wanted to work for Fred," she said.
Twenty-four years later, she serves as general manager of one of two manufacturing outfits owned by Coilhose Pneumatics, based in New Jersey.
The business started in 1980 in the Plews' garage. Hill was its 11th employee.
It now employs more than 100 workers at its plant in the McMinnville Industrial Park, turning out a once-unique type of polyurethane tubing that has now become an industry standard.
Pneumatic tubes used to be made of nylon.
Nylon tubing came in any color you wanted - as long as it was blue, gray or black. And if you wanted it coiled, you were on your own.
Freelin-Wade produces its naturally coiling polyurethane tubing in bright hues of yellow, green, blue, red and even pink. The company's trademark coiling hose has made using and storing tools a cinch.
The market for coiled tubing took off in the late 1980s. By 1990, when Coilhose bought the company from the Plews, the workforce had soared from 14 to 90 in not much more than a year.
Freelin-Wade had been founded to produce tubing for the dental industry.
But it has come to supply custom tubing - in any color, gauge, size, strength or properties - to all manner of industries for all manner of applications. They were eager to replace their old nylon tubing with stronger polyurethane tubing with its worker-friendly coiling properties.
"It was really successful," Hill said.
To accommodate the soaring demand, the company expanded into two adjacent buildings totaling just under 90,000 square feet.
But needless to say, the sudden expansion wasn't conducive to efficiency. And success continued on an upward trajectory for the next seven years, requiring a whole series of piecemeal add-ons.
Standing in the building that now houses administrative offices, maintenance operations and storage facilities, Hill talked about the old configuration, which had production stations scattered about both buildings, creating extra walking, wasted employee time, low visibility and unused space.
"We had a lot of growth without much thought," she said.
Beginning in 2001, Hill created a "lean team" to begin reconfiguring the facility for more efficient operation. "We cleaned house," she said.
Production lines were straightened, organized and consolidated. They were all moved into two sections of one building.
In the process, every aspect of production was evaluated in an effort to shave seconds off production time. "Those seconds add up," Hill explained.
Some 60 percent of their output is custom, 40 percent standard.
The standard product moves fast, so inventory is constantly being depleted. And custom orders need to be filled quickly to keep customers happy. That puts a premium on efficiency.
When the Great Recession hit, "Everything dried up," Hill said. "Boats, cars, construction - nobody needed what we were providing."
But the company's "lean" operating strategy made it the lowest-cost producer, positioning it perfectly for the inevitable rebound.
Today, the company is turning out 1 to 1.5 million feet of tubing a week, for shipment to all parts of the U.S. and, indeed, the world. It even counts China among its buyers.
That has the company running two shifts five days a week.
By the end of May, Hill said, customers will be able to order tubing online, using a computerized shopping cart. The company already has its product lineup on display on its website, found at www.freelin-wade.com.
But here in McMinnville, Freelin-Wade is better known for its heavy community support and involvement than for the niche it has carved for itself the tubing market.
Employees have volunteered for scores of community organizations, including the McMinnville Area Chamber of Commerce, Mid-Valley Rehabilitation, Juliette's House, the Yamhill Community Action Partnership, Habitat for Humanity, Kids on the Block and Relay for Life.
More than half of all employees are involved in some form of volunteer work, from helping seniors to accepting leadership roles in local service clubs. And all of its employees are involved in some projects, like the company's Christmas canned food drive.
Hill said she originally encouraged her employees to volunteer because it helped get the company's name out in the community. But volunteering has produced some unexpected rewards, she said.
"My employees have learned how to lead," she said. "There's so much to be gained for the community, but it makes the business better, too. I have leaders now that I would not have had because of this practice."
The company's giving spirit and commitment to efficiency have not gone unnoticed. Earlier this month, in fact, Freelin-Wade won the Mary Pearmine Workforce Leadership Award for Best Practices by a Team, presented annually by Job Growers Incorporated.
"This is all about them," Hill said of her workers. "As managers, we can hire people and provide them with an environment to succeed, but it always comes down to the leaders on the floor and the motivation of the team members.
"This award recognizes the excellence of our employees. I really couldn't be more proud."
