The Welsh Wire: Kevin Murphy of Miniature Custom Manufacturing

Miniature Custom Manufacturing of Vicksburg has grown from a single employee in 2007 to over 75 employees today. The plastic injection molding firm specializes in automotive, food packaging and medical, and was recently recognized as a member of the 2019 Michigan 50 Companies to Watch.

What’s the key to such rapid growth and success? “Having a strong culture is number one,” says Kevin Murphy, president and co-owner. “People say sales are the lifeblood of an organization. I agree with that. But right behind it is your culture, because without a strong culture, you’re going to turn people over.”

In these tight labor markets, turnover can be deadly to business success. So, Murphy puts his people first. “We manage our business on three things: people first, quality second, production third. I believe in the golden rule. You do unto others what you want others to do to you. I never asked someone to do something that I wouldn’t do myself.”

Just barking orders at someone isn’t how you’re going to build a strong culture, Murphy says. “Teaching someone, developing someone into a leader is how you’re going to develop a strong culture. We really work on coaching, teaching and development, teaching in the moment. So there’s a situation that happens, even in a production meeting, I will stop our production meeting to teach and work with that individual right there in the moment. And from a leadership [standpoint], I’d say that is my style —  teaching and development in the moment. And I’ve tried to emulate that with our staff. And we work very hard on don’t tell someone to do something, teach them.”

Listen to Sheri’s entire interview with Kevin Murphy.

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