AUSTINTOWN — Hynes Industries, the Austintown-based custom fabrication and roll form metal solutions manufacturer that will mark its 100th year in business next year, is this year’s recipient of the Excellence in Manufacturing Award.

Presented annually by the Youngstown / Warren Regional Chamber and regional partner MAGNET, the award is given to a chamber member in Trumbull, Mahoning or Columbiana counties that has displayed longevity and excelled in growth, product innovation and achievement.

Winning the award is an “affirmation of what we are doing here and the vision we established for this company years back, and the reinforcement that we put the company on a good path to set it up for success,” Rick Organ, Hynes’ president and CEO, said.

“To me, it reinforces and is an affirmation of what we are doing here.”

“I respect there are very strong, capable, qualified companies in this region, and frankly, to be selected amongst all of them for the award, it truly is an honor and a testament to our employees and builds on the legacy of Hynes,” Organ said.

The award will be presented Thursday at the chamber Economic Forecast breakfast at Eastwood Event Centre.

Hynes Industries, which has its headquarters on Henricks Road in Austintown, will hit the 100-year milestone in 2025. The company produces parts primarily for four industries: automated material handling, truck trailer, solar and commercial and industrial, the last of which is related to commercial building and construction.

At its three locations — the others are in the Cleveland suburb of Painesville and Kokomo, Indiana — the company employs about 200 people, about 80% of which are in Austintown.

The company produces parts for several well-known companies, including the racking systems used by Walmart to move goods at the retail giant’s automated warehouses and the framing used to make the large, 53-foot trailers that semitrailers haul.

In the solar industry, the company produces the structural components for solar arrays.

Hynes Industries also works with companies like Trane and Siemens on the commercial and industrial side, as well as making the rear step used on the Rivian electric delivery vans by Amazon.

In addition, the company is readying its first shipment for Amazon of a production component the online giant uses for its robotic system at its distribution facilities. Organ said the initial delivery will be sent in early December.

In the previous three years, the company has invested $23 million to advance its operations, largely at the Austintown site, and to better deliver for customers. During the same span, the company brought on about 20 people in engineering and quality departments.

Among the investments is a new approximately $10 million advanced capability in-line weld mill at the Austintown facility on Henricks Road that came online this year.

The investment — the single-largest in the history of Hynes — gives the company the ability to create shapes to be welded in-line to a form, giving the part added strength. The mill also incorporates laser welding and embossing, eliminating the need for the products to be sent to costly secondary operations.

The line includes a new 400 ton press that was built in South Korea.

Also, $2.5 million was spent to install fully automated robotic weld cells in Austintown. The machines, which are expected to be in the Austintown plant in November, give Hynes the ability to do more part assembly rather than making one-off components.

“These are all new capabilities to Hynes. That is part of the vision we had is to invest in new capabilities in order for us to take on more complex and challenging opportunities and in return, bring more value to our customers,” Organ said.

At the same time, the company has invested in its employees through robust training. Each receives 40 hours per year, but some workers, like those in set up and operators, get upward of 500 hours per year.

“It’s an investment. If we don’t do this, we can’t simply rely on buying equipment as a means to build capacity because the people need to be able to operate that equipment and quite frankly, it takes skills that are new to many people,” Organ said.

Said Kim Calvert, senior vice president of marketing and member services at the chamber, “We are honored to recognize Hynes Industries for its growth, as well as investment in, and ongoing commitment to, our community — and celebrate the company’s century in business. Hynes’ leadership has worked to stay on top of workforce dynamics, industry changes and customers’ changing needs to ensure success.”

Past recipients of the award include Boardman Molded Products, 2017; Haltec Corporation, 2018; Quality Switch Inc., 2019; Panelmatic Building Solutions, 2020; Commercial Metal Forming, 2021; Schaefer Equipment, a Division of Wabtec Corporation, 2022; and Millwood, Inc., 2023.