Rotomolding by the numbers

This week's Plastics News has our annual ranking of North American rotational molders. Here is a look behind the data.

This year we're ranking 122 firms, with rotational molding sales of $2.36 billion. That is higher than last year's total by just under 1 percent.

It is interesting to examine the annual totals over the last few years. $71 million was added for the 2014 fiscal year and $17 million for fiscal 2016, still growing but at a slower pace. The average sales per firm is also still growing, $18.5 million then compared to $19.3 million now.

For those firms reporting sales growth, the average increase was 23 percent, but with a wide range of 3 to 100 percent.

Most notable in this year's listing are the acquisitions, both for private equity and consolidation. In fact, 8 percent of our ranked firms reported some type of sale during 2016.

We said goodbye to Englehart Moulding Corp., which stopped production mid-2016 so that Rick Englehart could retire, and hello to Simplay3 Co. of Streetsboro, Ohio, so that Tom Murdough could unretire.

These are the fastest moving companies:

• Michael Bros. Inc. of Prescott, Ariz., moved up seven spaces to rank at No. 89.

• Allied Resin Technologies LLC of Leominster, Mass., moved up six spaces to rank at No. 105.

• Custom Roto-Molding Inc. of Caldwell, Idaho, moved up six spaces to rank at No. 68.

• Endurequest Corp. of Porterville, Calif., moved up six spaces to rank at No. 104.

• Faribo Manufacturing Co. of Faribault, Minn., moved up six spaces to rank at No. 94.

• Rochester Rotational Molding Inc. of Rochester, Ind., moved up six spaces to rank at No. 94.

• Carris Rotational Moulders Inc. of Aurora, Ontario, moved up five spaces to rank at No. 114.

• Roto Plastics Corp. of Adrian, Mich., moved up five spaces to rank at No. 101.

• Wes Industries Inc. of Princeville, Quebec, moved up five spaces to rank at No. 111.

Make sure to check out the ranking in the August 14 print edition of Plastics News. See our website for the full listing of 122 firms. www.plasticsnews.com/rankings/rotomolders.

We also sell the ranking data in the Data Store section of our website at www.plasticsnews.com/section/store.

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.

And thanks to Hollee Keller, for this look behind the data. Follow her on Twitter at @holleekeller.