Technology Archives - Hoffer Plastics

Advancing a Circular Future Through Flexible Packaging

Hoffer Team — Thu, 20 Nov 2025 22:19:47 +0000

For decades, plastics followed a predictable path from production to landfill. Today, forward-thinking companies are charting a different course – one where circularity guides the process. By designing products for durability, repairability and recyclability, businesses are keeping materials in use longer and reducing waste.

In this feature article in Sustainable Packaging News, Hoffer Plastics senior product manager John Strubulis highlights four ways flexible packaging can strengthen a circular economy. This includes critical considerations for choosing the right cap and spout. These components may be small, but they have a big impact on a package’s recyclability. From material alignment to performance requirements, Strubulis shows how innovation in fitment design is helping brands close the loop and keep valuable resources in circulation.

Discover how Hoffer is developing solutions that support circularity while maintaining the performance, safety and convenience consumers expect.

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Micromolding is Reshaping the Future of MedTech

Hoffer Team — Thu, 16 Oct 2025 17:50:53 +0000

Medical Product Outsourcing sat down with Hoffer Plastics director of engineering Brian Beringer and other micromolding experts to explore how the company is helping redefine what’s possible in medical manufacturing through advanced micromolding innovation.

By combining decades of molding expertise with cutting-edge engineering, Hoffer Plastics delivers greater precision, reliability and functionality in smaller components. From optimized material selection and early design for manufacturability (DFM) collaboration to advanced tooling, Hoffer’s approach ensures that even the most complex micro parts perform seamlessly at scale.

Discover how Hoffer Plastics is shaping the future of MedTech to deliver precision that drives better patient outcomes and lasting manufacturing excellence.

Read the full article

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Three Pillars of a Successful Mold Transfer

Hoffer Team — Fri, 03 Oct 2025 20:00:53 +0000

A mold transfer is more than moving steel. It’s a strategic decision built on trust and risk management that protects product quality, supply chain stability and brand reputation. Beyond the tool itself, you’re relying on a supplier to deliver consistent quality, meet deadlines and safeguard your business from costly risks. Done right, a tooling program transfer not only lowers costs but also enhances performance, improves consistency and strengthens your competitive edge.

Companies rarely decide to move a mold on a whim. That decision typically follows hard lessons, when supplier quality slips, delivery windows close or rising costs cut into competitiveness. In other cases, it’s part of a bigger strategic shift, such as reshoring production to ensure consistent sources of domestic supply. Whatever the reason, the decision carries weight and it deserves a careful, deliberate approach.

That’s why every mold transfer should be grounded in three pillars: disciplined project management, thorough tooling audits and rigorous process validation.

1. Project Planning, Management & Communication

For many customers, the decision to transfer a mold is overshadowed by one overriding concern: risk. Downtime, missed deadlines or unforeseen costs can ripple through production schedules or strain customer relationships. It is a complex process that touches tooling, logistics, quality systems and supply chains. Navigating that complexity requires three essential considerations of project management: careful planning, clear communication and disciplined execution.

Planning ensures that every step, from tool audits to production readiness, is accounted for before the transfer begins. Communication provides visibility, keeping all stakeholders aligned and reducing surprises. Execution ties it all together, coordinating resources and timelines so that production can continue without disruption.

Hoffer brings these elements together through structured project management and transparent communication. Each transfer begins with an agreed-upon timeline, while dedicated project managers track milestones, flag risks early and adjust schedules before they cause delays. Drawing on in-house expertise and proven processes, Hoffer manages logistics, sampling and approvals with precision, minimizing downtime and keeping supply chains moving. We communicate often and with transparency, turning mold transfer from a potential risk into a strategic advantage and one that proactively overcomes challenges, reinforces trust and strengthens long-term partnerships.

2. Rigorous Tooling Audit and Repair

A mold is only as strong as its current condition. That’s why every successful transfer is centered around a thorough mold audit to ensure the tool can deliver the quality, consistency and efficiency customers expect. Customers don’t always realize how wear, prior maintenance practices or even basic compatibility with new presses can influence the outcome of a transfer. Without a clear picture upfront, risks multiply, delays stretch longer, costs climb and production quality suffers.

At Hoffer, the mold audit process goes beyond a mechanical check. Our in-house moldmaking experts evaluate not only the physical state of the tool – including critical components like inserts, cylinders and plugs – but also the quality of its documentation. Too often, critical assets like drawings, maintenance records or setup sheets are missing, incomplete or out-of-date. By reviewing both the tool and its history, we give customers the visibility they need to make informed decisions about production readiness, risk and investment. When issues are uncovered, we don’t just point them out, we recommend the refurbishments or adjustments necessary to maximize performance, extend the tool’s life and return molds to like-new condition.

This deliberate, detail-driven assessment ensures the transfer begins on solid footing. Customers gain confidence that the mold will deliver consistent, reliable yields from the very first shot. The audit turns uncertainty into preparedness, protecting the investment and setting the stage for long-term success.

3. Technical and Process Validation

The success of a tool transfer program depends on rigorous validation, ensuring the mold does more than function – it produces parts that meet your requirements and scale reliably. At Hoffer, this means establishing robust process windows, verifying quality against customer standards and ensuring performance holds steady under true production conditions. The result is confidence that production can be ramped up quickly, supply will remain dependable and product integrity is fully protected.

Once the mold is installed, our team conducts real-world sampling to confirm tool performance and identify any adjustments that may be needed. If fine-tuning is required, Hoffer’s in-house tooling and engineering experts act quickly, minimizing delays and safeguarding schedules. Throughout this process, open communication gives customers visibility into results at every stage of the process. The outcome is more than a successful transfer, it’s a seamless continuation of production that strengthens trust and builds the foundation for a long-term partnership.

Turning Disruption into Confidence

Moving a manufacturing program is often never simple. It’s a decisive moment that can either create new risk, or become a new competitive advantage. By approaching every project with disciplined management, thorough audits and rigorous validation, Hoffer turns potential disruption into continuity and confidence. Our focus goes beyond relocating steel; it’s on keeping production strong, quality consistent and supply chains resilient.

Most importantly, every transfer is an investment in trust. With careful planning, transparent communication and unmatched technical expertise, we help customers safeguard their most valuable assets and keep their production running without disruption, today and in the future.

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Secrets of a Sustainable Business: Five Lessons from a Third-Generation Family Company

Hoffer Team — Wed, 28 Jun 2023 12:35:31 +0000

Gretchen Hoffer Farb, Alex Hoffer, Charlotte Hoffer Canning

As we celebrate a big milestone – our 70th anniversary – this year at Hoffer Plastics, a lot of people are asking: How have we sustained our success for so long?

While many other companies have sold to private equity or closed up shop, we’ve stayed strong and family owned for seven decades and counting. We’ve learned a lot along the way (and we keep learning), especially from generations of Hoffer leadership who set the foundation for sustained growth.

We thought we’d take a moment to pay it forward by sharing these five lessons for sustainable success.

"At Hoffer Plastics, we know how fortunate we are to be going strong after 70 years. That’s why we’ll always stay true to the values that sustain business success. We’re proud to keep doing right by our customers, our employees and our community, every day.”

– Hoffer Plastics Co-CEOs Gretchen Hoffer Farb, Charlotte Hoffer Canning and Alex Hoffer.

1. Manufacturing is a People Business.

Many Hoffer Plastics team members have been with us for decades – including one who’s been contributing to our success for 52 of our 70 years! What’s the secret? We believe it comes down to people and relationships.

Employees across the organization prioritize getting to know peers, partners and customers – establishing relationships and building personal connections that foster trust, loyalty and confidence.

As a family-run business, our leadership is personally invested in the success of everyone in the organization. We know that every employee has the potential to lead the way to our future success. We strive to unlock that potential through a robust leadership development program that elevates employees’ opportunities to grow.

That commitment to providing new opportunities also shows in the investments we make every year in advanced manufacturing equipment and automation technology innovations. We look at it as investing in people, so that they can advance their skills and put their talents to use with higher-value tasks.

2. The Customer is the Hero.

The reason we have such long-tenured employees is also why we have customers who have counted on us since the 1970s. After all, customers are people, too. The future of our business is in every customer relationship. We believe in going above and beyond because it builds customer loyalty.

Sometimes, it’s about dropping everything to solve a problem. Like a tight turnaround that calls for an emergency transfer of tools and automation after the sudden closure of another supplier’s plant over a holiday weekend.

In product development, engineering and manufacturing, we over-invest in our customers to help them achieve amazing new things while delivering high-performing parts as cost-effectively as possible. Some of these innovations include:

Recyclable flexible packaging solutions.
Part redesigns that move from three separate components to one.
Water filtration applications to eliminate lead and PFAS.

If there’s a way to accelerate our customers’ success, every one of our employees is personally committed to driving it forward.

3. Financial Independence is Empowering.

Another way we’re at a huge advantage as a family owned and operated business is this: Instead of being obsessed with quarterly earnings, we’re free to think and act long term.

Over 70 years, we’ve proven ourselves to be resilient in times of crisis, positioning ourselves in a way that ensures that economic downturns aren’t disruptive to our business. This also means we’re ready to pursue new opportunities in better times. Keeping the focus on the future for ourselves and our employees, we’ve steered our company to a 100% debt-free position.

It’s not lost on us how rare this level of financial independence is. As a result, we’re keen on staying independent – making sure that we have the freedom to innovate by continually investing in technologies, our people and our community.

4. Investing in the Community is Investing in the Future.

Bob Hoffer, who founded Hoffer Plastics in 1953, taught us to “be a good neighbor.” It’s as relevant as ever, because we’re still in the same South Elgin, IL, neighborhood where we began. Our prospects are intertwined, so we’re always working to keep our community thriving.

Through the Hoffer Foundation, we make significant contributions to the South Elgin community and beyond – including $1M to a new Boys & Girls Club, as well as support for Judson University, Elgin Community College and many more important organizations and causes.

We also work hard to be a good neighbor in our physical impact on both our local and global community. Since long before sustainability became an industry buzzword, we’ve prioritized stewardship of Earth’s precious resources with efforts including:

Diverting material from landfills through recycling initiatives we started more than 15 years ago.
Mitigating customer risk and providing emergency power backup for the local grid through our on-site co-generation plant.
Minimizing hazardous materials in the water supply through water use reductions and advanced filtration and treatment at our plant.

5. Lead by Example.

On any given day at our plant, you’re likely to find one of our three third-generation leaders out on the production floor, talking with and supporting our employees in daily operations. We believe in servant leadership, focusing on helping the team and the organization above all else.

That means embodying our core values that were established by Bob Hoffer in everything we do, every day:

Family – We treat employees and customers like family. And we put family first.
Integrity – We hold ourselves and others to the highest ethical standards.
Service – The best reward in life is through service to others, whether it’s for our customers, our employees or our community.
Trust – Honesty, transparency and delivering on commitments is what we’re all about.

Simply put, it’s about doing the right thing for each other, for our customers and for our community. It starts at the top and lives throughout our culture.

We’re proud of what we’ve accomplished together these 70 years – leading the way in innovation, sustainability, technical expertise, community outreach and more. But we’re even more excited about how well positioned we are for the future. And we hope these lessons are as much an inspiration to your business as they are to ours.

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Hoffer Plastics’ Trust-T-Lok spout, part of EnteraLoc’s enternal feeding pouch, receives four gold awards in packaging excellence, sustainability, technical innovation, and expanding the use of flexible packaging, from Flexible Packaging Association.

Hoffer Team — Wed, 20 Apr 2022 19:00:12 +0000

The Highest Achievement Award is evaluated by the judges as possessing overall packaging excellence, significant attributes in all award categories, and contributing most to the advancement of the industry. The winner this year was the EnteraLoc enteral device.

Designed for tube-fed patients, the EnteraLoc is an innovative 510(k) FDA-approved enteral device—a flexible spouted pouch with leak-proof seal—for direct-connect delivery of nutrition in a safe and convenient manner.

Beyond winning FPA’s Highest Achievement Award, the system garnered an impressive four Gold Awards in Packaging Excellence, Sustainability, Technical Innovation, and Expanding the Use of Flexible Packaging.

Marketed by Medtrition, EnteraLoc was developed by Vonco, with contribution from nutritionDay (in the U.S.), Hoffer Plastics Corporation, Truitt Brothers/Baxter’s Foods (formulation and filling), GEDSA, and Oley Foundation.

The company reports that it is the first seamless, closed-loop system that combines nutritious meals with a flexible pouch, leak-proof seal, custom-designed spout, and direct-connect ENFit® device in one complete enteral feeding system.

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National Consumer Protection Week

Hoffer Team — Fri, 15 Mar 2019 15:59:32 +0000

In comes March – and with it, March Madness, Daylight Savings Time, St. Patrick’s Day and the start of Spring.

Within all this excitement humbly lies National Consumer Protection Week. This month, we we focus on the importance of continuous innovation to keep products, and people, safe.

Spotlight on Hoffer Plastics: High Speed Lining for Signature Drop-Lok Closures

Drop-Lok

Hoffer Plastics Corporation continues to lead the way in packaging and closure innovation. One of the newest capabilities is a High Speed Lining machine for the company’s signature Drop-Lok closures. Drop-Lok closures were designed for a wide range of rigid and flexible pouch packaging configurations across many diverse industries. The closure features a traditional one motion, twist off design, comes in sizes ranging from 20mm to 48mm in diameter, and is available in many different types of resin.

In many Drop-Lok applications, a lined cap is a key element, providing a crucial barrier for product integrity, quality, shelf life and most importantly: safety. Hoffer’s new High Speed Lining machine takes this important feature to the next level. Beyond just improving line speeds, the equipment delivers a more consistent, high quality lined closure, which means increased efficiencies for customers.But what it ultimately means is a better, safer product experience for consumers and their families.

“We’re excited about the new improved capabilities the High Speed Lining equipment can deliver for our customers and consumers”, said James Harris, Director of Engineering. “When you can deliver improved efficiencies for customers with improved product quality and safety, it’s really a homerun.”

Injuries, deaths and property damage related to consumer product safety incidents cost the U.S. $800 Billion a year.

Source: Allgov.com

Fun Facts about Caps & Liners

Glass bottle caps and liners were invented by William Painter and patented in 1892. His original "crown" metal cap, designed to prevent leakage, is still in wide use today
Cap liners were originally made of cork, but evolved to synthetic materials as cork became more scarce.
Threaded twist-off caps came into play in the 1960's, as cork scarcity continued.
You can visit the Bottle Cap Museum, located in Grayling, Michigan.

In Celebration of National Consumer Product Safety Month: Some Milestones in Consumer Product Safety

1904: Upton Sinclair publishes “The Jungle”, exposing unsafe, unsanitary conditions in the meat packing industry

1949: FDA publishes first guidelines to industry regarding toxicity of chemicals in food

1958: First FDA list of GRAS (Generally Regarded As Safe) ingredients published

1962: Consumer Bill of Rights endorsed by JFK

1965: Ralph Nader publishes “Unsafe at Any Speed” exposing safety dangers of the Corvair automobile and unethical corporate behavior

1973: Consumer Product Safety Commission created by Congress

1979: FDA distributes doses of potassium iodide to residents impacted by the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant accident

1982: Seven people die from ingesting Tylenol capsules laced with cyanide, the result of product tampering

1983: Federal Anti-Tampering Act passed in response to the Tylenol crisis

1995: FDA declares cigarettes to be “drug delivery devices”, restricting marketing and sales activities

2004: Food Allergy Labeling and Consumer Protection Act passed

2013: Food Safety and Modernization Act (FSMA) empowers FDA with increased authority, tools, and linkages with state and local resources

Links and Resources:

U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission: www.cpsc.gov
U.S. Food and Drug Administration: www.fda.gov
U.S. Federal Trade Commission: www.ftc.gov

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Independence Defined: In Celebration of Small Business

Hoffer Team — Sun, 15 Jul 2018 15:31:46 +0000

The month of July is all about celebrating American independence. As we enjoy food, fireworks and concerts typically brought to us by corporations, let’s also celebrate the small, independent businesses that many experts consider to be the true backbone of the U.S. economy.

Small Businesses, Big Impact

There are nearly 30 million small businesses in the U.S., compared to 18 thousand larger firms (larger defined as having 500 or more employees)
Translation: small businesses constitute 99% of all businesses in the United States!
Over the past 10 years, small businesses accounted for 60% to 80% of all net new jobs created in the U.S.
Small businesses contribute 33% of the total U.S. export value
Innovation is driven by small businesses! They generate 16 times more patentsthan larger firms.

(Source for above bullets: Small Business Association)

What We can Learn: What Small Businesses Do Really Well

They adapt quickly and make the current operating climate work for them.

They can streamline processes and implement changes in a real-time environment

They immediately experience, identify and address issues, weak links and under performers

For them, business is personal!

Small businesses must get customer service right the first time – and every time. They must also ensure that their employees are engaged in their work…and happy!

They are all about high performing teams and developing broad skill sets. Both are necessities!

They embrace and embody diversity: Hoffer Plastics' longstanding history of diversity is celebrated this month with the 51st service anniversary of employee Judy Gittings.

Just for Fun: Did you Know?

The vote to declare our independence from Great Britain technically happened on July 2^nd, not July 4^th.
- The Declaration of Independence wasn’t actually signed until August 2^nd, 1776.
Half of the American colonists were “fence sitters” – people unwilling to take a position on the War. Roughly one third remained loyal to King George.
The U.S. Constitution is the longest surviving constitution of any nation in history.

Sources: Fox News, Biography Online, Foxtrot Alpha, BBC History

Click here for more about America's Small Businesses and the Revolutionary War:

www.sba.gov

www.biographyonline.net

www.theamericanrevolution.org

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Taming the “Lions” —A Simple Approach to Managing Risk

Hoffer Team — Thu, 15 Mar 2018 13:37:54 +0000

Make Risk Management part of annual and long term planning
Select a cross functional team to:
- Identify Risks
  - Try “What if” scenario analyses or “War games” sessions
  - Great fun and great for team building
- Analyze and quantify risks
  - Simple spreadsheet: list, number, describe and quantify the impact of the risk
- Develop action plans for the most critical risks. The goal is mitigation – “lion taming."
- Regularly track, update and report on status

Keep it Simple

Risk management doesn’t have to be an all-consuming process, and not all risks need actions.

Try this simple tool for plotting and prioritizing risks that your team has identified:

Proactively address the green box (“Lions”) and ignore the reds (“Lambs”).
Monitor the yellows and re-prioritize if things change

Source: Strategic Market Management, David A. Aaker, 10^th Edition

A Few Examples: ERM (Enterprise Risk Management) in Action:

U.S. soft drink companies saw the long term decline in carbonated soda consumption as a critical risk to their core businesses.

They proactively acquired and built non-carbonated beverage portfolios (waters, teas, juices, energy drinks) which have continued to deliver strong growth.

Coca-Cola partnered with local community resources to address the challenge of distributing its products to remote areas of the globe.

Since 2012, Coca-Cola’s “Project Last Mile” has delivered a broad range of vaccines, medicines and medical supplies—alongside Coke products—to millions.

A decade ago, GE faced heavy public criticism and fines regarding its track record and history of environmental issues. The company saw this as a critical long term risk—but also an opportunity.

GE created and launched its Ecomagination line of environmentally friendly products, now a multi-billion dollar business segment. (Source: AICPA)

Hoffer Plastics Corporation identified the long term risk of weather related power outages in the Midwest—a clear High Impact, High Likelihood “Lion."

Hoffer’s founder invested in an onsite power co-generation plant that can also provide electricity to the surrounding community in the event of an emergency.

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