Typically people think plastics companies benefit when metal prices go up. But a custom injection molder in Morenci, Mich., discovered a big potential drawback, when an employee allegedly took $90,000 worth of brand-new molds and sold them for scrap -- for $540.

The story comes from The Daily Telegram in Adrian, Mich., which reports on the mystery of the missing molds at Palm Plastics Ltd. A scrap dealer in Ohio paid about $90 each for 10 molds. The price was based on their weight -- about 50 pounds each.

Unfortunately, they were melted down before police (and the company) could recover them.

The employee who allegedly took the molds claimed he thought they "were going to be thrown out," and "he felt he was doing the company a favor by hauling them away," according to the story.

Sounds more than a little suspicious. I think workers know the difference between a new tool and scrap metal.