Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Sustainable Plastics
  • Rubber News
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Processor News
    • Suppliers
    • More News
    • Digital Edition
    • End Markets
    • Special Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Videos
    • Podcasts
    • Injection Molding
    • Blow Molding
    • Film & Sheet
    • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
    • Rotomolding
    • Thermoforming
    • Recycling
    • Machinery
    • Materials
    • Molds/Tooling
    • Product news
    • Design
    • K Show
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Sustainability
    • Public Policy
    • Material Insights Videos
    • Numbers that Matter
    • Automotive
    • Packaging
    • Medical
    • Consumer Products
    • Construction
    • CFO of the Year
    • Notable Leaders in Sustainability
    • Processor of the Year
    • Best Places to Work
    • Women Breaking the Mold
    • Rising Stars
    • Diversity
    • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
  • Opinion
    • The Plastics Blog
    • Kickstart
    • One Good Resin
    • Pellets and Politics
    • All Things Data
    • Viewpoint
    • From Pillar to Post
    • Perspective
    • Mailbag
    • Fake Plastic Trees
  • Shop Floor
    • Blending
    • Compounding
    • Drying
    • Injection Molding
    • Purging
    • Robotics
    • Size Reduction
    • Structural Foam
    • Tooling
    • Training
  • Events
    • Plastics News Events
    • Industry Events
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Livestreams/Webinars
    • Editorial Livestreams
    • Ask the Expert
    • Plastics News Events Library
    • Plastics News Executive Forum
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Plastics Caps + Closures: A Global Online Event
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
    • Bioplastics Live
    • Numbers that Matter Live
    • PFAS Live
    • Plastics in Politics Live
    • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Polymer Points Live
    • Sustainable Plastics Live
    • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
    • Plastics in Healthcare Library
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
  • Rankings & Data
    • Injection Molders
    • Blow Molders
    • Film Sheet
    • Thermoformers
    • Pipe Profile Tubing
    • Rotomolders
    • Mold/Toolmakers
    • LSR Processors
    • Recyclers
    • Compounders - List
    • Association - List
    • Plastic Lumber - List
    • All
  • Directory
  • Resin Prices
    • Resin Prices Overview
    • Commodity Thermoplastics
    • High Temperature Thermoplastics
    • Engineering Thermoplastics
    • Recycled Plastics
    • Thermosets
    • Europe - Virgin
    • Europe - Recycled
    • Europe - Feedstock
  • Custom
    • Sponsored Content
    • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
    • Conair Sponsored Content
    • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
    • ENGEL Sponsored Content
    • White Papers
    • Classifieds
    • Place an Ad
    • Sign up for Early Classified
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. News
July 02, 2020 10:35 AM

Essential medical products, essential oils add growth for thermoformer Premier Plastics

Catherine Kavanaugh
Senior Reporter
Plastics News Staff
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Premier Plastics

    Premier Plastics founder and President Jim Holbrook

    Salt Lake City-based thermoformer Premier Plastics Inc. is adding machinery and employees as it grows with customers after looking out for front-line workers during the pandemic.

    Founded in 1989, the packaging manufacturer invested $1 million in a Sencor 2500 Ultra thermoformer with automation, hired six people and added a third shift.

    The growth is driven in part by demand for packaging for products that can bring an air of comfort to people at a time of unprecedented health and economic worries.

    "Several regular clients have seen increases in their volumes, and it is related to people staying home because of COVID-19. They make home aromatherapy products," Premier Plastics founder and President Jim Holbrook said in a phone interview. "With everybody staying home, sales have skyrocketed for them."

    There's a sweet smell of success for Premier Plastics, too. This year sales are expected to rise to about $16 million for the company, which also serves the medical, nutraceutical, beauty, retail and consumer electronics markets with medical-grade, food-grade and anti-static packaging.

    "We're on track right now to show a 70 percent sales increase over last year," Holbrook said, pointing to the home goods and medical markets as the main drivers.

    Premier Plastic's website shows it won a 2018 packaging award for a product called Australian Dreams essential oils. Essential oils used in aromatherapy are typically extracted from plants and distilled. The highly concentrated oils may be inhaled directly or indirectly.

    The Mayo Clinic says aromatherapy is thought to work by stimulating smell receptors in the nose, which then send messages through the nervous system to the part of the brain that controls emotions.

    Some studies have shown that aromatherapy might have health benefits, including relief from anxiety and depression, improved sleep and improved quality of life, particularly for people with chronic health conditions, the clinic's website says.

    For Australian Dreams, Holbrook said Premier Plastics designed a tray made of recycled PET to hold the 10 bottles of various scents of essential oils. One of the plastic company's box manufacturers, All Packaging, handles the colorful printing of the kangaroo image on the boxes.

    Premier Plastics

    Premier Plastics Inc. invests $1 million in a thermoformer and adds a third shift as it grows in medical and products for aromatherapy, both in high demand as consumers cope with the pandemic.

    Medical demand up, too

    In addition to home goods, Premier Plastics is producing more packaging for the medical market. The business has remained opened as an essential service with some clients supplying components and support materials for COVID-19 testing kits, Holbrook said.

    "We're seeing quite a bit of volume increase in that segment as well," he added.

    For the medical market, Premier Plastics produces packaging that can withstand sterilization, storage, shipment and delivery while offering security, safety and traceability. The company has been serving this market since its early days when it manufactured individual polycarbonate trays for contact lenses.

    "Thermoforming polycarbonate is tricky," Holbrook said. "We have focused over the years on the tough jobs — the ones that other thermoformers wouldn't do because of the physical aspect or the tooling aspects. We don't do salad containers or cookie trays."

     

    Adding a workhorse

    Before the pandemic boosted packaging sales for home goods and medical packaging, Premier Plastics was seeing steady growth. However, one machine, a Sencorp 2200, was being used less, Holbrook said. It was a 1970s model that had been rebuilt in the early 1980s, he added.

    "We had an older piece of equipment — not an original piece but from early on — and it had a good, long life," Holbrook said. "We decided to let it go to somebody that could use it. We sold it to a local machine dealer and that gave us the good excuse to get another machine."

    The company went with the Sencorp 2500, which Holbrook likens to a workhorse. Equipped with Sencorp's proprietary, robotic off-load system, the machine is up to 70 percent faster than previous models and includes in-line steel rule tools. These tools are designed to shorten production times by allowing the Premier Plastics team to perform changeovers within hours, not days, which is a significant cost savings.

    "That machine gives us 1½ times the output than my other machines," Holbrook said. "We're talking about buying another one soon and replacing an 8-year-old machine. We have a very modern fleet."

    To keep up with packaging demand, Premier Plastics also has gone from two full shifts to three and brought on new employees for material handling, production and quality control.

    "We're contemplating going to four shifts," Holbrook said, noting he has 49 employees now.

     

    Meeting needs for PPE

    While adjusting for its growth spurts, Premier Plastics also produced 350,000 disposable face shields in March and April for health care workers treating patients fighting the deadly respiratory virus.

    The company dedicated 20 percent of its production capabilities to make the three components — face shield, headband and top cover — out of recycled PET when personal protective equipment was in short supply in the U.S.

    Premier Plastics produced about 10,000 face shields a day, or 50,000 a week, for distribution to health care facilities and their staffs and hard-hit communities like a Navajo reservation.

    "We created something we could run very quickly, and we were able to send them around the world," Holbrook said.

    Depending on the end user, some were sold to cover the production cost but most were donated to nonprofit organizations.

    "We have a great team," Holbrook said. "They're my biggest asset and then the equipment."

    RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
    People in plastics: Week of Nov. 27, 2023
    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Do you have an opinion about this story? Do you have some thoughts you'd like to share with our readers? Plastics News would love to hear from you. Email your letter to Editor at [email protected]

    Most Popular
    1
    PVC, PS prices drop in November
    2
    Plastics Industry Association, Radoszewski file paperwork to settle legal battles
    3
    North American injection press shipments drop for the quarter
    4
    Judge dismisses PFAS class-action suit that targeted range of materials companies
    5
    Don't undersell impact of plastics treaty talks
    SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE NEWSLETTERS
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    Find more newsletters at plasticsnews.com/newsletters.

    You can unsubscribe at any time through links in these emails. For more information, see our Privacy Policy.

    Get our newsletters

    Staying current is easy with Plastics News delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge.

    Subscribe today

    Subscribe to Plastics News

    Subscribe now
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram

    Plastics News covers the business of the global plastics industry. We report news, gather data and deliver timely information that provides our readers with a competitive advantage.

    Contact Us

    1155 Gratiot Avenue
    Detroit MI 48207-2997

    Customer Service:
    877-320-1723

    Resources
    • About
    • Staff
    • Editorial Calendar
    • Media Kit
    • Data Store
    • Digital Edition
    • Custom Content
    • People
    • Contact
    • Careers
    • Sitemap
    Related Crain Publications
    • Sustainable Plastics
    • Rubber News
    • Tire Business
    • Urethanes Technology
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Processor News
        • Injection Molding
        • Blow Molding
        • Film & Sheet
        • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
        • Rotomolding
        • Thermoforming
        • Recycling
      • Suppliers
        • Machinery
        • Materials
        • Molds/Tooling
        • Product news
        • Design
      • More News
        • K Show
        • Mergers & Acquisitions
        • Sustainability
        • Public Policy
        • Material Insights Videos
        • Numbers that Matter
      • Digital Edition
      • End Markets
        • Automotive
        • Packaging
        • Medical
        • Consumer Products
        • Construction
      • Special Reports
        • CFO of the Year
        • Notable Leaders in Sustainability
        • Processor of the Year
        • Best Places to Work
        • Women Breaking the Mold
        • Rising Stars
        • Diversity
        • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
      • Newsletters
      • Videos
      • Podcasts
    • Opinion
      • The Plastics Blog
      • Kickstart
      • One Good Resin
      • Pellets and Politics
      • All Things Data
      • Viewpoint
      • From Pillar to Post
      • Perspective
      • Mailbag
      • Fake Plastic Trees
    • Shop Floor
      • Blending
      • Compounding
      • Drying
      • Injection Molding
      • Purging
      • Robotics
      • Size Reduction
      • Structural Foam
      • Tooling
      • Training
    • Events
      • Plastics News Events
        • Plastics News Executive Forum
        • Injection Molding & Design Expo
        • Plastics Caps + Closures: A Global Online Event
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
      • Industry Events
      • Injection Molding & Design Expo
      • Livestreams/Webinars
      • Editorial Livestreams
        • Bioplastics Live
        • Numbers that Matter Live
        • PFAS Live
        • Plastics in Politics Live
        • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
        • Polymer Points Live
        • Sustainable Plastics Live
      • Ask the Expert
      • Plastics News Events Library
        • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
        • Plastics in Healthcare Library
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
    • Rankings & Data
      • Injection Molders
      • Blow Molders
      • Film Sheet
      • Thermoformers
      • Pipe Profile Tubing
      • Rotomolders
      • Mold/Toolmakers
      • LSR Processors
      • Recyclers
      • Compounders - List
      • Association - List
      • Plastic Lumber - List
      • All
    • Directory
    • Resin Prices
      • Resin Prices Overview
      • Commodity Thermoplastics
      • High Temperature Thermoplastics
      • Engineering Thermoplastics
      • Recycled Plastics
      • Thermosets
      • Europe - Virgin
      • Europe - Recycled
      • Europe - Feedstock
    • Custom
      • Sponsored Content
      • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
      • Conair Sponsored Content
      • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
      • ENGEL Sponsored Content
      • White Papers
      • Classifieds
        • Place an Ad
        • Sign up for Early Classified