American Renolit ties company to community

American Renolit ties company to community

For the past 20 years, American RENOLIT Corporation (ARC) has been a presence in the La Porte community. Founded in Worms, Germany in 1946, the German-based, family-owned company acquired the site in La Porte in 1999, and has continued to make its presence in the community known ever since.

ARC specializes in the manufacturing of plastic films that are used in the Graphics, Signage and Labelling industry. Other films manufactured in La Porte are used as decorative surface lamination films in furniture applications and some films are specifically engineered as laminates for exterior building components. ARC is among the top performers in the industry, and continually strives for innovation.

“We pride ourselves on being a leader in technology in the areas we serve,” said company president, Renaat Demeulemeester. “We provide added value through our technical innovation, service and quality consistency, and ongoing mission to be a leader in product performance and development.”

The company slogan, ‘Rely on it,’ embodies the quality standard ARC holds itself to in its manufacturing process and its role as an employer.

“Since we are not a name brand company that goes directly to consumers, it’s important to be recognized as a good employer,” Demeulemeester said. “That creates opportunity for career development, investing and growing.”

Currently the organization is working on an expansion plan that will generate 30% more capacity performance, as well as bring 30 new positions to the plant. Demeulemeester says they’ve already hired the first 10-15 positions and are now in the process of training them. The remaining positions will be filled within the next year.

As part of the La Porte community, ARC makes it a point to engage with the people in the area it serves.

“We want to be part of the community,” Demeulemeester said. “We want to share and contribute as an employer and make an effort to take part in various projects and activities.”

In the past year, ARC has participated in community events such as the Tour de La Porte and Dragon boat racing at Stone Lake, as well as ReBuilding La Porte Day, which the company participated in for the first time last May.

“We showed up with a team of volunteers on ReBuilding Day,” Demeulemeester said. “We’ll be doing that again this year as both a sponsor for the event and as a group of volunteers from the plant.”

ARC also takes part in the “Hire a Slicer” program through La Porte High School, which allows La Porte students and alumni to post their resumes and look for jobs in the area. Melissa Gruber, Human Resource Manager for ARC, said they’ve been working closely with local and regional education centers for the past few years, including La Porte High School, Purdue Northwest, and Ivy Tech.

“We want to promote the jobs our industry has to offer and provide students with the connections necessary to pursue those opportunities,” Gruber said.

Playing an active role in the community is just one way ARC demonstrates its value of contributing to the local area. Demeulemeester says this is very worthwhile for a company that wants to commit to the place where their employees aspire to thrive and grow.

“It’s a double-fold effect,” he said. “It shows commitment of the employer to the development of its employees and their needs, as well as to their community—it ties the company and the community together.”

The expansion plan ARC is currently working on launched back in June of 2018, and is in the final stages of completion. The project is expected to have equipment up and running by late summer.

“This is another major step with our growth,” he said. “Since arriving here in 1999, we’ve invested over $100 million in new equipment to become a state-of-the-art processing company recognized by both its customers and its business partners.”

To find out more about American RENOLIT Corporation, visit their website.