Today Plastics News publishes the annual ranking of the top 100 North American injection molders. Some 92 of the companies were in the 2012 ranking, meaning we're seeing stability at the top of the injection sector. But a few of the companies are new this year.
Let's take a look at some of the data behind the ranking.
This year, the $65 million cutoff for making the top 100 was 8 percent higher than last year.
The total North American injection molding sales figure for fiscal year 2014 for the top 100 was $26.5 billion, that's up 7.6 percent.
Did private companies do better than public this year? 6 percent growth was the most common number reported in SEC filings.
The automotive market continues to do well. North American car and truck production was up an average of 6 percent: 10 percent in Mexico, and 2 percent in Canada.
As I mentioned, 92 of today's Top 100 were in our 2012 edition. Looking back every 4 years, the drop off is 10 percent, 9 percent and back in 2000, 43 percent — meaning 57 firms are still injection molding. The rest having been acquired, closed or changed processes. So there's definitely been a lot of turnover in the top 100, just not this year.
Welcome to the Top 10:
• U.S. Farathane Corp., the automotive molder in Auburn Hills, Mich. breaks into the top 10 with sales of $500 million, ranked since 1992, we've seen them grow more than 700 percent. Farathane is a former Plastics News Processor of the Year.
Welcome to the Top 100:
• Parkway Products LLC of Florence, Ky.
• Imperial Plastics Inc. of Lakeville, Minn.
The biggest Top 100 movers this year were:
• Medegen Medical Products LLC of Gallaway, Tenn., moving up 100 positions.
• Inoac Interior Systems LLC of Farmington Hills, Mich., up 39.
• Balda C. Brewer Inc. of Anaheim , Calif., up 37.
• Plastikon Industries Inc. of Hayward, Calif., up 21.
• Tribar Manufacturing LLC of Howell, Mich., up 18.
Want more information? Visit our top 100 ranking online at www.plasticsnews.com/rankings/injection-molders. And watch next week's issue for the rest of this year's injection molders' ranking.
If you work for a company that is missing from the ranking, we would like to include you next time. Just send a note to Hollee Keller at [email protected] or mail your information to Plastics News, P.O. Box 790, Tallmadge, Ohio 44278.
Thanks to Hollee Keller for today's peek behind the data and the research on this year's project.
