LINDAR’s Tom Haglin Named Thermoformer of the Year
Since he and his wife, Ellen, bought a plastics company in 1993, they have grown exponentially and helped create hundreds of jobs.
Tom Haglin, owner and CEO of LINDAR Corp., manufacturers of a variety of plastic products for both consumer and commercial use, including 3D motion displays, has been named the 2019 Thermoformer of the Year by the Society of Plastic Engineers.
In detailing the reasons for the award, the SPE says Haglin’s career stands out because of his innovation, business growth, job creation and community impact.
LINDAR began in 1993, when Haglin and his wife, Ellen, acquired a small thermoforming company and named it Mid-State Plastics. In 1998, the company’s growth led to the need to expand, so they built a 12,000-square-foot facility in the Baxter Industrial Park and changed the name to LINDAR-the “LIN” for Haglin and the “DAR” for Darkow, his wife’s maiden name.
According to the SPE, they soon outgrew the new facility, which led to two more expansions. Finally, in 2001, LINDAR had grown beyond its footprint so they broke ground again at the site of LINDAR’s present-day operation in Baxter.
“I am extremely honored to be the recipient of this award,” says Haglin. “Our success and longevity at LINDAR speak to our history that began with the first company that Ellen and I acquired 26 years ago. Over the years, we have had a motivated, capable team driving the business forward. It was the continual striving for excellence from our entire team that led to our shared growth and success.”
Under Haglin’s leadership, LINDAR has grown to 175 employees. It operates nine roll-fed machines, eight sheet-fed formers, six CNC routers, four robotic routers, one label line, and one extrusion line in its state-of-the-art, 165,000-square-foot manufacturing facility-driving annual revenues exceeding $35 million.
The company has achieved several patents and technological breakthroughs. Through the years Haglin and others have created other spin-off companies that, counting LINDAR, employ about 250 people total.
Haglin will receive his award at the annual SPE Thermoforming Conference in Milwaukee in September.
