Kickstart: There's a new party interested in the housewares market

The housewares side of the plastics industry may seem a bit chaotic right now, but perhaps it's better to think of it as simply being in transition.

The big headlines, of course, have centered around Tupperware Brands Corp., the company that essentially created the plastic food storage business in the 1950s but entered Chapter 11 under the U.S. Bankruptcy Court this month.

Some of the recent uncertainty may be ripple effects of Bed, Bath and Beyond's closure in 2023, taking with it one of the biggest retail platforms for housewares.

But none of that means investments and interest has disappeared. A new player is now entering the arena as Creo Group Inc. — created just three months ago by the private equity owner of nursery and horticulture supply companies Nursery Supplies Inc. and Summit Plastics Co. — has purchased 105-year-old United Solutions Inc., a maker of Rubbermaid-brand totes, laundry items, home gardening supplies and other storage products.

While specific plans for United Solutions under Creo, owned by private equity's Mill Point Capital LLC, weren't specified, officials said the deal will allow Creo to grow across multiple end markets and locations.

Outdoor furniture maker Polywood and bottled water company Niagara thinks we could also use another buddy. So the companies are working with the Sammie's Buddy Bench Project to provide nearly 60 benches made of recycled high density polyethylene to locations throughout the U.S.

The Buddy Bench program, created by Sammie Vance of Fort Wayne, Ind., in 2017 when she was 8 years old, supplies benches at schools and public spaces. When kids are feeling lonely or are looking for someone to play with, they take a seat on the bench so others know they're looking for a friend.

The program has provided more than 500 benches nationwide since then, and from the start has used recycled HDPE for the material.

Polywood and Niagara Cares, the nonprofit arm of Niagara Bottling, are working with environmental nonprofit group EarthX on the project. Groups selected to participate with the Niagara and Polywood Buddy Bench program must collect 1,000 pieces of HDPE plastics for recycling.

One of the best ways to help people of all ages read more is to make it easier to get books in their hands. A New Jersey location of plastic sheet and rod supplier Curbell Plastics is helping to do just that by supplying polycarbonate for "book ark" structures throughout Camden County.

Tom Martin began placing the arks (there's a copyright on the name Little Free Library) throughout the community in 2017. These small pop-up locations are located where visitors can drop off books they don't need or pick up something new to read.

But the structures that hold the books wear out. That's where Curbell's Mooresville, N.J., facility stepped in, supplying polycarbonate sheets to replace all of the damaged acrylic panels placed into doors that allow patrons to see what's inside.

"When Tom Martin … mentioned that replacing the broken acrylic windows was one of their major ongoing expenses, we knew Curbell could step in and help," Michael Cranston, Curbell Plastics business manager, said in a news release.