By Rachael Pfenninger, director of strategic execution, AMBA
Company culture was alive and well during the Dynamic Group’s plant tour workshop for AMBA’s emerging leadership and MAPP’s young professionals. Hosted in conjunction with MD&M Midwest, Minneapolis, Minnesota, this two-facility event highlighted how strong values, communication and next-level leadership can lead to a company environment where employees thrive personally and professionally.
Dynamic Group, a company with both molding and tool building capabilities, has a long history of strong partnerships. Founded by two friends and now run by their sons, the company has a reputation for its strong culture that continues to grow in notoriety today. This was evident from the first step into each facility as, during the tour, employees and guides spent as much time highlighting best practices related to new hire development, employee growth and department relationships as they did on machines, technology and processes.
From phrases like “Own the Zone,” where each employee is assigned an independent area to manage weekly, to “Code Orange,” where quality reps work alongside other departments to understand and rectify defects, tour representatives emphasized the role that accountability and shared priorities play in what gets accomplished on a daily and weekly basis.
Through reliance on management methodologies like Six Sigma (a quality management methodology that uses a data-driven approach) and the EOS framework (a practical set of tools for businesses to simplify operations, achieve clarity and drive accountability and execution), employees demonstrated how they constantly seek to improve and evolve. Whether it was through elements like the company “UN-Profit” table, where mistakes are “celebrated” and reviewed for improvement, or its detailed, employee-driven continuous improvement initiative and prize wheel (a popular tool through which employees and departments can be rewarded), it was clear that every employee was willing and unafraid to fail if it meant progress and improvement.
“‛Going Pro’ means that we set the highest expectations for our workforce. But if we expect our employees to achieve the goals we set forth, we have to prepare them in a way that enables them to be successful,” explained Matt Walters, who specializes in technical sales for Dynamic Group. “I believe I have something to learn from everyone. The journeyman toolmaker with 40 years’ experience and the high school apprentice both bring great ideas to the table if empowered.”
More than just a tour, this event highlighted the valuable roles up-and-coming leaders are capable of playing in the workforce today, particularly when provided with open-minded leadership that encourages the exploration of new ideas, sound processes and the safety to fail.
AMBA will continue its partnership with MAPP on March 19-20, 2026, in Rosemont, Illinois, as industry leaders come together for both associations’ first co-hosted Leadership Retreat (in conjunction with PTXPO 2026). To learn more about this event and other leadership development opportunities with the AMBA, visit www.amba.org/events.