Maureen R. Steinwall
Steinwall, Inc.
Inducted 2015
Dr. Steinwall (1954 – ) has had a multi-faceted career. After starting her career as a public accountant (CPA) and switching to a marketing manager at Honeywell, Maureen joined her father’s injection molding company, Steinwall, Inc., in 1983. Carl Steinwall called his tax accountant daughter to ask how to sell his company. Maureen responded, “You sell it to your daughter,” he replied, “What does a girl want with a manufacturing company?” Her answer was, “The same reason a boy does.” She later purchased the company from Carl in 1987.
Maureen grew her custom thermoplastic injection molding company. Throughout this time, she was very active with SPI (now PLASTICS), where she held several committee chairs and board positions. She was often the only woman attending the plastic industry meetings and masterfully introduced diversity into the all-male conversations. Several years later, she observed that more women were attending the industry meetings than men, so she felt her efforts did, in fact, open doors.
During her 38 years at Steinwall, Maureen created, published, and freely distributed the Steinwall Material Selection Poster, widely used throughout many industries. In 1991, she also created “Orient Me,” an orientation software that serves as a model for new hires. She gave her software intellectual property to SPI for distribution to members.
She was the first to implement iPads (2010) on injection molding machines and workstations for instruction and other electronic communication. The iPads standardize and control all knowledge within Steinwall, Inc. This knowledge management innovation earned Maureen the International Manufacturing Leadership Mastery Award.
In 2009, Steinwall, Inc. won the International Design Award for designing and manufacturing the John Deere Seed Tube. Farmers credit this solution with perfecting seed placement, resulting in increased yields.
Dr. Steinwall also taught doctorate-level classes in contemporary management leadership strategies. Maureen spoke at over 100 industry conferences, sharing her humanistic management strategies. Steinwall often says, “All plastics companies can purchase the same resins and equipment; the competitive advantage is the human element. Managing the people in our plastic companies using humanistic strategies is our future.”
The plastics industry and her community have taken multiple opportunities to recognize her achievements. She is a member of the Minnesota Women Business Owner Hall of Fame. Steinwall, Inc. was chosen as John Deere Supplier of the Year in 2010 and won the 2012 U.S. Plastics Processor of the Year award sponsored by Plastics News. She is an active member of the Plastic Pioneer Association and the Plastics Industry Association.
Maureen graduated from the University of Minnesota with a bachelor’s degree and a master’s in Business Administration (MBA). She completed the Owner and President Management Program at Harvard Business School before earning her Ph.D. from Capella University. She completed her educational journey by earning a Master’s in Business Analytics from Iowa State University.
2013 Plastics News Executive Forum
2010 Processor of the Year Finalist