Longtime H & H Tube manager retires

H & H Tube, Vanderbilt, Mich., has announced the retirement of Production Manager Don Forman, effective at the end of 2014, after more than 40 years with the company. Forman plans to leave the Tube & Pipe Association International®’s Extrusion, Drawing & Tube Reducing (EDTR) Council at the same time, a council he has served on since 2007.

Forman’s employment at H & H Tube started in 1969 when he filled a production position. In 1986 he was promoted to production supervisor and eventually manufacturing manager. Colleagues cited his inquisitive nature, long memory, and adaptability as the chief assets that propelled his career.

During the span of his time at H & H, he watched, and assisted, as manufacturing evolved from taking orders by mail, agreeing to quality considerations with a handshake, and guaranteeing delivery dates by telephone to practices that are much more modern: order-taking by e-mail, adherence to ISO, and delivery schedules by contract, said Cindy Forman, H & H’s sales manager. Forman also is credited with helping transform H & H as long product runs gave way to minimal inventories, quick-change setups, and just-in-time manufacturing.

“When Don started, we didn’t have nearly as many customers, and a single order might run an entire week,” said Dan Dreyer, president and CEO. “These days we have more than 300 customers, and we often run 15 orders in a day.”

Like many at H & H, Forman came to the company straight from high school and learned on the job. According to former owner Larry Higgins, he learned a lot from his father, another career H & H employee, and eventually exceeded his father in many ways.

“I never saw anybody move metal through the plant the way Don Forman could,” Higgins said. “He really learned how to make it happen.”

Another asset was Forman’s straight-talking, no-nonsense manner. He was often frank but always fair, according to Higgins.

“He would chew out anyone, including his boss, even in front of an audience, but only if [that person] really had it coming,” Higgins said. “But he didn’t hold a grudge. Five minutes later, he’d buy you a cup of coffee.”

During his tenure on the EDTR council, Forman actively participated on the council’s conference committees, moderated roundtable sessions, and provided leadership support in conference planning.

“He has always been a stalwart supporter of the council’s activities, and always willing to share his expertise in nonferrous materials,” said former Council Chair Ike Tripp. “He will be missed.”

In the middle of his career, Forman broadened his horizons when he left H & H for a job at another local business.

“He came back with a new perspective,” Higgins said. “He understood how to move metal and make money.”

In his role as an executive, he has had a growing influence on company’s financial picture and guiding its strategy, watching for opportunities to improve efficiencies or increase market share.

“He was big on adaptability,” Higgins said, noting that Forman also proceeded cautiously. “He’d be the first to say if he thought it wouldn’t work, and if you went ahead with it, he’d be your staunchest support to make it work.” He’s also credited with helping H & H receive the TPJ Industry Award in 2010, an annual honor that goes to one company that has distinguished itself in the industry and in its community.

“There is little at H & H that Don hasn’t been involved with in some way,” Dreyer said.