Kickstart: Investing for more growth

Investments in plastics molding and recycling may be providing examples of how companies remain confident in the industry.

Let's start with Greif Corp., a $5 billion global company specializing in large-scale reusable packaging such as barrels, jerrycans and intermediate bulk containers. While the company works across multiple materials with steel- and paper-based products, its newly established Custom Polymer Solutions business unit will provide greater focus for growth, Plastics News' Jim Johnson writes.

That will also include putting more money into its production of smaller plastic packaging along with caps and closures.

"We're investing in this business for growth," both internally and through acquisitions, said Patrick Mullaney, chief business unit officer for the new CPS business.

And in Indiana, resin maker Nova Chemicals has opened a film recycling plant able to process 150 million pounds of post-consumer polyethylene per year. The site is focused on recovering linear low density PE pallet wrap sourced from national retailers' distribution centers in the region.

Working with film maker Novolex Holdings, Nova will convert incoming LLDPE into new film that is approved for use in food packaging.

"This is a key growth area for us," Nova CEO Roger Kearns said in an interview with PN's Frank Esposito in Connersville, Ind. "It's a push to prove that film recycling, which isn't easy to do, can be taken all the way through to food applications."

It's hard to imagine another company active in the plastics industry with as much history to it as Saint-Gobain.

The brand names of its companies — such as CertainTeed, a maker of vinyl siding, shingles and insulation — may be better known than its formal name, Compagnie de Saint-Gobain SA, but Saint-Gobain is marking its 360th anniversary in 2025 with a marketing campaign focused on how its offerings help the modern world. In a series of videos on its website and YouTube, Saint-Gobain officials begin the celebration by looking at how homebuilders are using CertainTeed products to build sustainable homes.

The company began in 1665 as a maker of mirrors and expanded during the Industrial Revolution to add windows and skylights. It began making insulation in the 1920s, adding other construction products through in-house developments and acquisitions.

Crocs Inc. had a very good year in 2024, marking record sales of $4.1 billion — a 4 percent boost — for the maker of casual pliable polymer footwear.

The Colorado-based company also saw 4 percent growth for its Crocs brand throughout the year, showing solid performance for the brand.

The past year also marked the introduction of the "Keep it Going Classic Clog," made with 25 percent recycled content, sourced from old pairs turned in to the company and its retailers.

"I want to thank every Crocs fan who brought in or sent back their old Crocs shoes so we could explore ways to give them a new life. This type of circularity program only works when consumers engage and are willing to do some good in the world together," Deanna Bratter, chief sustainability officer, said in introducing the shoes.