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PLENCO CSR Initiative
On April 25, 1934, Frank G. Brotz, along with his
five sons, formed the
American Molded Products Com-
pany
, a family partnership, in Chicago, Illinois. This
company manufactured thermosetting liquid resins,
which were used to cast molded products that includ-
ed handles, knobs, radio cabinets and similar items.
In August 1934, the company was moved to Sheboy-
gan, Wisconsin. The name was changed to Plastics
Engineering Company. A year later, the production
of liquid resins and castings was discontinued in
favor of pressed moldings from dry, granular molding
compounds. These compounds were developed
essentially from cresol-formaldehyde resins, mixed
with dry fibrous and mineral fillers. The company
requirements for molding compounds were relatively
small in those days, and their production was not
economically justified.
During the fall of 1939, the partnership decided to
concentrate its efforts and limited capital exclusively
for a time on the development of its custom molding
department. Many items were molded and finished for
the utensil industry. By 1944, some 200 workers were
employed, molding and finishing phenolic components
for the Army, Navy and Air Force ordnance depart-
ments in connection with the war effort. During the
war years, the firm molded “frangible” bullets, which
were used in the training of aerial gunners. They
also produced numerous electrical parts such as
cable connectors, switch bases, flying suit connec-
tors, earphone bases and electric brake connectors.
After World War II, there was first an acute, and then a
prolonged, national shortage of molding compounds.
The company’s allocations from the various producers
totaled only 20,000 pounds per month. In order for
the firm to survive, the partnership decided in March
1946 to revive its manufacture of molding compounds,
this time from phenol-formaldehyde resins. An ad-
dition to the Geele Avenue plant was built in She-
boygan for this purpose and became operational in
November of that year. Mr. E. H. Beach joined the firm
in November 1946, and his energy and talents were
focused on the manufacturing of phenolic mold-
ing material. Markets for molding compounds and
resins other than for company requirements were
subsequently developed. The molding compound
manufacturing division expanded when the resin
plant on North Avenue was built in 1950. In 1959,
production of melamine and melamine-phenolic resins
and molding compounds was initiated.
The firm grew rapidly during the 1960s and 1970s, with
nine major building expansions made to the resin and
molding material manufacturing plant. A warehouse
complex was constructed in 1969 and expanded in
1976.
This facility enhanced the company’s ability to rapidly
respond to customer orders and to efficiently manage
its raw material and finished goods inventories. On
December 1, 1973, the firm officially opened the doors
to a new and distinctive general office.
Beginning in the 1980s and continuing through the
early 2000s, Plenco embarked on a strategic acquisi-
tion program that strengthened the company’s tech-
nical capabilities and increased its market share. The
expansion program was launched in late 1982 with the
purchase of Genal, General Electric’s line of phenolic
molding compounds, located in Pittsfield, Massachu-
setts. That was followed by the purchase in 1998 of
the Valite brand of phenolic molding compounds from
Valentine Sugars, Inc., of Lockport, Louisiana. During
the same period, a state-of-the-art phenol recovery
plant was built to reclaim phenol from production
condensate for reuse. The process reduces the
discharge waste into the regional wastewater treat-
ment facility while reducing the need for virgin phenol.
A benchmark acquisition occurred in 2000 when
Plenco purchased the Plaslok brand of phenolic
molding compounds and Plas Glas polyester bulk
molding compounds (BMC) from Plaslok Corp. based
in Buffalo, New York. The technology transfer ushered
in Plenco’s production of BMCs that often are used to
replace steel and die cast aluminum because of their
high strength-to-weight ratio at relatively low cost per
cubic inch.
Production facilities continued to grow in response to
the demands of the new acquisitions and the develop-
ment, production and marketing of BMCs. A technical-
ly advanced BMC production facility was constructed
in 2001 for environmentally controlled bulk storage of
high-volume resins along with automatic metering of
resins and key ingredients used in producing BMCs.
Today
Plastics Engineering Company
, selling products
under its trademark PLENCO, remains a closely-held
family corporation that spans three generations. It
furnishes industry with a wide range of ready-made
or custom-formulated molding compounds, industri-
al resins and molded products.
Plastics Engineering
Company
maintains modern production, research,
testing and administrative facilities in Sheboygan,
Wisconsin, and is represented by a fully staffed
technical sales group.
In-Depth History