At Myers Industries, we are committed to helping our customers make the world a safer and more efficient place. That’s why we provide bulk packaging that is more easily cleaned than other solutions, as well as stronger, rigid packaging for safe stacking and storage of food and beverage products. In addition, we provide a wide selection of storage bins to help our customers organize their workplace and drive efficiency, as well as world-leading tire pressure monitoring systems so that our end users have the proper—and safest—pressure in their car tires. Ultimately we incorporate safety and environmental consciousness into every product, and into all aspects of our operations.

Ethics, Cultures and Values

Myers Industries is built on a foundation of quality, ethics, hard work and dedication which begins and ends with our people.

We believe in providing our employees with a supportive work environment that fosters individual thinking and personal accountability.  We expect employees to be responsible not only for their personal success within the organization, but also for the success of the organization as a whole.

Here are the values that serve, collectively, as our daily compass:

Bias for Action: From top to bottom, we have a preference for action. That means we each take personal ownership, expect to be held accountable, and make proactive decisions—even when there is risk.

Analytical, Results-Oriented: We take an analytical approach to ideas and problem-solving, and focus our efforts on achieving the challenging goals we’ve set forth. However, we also learn from our mistakes, all for the sake of driving continuous improvement.

Customer Intimacy: By always seeking to understand our customers’ needs, values, and motivations, we can serve them in the best way possible. That way, we can connect with and network within our target clients.

Open, Candid, Non-Political: While we encourage speaking candidly and challenging the status quo, we also listen to each other’s perspectives and seek to understand competing ideas and opinions. It’s just another way we act with transparency and integrity.

Flexible: Change, variety, and ambiguity are inevitable. We must embrace this and take the initiative to explore new methods and viewpoints.
Humble: Being humble means focusing on the success of the team instead of self-recognition, as well as seeking out opportunities to support others.

Process: Process is everything, and it’s what allows us to execute initiatives in an organized manner, create structured implementation plans, and anticipate potential problems.

Environmental Impact and Sustainable Business Practices

Myers Industries has a long standing respect for the environment.  Today, we incorporate environmental consciousness into every aspect of our operation – from using recycled products in our lunch rooms and recycling office paper, to recycling and reprocessing plastic scrap in our factories, to taking steps to prevent water, air and land pollution by conserving energy whenever possible.
 
In January 2013, the Company instituted a Sustainability Committee to develop and oversee our long-term sustainable business practices.  The team is responsible for establishing key metrics, goals and reporting standards across the company.

We also encourage our businesses to explore certifications. Our Ameri-Kart and Scepter Canada locations have ISO 9001 certifications and our Scepter US location is actively pursuing ISO 14001 certification.

As a result of continuous improvement efforts, Myers has identified and acted upon practices that incorporate energy efficiency, waste reduction and utilization of environmentally friendly raw materials.

Energy Efficiency

• Our asset light business model requires fewer pieces of energy dependent equipment at our facilities.
• We replace propane powered forklifts with pallet jacks and electric powered forklifts which do not need oil, spark plugs, pistons, belts, or catalytic converters and do not have a reason for an exhaust.
• As we upgrade and renovate facilities, CFL or incandescent bulbs are replaced with light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs which require much less wattage and are long lasting. We also install fans that mix the hot air at the ceiling with the cold air at the floor, creating a uniform temperature and reducing energy usage for heating by up to thirty-percent (30%). For example,

• instillation of LED lighting and signage, occupancy sensors, fluorescent T5 and T8 lights and wall-packs as well as an interior lighting system with less power density than the energy code standard in its new warehouse,
• energy efficiency upgrades of injection molding machines, and

• new cooling towers with variable frequency drives (VFDs) replaced cooling tower pumps with VFDs

Waste Reduction

• Our re-usable packaging products replace expendable packaging, preventing expendable packaging from being sent to a landfill. Some of our products have been in-use, out in the marketplace, for over twenty (20) years.
• As part of our maintenance and repair program, we re-furbish our product molds. This reduces plastic waste material called flash and the need to re-grind or handle the product during processing which, in turn, improves safety.
• Buckhorn has managed a year-over-year improvement in recycling content efforts, and Akro-Mils recycles most materials unless contaminated.
• Patch Rubber Company’s continuous improvement processes have resulted in greater first pass yield and less start-up and other scrap generation:
  • The first pass yield on the mixer, which is a measure of how much of the original material added into the mixer is usable without re-work or repair has risen from 95% to 98%.  
  • Scrap generation on the 4-roll calender has been reduced by ~50%.    
  • Continuous improvement processes on the 3-roll calendar have resulted in a first pass yield increase from 60% to 95%. 
• In 2017, Scepter’s Toronto facility utilized outside resources to help identify opportunities for reuse and recycling. In a one-year period, the site recycled over 695 thousand pounds of material, including plastic, paper, corrugated, wood and metal.  
• Myers Tire Supply’s Distribution Center in Akron, Ohio:
  • partners with FedEx who returns the pallets that are shipped from the Distribution Center each day via FedEx so they can be re-used,
  • has an arrangement with a neighboring business to pick-up and re-use skids that the neighboring business would have otherwise sent to a landfill, and
  • re-uses full size corrugated boxes to ship our products versus recycling or disposing of these boxes.

Environmentally Friendly Raw Materials

• We’ve worked to ensure that colorants used in our plastics manufacturing do not contain lead or other heavy metals. Today, 100% of the colorants we use are free of these materials.

• Within our Material Handling Segment, the businesses set goals and strategies to increase the amount of re-processed and re-grind resin (vs. virgin resin) used in the manufacturing of plastic products. For example,
  • in 2018, Akro-Mils increased its use of regrind material by 72,000 pounds per month and is targeting increased usage annually.
  • our Scepter Oklahoma location has an on-site pelletizer to re-process scrap in-house, versus re-grinding the scrap.
  • Buckhorn buys/takes back our products which are re-ground and the material re-processed.

In addition to our own environmental responsibility, we also encourage our customers to focus on sustainability by providing alternative solutions in manufacturing materials, transportation methods and product end-use.

Health & Safety

The health and safety of our employees, our customers, and our end-users is at the forefront of each business decision we make:

• All of our manufacturing sites and distribution centers maintain safety committees that strive to identify and implement best practices in environmental health and safety. For example,

• Our ultimate goal is to achieve zero injuries through continued focus on our culture and our core safety programs.

• We maintain an Environmental Health and Safety Policy and Principles that all employees are expected to understand and promote (this policy is available on the Corporate Governance page accessed from the Investor Relations page of our website at www.myersindustries.com).
  • Ameri-Kart supervisors hold “Toolbox Talks” with team members to regularly discuss safety procedures.
  • Jamco, Patch Rubber Company and Akro-Mils contract with outside safety professionals to hold monthly safety training and other related activities.
  • Patch Rubber Company completes a process hazard analysis (PHA) every three years.
  • Patch Rubber Company and Buckhorn use daily continuous improvement meetings to review near-miss reports and safety observations, and to track follow-up corrective actions.
• We engage employees, provide training, and ensure competency in safe work practices and procedures.
• Scepter, Ameri-Kart and other locations leverage a formal ergonomics improvement process to identify and correct material handling risk factors.
• We utilize the DuPont™ STOP™ safety training observation program.
• Our OSHA recordable incident rate is well below the industry average and has been for a number of years.

Our People

We strive to provide our employees with financial, personal, and physical well-being through our comprehensive and highly competitive pay and benefits packages, as well as by providing access to a variety of innovative and flexible employee health and wellness programs.
 
We also invest in our people through annual employee development programs, including web-based training solutions and an improved Learning Management System that increases efficiency and compliance.

We are working to improve the factors that drive employee engagement and satisfaction within our organization, as we believe that an engaged and enthusiastic workforce is key to achieving our organizational goals. In 2019, we completed an engagement survey with all of our employees across the company. The survey included 63 questions, and 97% of employees responded. Following the survey we conducted employee feedback sessions across the organization to better understand the results.  Action plans are now in place. For example, we’ve implemented an employee rewards and recognition software platform focused on improving employee connection and collaboration.

As we cultivate the future of our workforce, we are also taking steps to further promote diversity. For example,

• Jamco partners with their local Catholic Church to hire from the refugee population, and
• Ameri-Kart’s “Second Chance” program provides a recruiting platform to help reintegrate persons who have previously served correctional time and meet the program’s criteria.

Community Impact

At Myers Industries, we believe that sharing our success in the communities where we do business is key to community development.  With the help of our employees, we strive to create a positive impact on our communities, making them better places to live and work.
 
Myers community involvement can be any combination of financial contributions, leadership assistance, or employee volunteering in local civic and charitable organizations.

Charitable Contribution Program
Our goal is to support organizations, projects, and programs that encourage the development and well-being of local communities. While our employees have the opportunity to donate time and funds to the community organizations of their choice, Myers Industries is strongly connected to and focused on the following areas of impact:

• Education and Youth Development
• Community and Civic Development
• Health and Social Services
• Environmental Efforts

Each year, the Charitable Contributions Committee will designate funds for charitable contribution to organizations that complement the categories above and meet these requirements:

• The organization has federal, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) status.
• The organization adheres to all anti-discrimination laws, including but not limited to age, race, disabilities, sexual orientation, religion, and civil rights.
• A representative from the organization fully completes a contribution application which can be obtained from the Myers’ executive office.

Certain categories of nonprofit organizations / requests are not eligible to receive a charitable contribution from Myers Industries. These include:

• Political parties, lobbying groups, or candidates
• Labor organizations
• Individual person(s) or family
• Nonprofit athletic event or athletic event sponsorship (excludes Special Olympics)
• Registration fees

Myers also provides a matching gifts program for employee donations made to qualified nonprofit organizations meeting the criteria outlined above.