Summit Plastics
Gibson: If you were to go out in the plastics industry today and ask who Summit Plastics is, they're going to be like, "Well, that's that guy that's starting to be a burr in our side. It's not that he's wearing people out on price. It's because he picks up the phone and he talks to them.
Tom: A lot of companies will say, "Your call is very important to us." Well, if it's very important to you, then you should answer the phone, and we answer the phone. I get that same feeling when I'm working with Origin Bank, that you're really partnering with somebody, you're working personally with somebody.
Gibson: I don't look at it as banking. I look at it as creating relationships.
Tom: Actually, I do have him on my favorites list.
Gibson: Tom, living in the northeast, was a consultant that had been hired to come down here and do an overall evaluation of the company. Well, I think that's when he figured out that there was a diamond in the rough here.
Tom: It had the nucleus of success. What it really needed was just somebody who could focus specifically on Summit Plastics, and it needed to be structured financially.
Gibson: Where Summit Plastics was then to where it is now and the overall increase in profitability and efficiency and increasing the market presence to a national level.
Tom: And with Gibson and Origin Bank's help, we were able to structure the company such that it was well-capitalized for not only working capital, but also growth and expansion.
I worked in private equity for nine years, and during that time, I was able to work with a lot of banks, big and small. I would have to rank Origin Bank right at the top of that list.
Tom: I think even a better indication of the reputation that Origin Bank has is when I was looking to buy the company. As I pulled that thread, as I went through a series of networking, I came across a bank in Georgia, and they said, "Tom, it's not our sweet spot, but we can tell you who to work with," which I think says quite a bit, that they're getting recommendations from their competition.
And that's how I actually found Origin Bank. ♪ [music] ♪