Screwmatics owner honored with Spangler award for lifetime achievement

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Thomas Hogge was presented the Chuck Spangler Outstanding Manufacturing Lifetime Service Award today during the SCMEP Salute to Manufacturing Awards.

The awards luncheon was the capstone event of the annual South Carolina Manufacturing Conference and Expo presented by SC Biz News and the S.C. Manufacturing Extension Partnership, the organization guided for years by the late Spangler.

Hogge is president and owner of Screwmatics of South Carolina Inc., a large manufacturer that provides CNC and screw machine produced component parts to a wide variety of industries, including medical, plumbing, welding, aerospace, power transmission, industrial switch, automotive and electrical.

Hogge credits his management style, which places him more often on the shop floor than in the front office, for creating an atmosphere where emphasis remains on constant improvement of processes, quality assurance and customer service. A former instructor for Florence-Darlington Technical College, Hogge believes it is important to continue education and training; he pushes his team to stay on top of new technologies and processes.

Hogge has guided the company through growth, including the addition of state-of-the art equipment and expansion of the 140,000 square feet of workspace at its Pageland campus, where 140 members of his team work on two shifts.

“Tom Hogge and his company represent the ethic, the creativity and the gumption of the South Carolina manufacturing community,” said Rick Jenkins, group publisher of SC Biz News and director of the manufacturing conference. “It’s appropriate that he has earned the Chuck Spangler award because Chuck dedicated so much of his life to raising the manufacturing industry to higher standards.”

SCMEP plays a key role in the conference, offering training courses to help make manufacturers better.

Andy Carr, who was named president and CEO of SCMEP after Spangler’s death last year, applauded Hogge and the other winners.

“This group of manufacturers — and all of those nominated for these awards — represent an incredible diversity of product, size and geography in South Carolina,” Carr said. “It thrills me to work with these companies, from the large ones like Savannah River Nuclear Solutions and their 6,000 employees down to the small shops creating and making products in every corner of the state.”

Other awards presented during the SCMEP Salute to Manufacturing luncheon included:

• Savannah River Nuclear Solutions LLC was awarded the Community Impact Award.
• The Emerging Manufacturer of the Year Award went to technical textile company bFIVE40. Finalists for the award were alimex Precision in Aluminum Inc. and Toll Solutions LLC.
• KION North America was named the Innovator of the Year while Sargent Metal Fabricators was a finalist for the Innovator of the Year Award.
• Sargent Metal Fabricators was the winner of the Outreach Award, however. Finalists for the Outreach Award were Boeing South Carolina and Worksman Cycles.
• The Tranformation and Operational Excellence Award went to Sealevel Systems Inc. Finalists in the category were alimex Precision in Aluminum Inc. and Savannah River Nuclear Solutions LLC.
• Smart Move SC New Plant Awards were presented to Oshkosh Defense LLC, Premium Peanut LLC and Accudraft Finishing Systems.
• Smart Move SC Expansion Awards went to Arthrex Inc., 3D Systems Corp. and Queen Wood Products.