We hosted #TheBigTable as part of a region-wide initiative organized by The Columbus Foundation. Local leaders joined us for a discussion on the future of work and what we can all do to encourage upskilling and lifelong learning, inclusion, well-being and connection. "The future of work depends on how we invest in people - helping them build new skills, feel included and thrive," said Josie Lewis, MBA, vice president, Human Resources. "Our Big Table conversation reminded me that when people grow, organizations and communities grow, too."
Worthington Enterprises honored more than 140 suppliers this week as part of our annual Supplier Certification Celebration. Forty-two suppliers achieved the Philosophy Award in recognition of their fifth consecutive year of certification. Worthington Enterprises measures suppliers in the categories of quality, delivery and responsiveness as suppliers are an integral part of our ability to design and manufacture high-quality products for customers and to meet our own business goals. Congratulations to Sawmiller for earning the Supplier of the Year award, Cavagna Group and Rand-Whitney for earning this year’s Innovation Award and Veritiv for garnering the Sustainability Award.
Worthington Enterprises released its first quarter 2026 earnings. Joe Hayek, president and CEO, Worthington Enterprises, said, “We started the fiscal year with solid momentum led by strong performance in our Building Products segment. Volume growth in Building Products and increased contributions from WAVE helped drive meaningful earnings improvement, while our Consumer Products team delivered solid results despite a challenging macro environment. Throughout the business, our teams continue to execute well, supported by strong customer relationships, a transformational mindset and a portfolio of market-leading brands that support our long-term growth strategy.”
Our 2025 Awards Celebration honored milestone service anniversaries among our Corporate employees and recognized employees of the year based on our year-long MVP program. We also presented the inaugural John H. McConnell Philosophy Award to our Paducah, Kentucky, team for their outstanding collective work in helping Worthington Enterprises achieve its goals. In announcing the award, Joe Hayek, president and CEO, said, “This team consistently embodied Our Philosophy by implementing a LiveSafe safety culture putting employee health and safety first. Their disciplined and proactive approach to safety is a direct reflection of our people-first values. They demonstrated a high degree of collaboration and mutual support where individuals genuinely care for one another, maintained a customer-centric focus with high attention to detail and customer satisfaction and achieved extraordinary results with a self-driven initiative that embodies the entrepreneurial spirit encouraged by Our Philosophy.”
This week, 19 employees from 10 locations gathered for our Fall Learn and Lead: Empowering Our Managers session. With topics including Clifton Strengths, inclusive leadership, philanthropy, coaching with GROW and more, the program helps develop essential leadership skills through practical, development-focused learning. The curriculum is designed to help attendees gain insights into their managerial style and learn strategies for aligning and applying their leadership approach with Our Philosophy. Participants also worked together on a community service project for a local non-profit organization.
We are grateful to Columbus CEO readers and voters throughout central Ohio for selecting Worthington Enterprises as the manufacturing category winner for the third consecutive year. As we celebrate our 70th anniversary in 2025, this “Best of Business” recognition is a testament to our employees and their shared belief in Our Philosophy that has guided us for decades. While our footprint includes locations throughout the United States and Europe, central Ohio is home to our world headquarters and two manufacturing facilities. Visible from the northern stretch of Ohio’s most heavily traveled interstate (I-270), our Columbus manufacturing campus is a landmark for innovation and leadership in the region and the workforce who leads the way.
As part of our proactive approach to sustainability, our teams recently participated in first-hand experiences such as visiting recycling facilities and landfills. Today, members of our brand marketing, communications, innovation, supply chain and sustainability teams visited the Franklin County Sanitary Landfill to learn what happens to products when they end up there. Insights gained today will impact how we design for sustainability tomorrow. Thank you to Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio (SWACO) for hosting!
Over the past 11 weeks, Worthington Enterprises employees immersed our summer internship class in many areas of our business and how we innovate, transform and lead. For our internship graduation today, we asked our interns to lead the way by presenting their summer-long projects to supervisors, colleagues and our senior leadership team. Thank you to all of our interns for their time, unique strengths and contributions this summer. We hope they enter the fall semester feeling empowered to innovate, thrive and grow.
We’re ready to roll. More than 20 team members will represent Worthington Enterprises and The Worthington Companies Foundation for the annual Pelotonia ride. Thank you to everyone who participates, volunteers and supports this community effort to end cancer.
We kicked off our fiscal year 2026 Leadership Live! series with Ross Bjork, senior vice president and athletics director, The Ohio State University. Each Leadership Live! session connects Worthington Enterprises employees with guest speakers from diverse industries and backgrounds, offering a glimpse into their leadership stories, perspectives and lessons learned. The speaker series is one aspect of our multi-faceted talent development program for all employees to advance their professional skills.
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