Plastics News publishes our 2015 ranking of North American Thermoformers today. In print, we rank the top 100, but online (plasticsnews.com/rankings/thermoformers) we've got full data for 228 companies. Let's take a look at some of the numbers behind the ranking.
The average sales per company is $50.3 million, up $1.6 percent. Looking at those firms who filled out our survey, along with firms filing public documents, we know that packaging sales grew an average 7 percent. Industrial thermoformers were largely steady, although if a firm experienced growth, it averaged about 10 percent.
Something new this year is the highlight of the rankings biggest changes. The largest sales gain goes to Dart Container Corp., a food packaging firm in Mason, Mich. The biggest gain by percentage goes to custom thermoformer, Paragon Plastics Inc., of Cocoa, Fla. The biggest mover goes to Plastics Unlimited Inc. of Preston, Iowa, a maker of trays and large parts.
Other notable movers include:
• Premier Plastics Inc. of Salt Lake City, moving up 30 spaces.
• Paragon Plastics Inc. of Cocoa, Fla., moving up 22 spaces.
• Associated Thermoforming Inc. of Berthoud, Colo., moving up 15 spaces.
• Empire West Inc. of Graton, Calif., moving up 13 spaces.
• LT Plastics Corp. of Freeport, N.Y., moving up 11 spaces.
• Nelipak Healthcare Packaging of Cranston, R.I., moving up 11 spaces.
• Piedmont Plastics Inc. of Charlotte, N.C., moving up 8 spaces.
• W.S. Hampshire Inc. of Hampshire, Ill., moving up 8 spaces.
• Lindar Corp. of Baxter, Minn., moving up 8 spaces.
Welcome to the ranking!
The following firms have been added this year:
• Ameriform Inc. of Muskegon, Mich.
• Central Plastics & Manufacturing LLC of Tracy, Calif.
• C+K Plastics Inc. of Metuchen, N.J.
• EasyPak LLC of Leominster, Mass.
• Joslyn Manufacturing Co. Inc. of Macedonia, Ohio
• Orbit Plastics Corp. of Salisbury, Mass.
• Patrick Industries Inc. of Elkhart, Ind.
• Plastech Corp. of Atlanta.
• Rotovac Group Inc. of Milton, Ontario.
In addition to sharing the data this year, let me make a special note about our efforts to gather information about companies' annual resin throughput. Only about half of our listings have a number for the amount of resin processed annually. Over and over we are asked by readers, researchers and financial analysts how much plastics is processed via various processes each year, and we like to answer that question with accurate information. The next time you see a Plastics News survey, consider providing an estimate for this number. As we drill into the supply and demand of raw materials, this figure remains elusive.
The thermoformers rankings — and all our rankings & lists — include full ranking data, with downloads including address information for plant locations – can be found in the Plastics News Store.
If you work for a company that is missing from the ranking, we would like to include you next time. Just sent a note to Hollee Keller at [email protected] or mail your information to Plastics News, P.O. Box 790, Tallmadge, Ohio 44278. All our survey forms are available online at www.plasticsnews.com/section/ranking-surveys.
Thanks to Hollee Keller for the research on this year's ranking.
