Michael Araten is the President and CEO of Sterling Drive Ventures, a family holding company that manufactures plastic injection molding products for B2B and B2C markets, medical devices, food and pharma packaging, toys, and more. Araten also holds executive positions at The Rodon Group (Sterling Drive Ventures’ manufacturing division), SillDry Industries, LLC, and StartEngine — the largest equity crowdfunding platform in the US.

Araten has played a key role in his community as a board member for various organizations, including the Almo Corporation, the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia, and KABOOM! He’s also on the Board of Trustees for the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation.

Just as talent became a budding topic during the pandemic, supply chain issues similarly weighed heavy on people’s minds — and businesses. In this episode of The Leading Edge, you’ll hear how one company has managed its suppliers and distributors through all the twists and turns of the last two years — and what you can learn from its success.

When the pandemic first hit, a report by the National Center for the Middle Market indicated that the #1 area where executives felt least effective — and least able to control — was the supply chain. Michael Araten, who runs a third-generation family manufacturing company, felt the same. With pressure to uphold a business that’s been around since the late ‘50s, Araten knew he had to become flexible in order to survive. Within two weeks, Araten had a plan for change: he carved out space to meet the needs of the public, created molds for COVID-19 testing swabs, and changed 30% of his product. Now, as “normal” continues to be an elusive word, he has managed to avoid the supply-chain hassles from which so many other companies have suffered, and brought significant manufacturing capabilities back onshore from overseas. How did he do it? 

By staying positive, kind, and curious, Araten was able to build optionality into his business and make a lasting impact on the manufacturing industry. On top of this, Araten says his major shift wouldn’t have been possible without key long-term relationships and a strong focus on the future. Araten talks about this and more as he joins Thomas A. Stewart on The Leading Edge — a place where new ideas emerge and are sharpened, and where leaders look to find the edge that brings success for themselves, their teams, and their enterprises.

In this episode of The Leading Edge, Thomas A. Stewart is joined by Michael Araten, President and CEO of Sterling Drive Ventures, to discuss how Araten’s family-owned business transformed itself during the pandemic. Together, they talk about the steps Araten took to keep his company afloat, the trends and challenges of reshoring manufacturing, and why catastrophes are a reason to double-down on your business values, not cut them back.