Plaskolite making sheet for shields, protective gear

Plastics sheet leader Plaskolite LLC is churning out products that are contributing to efforts fighting the spread of COVID-19.

All 10 of Plaskolite's plants are making thin plastic sheet used in medical face shields, CEO Mitch Grindley said in a March 31 interview with Plastics News. Glycol-modified PET (PETG) sheet made at those plants is enough to make 3 million shields per week, he added.

Columbus, Ohio-based Plaskolite is also making increased amounts of polycarbonate and acrylic sheet used as protective barriers at retail checkouts, banks and other environments.

"All of our plants are running full out, but it still feels like we're playing catch up with this virus," Grindley said. "Our employees are proud to be doing their part to solve this."

Plaskolite is watching out for its employees by keeping administrators or anyone not essential to production working remotely to limit exposure to production workers. The firm's plants are also disinfected twice a day.

As of March 31, one of Plaskolite's 1,300 employees has been diagnosed with COVID-19. That employee worked at the firm's plant in Linden, N.J. The employee's work area has been deep cleaned and quarantined, Grindley said.

Plaskolite's COVID-19-related products are being sold to fabricators as well as to some OEMs and distributors. Grindley said that Plaskolite's abilities to ship products and to receive raw materials "have been great so far." He added that the firm sources most of its raw materials from within North America.

Products normally made by Plaskolite include sheet made for such products as fighter jet canopies, signage, spa floors and vending machine fronts. Longer-term, Grindley said that the COVID-19 crisis could end up having a positive effect on the plastics industry.

"I think it's going to end up being like 9/11, which changed things like going to the airport," he added. "This is going to create opportunities for a lot of different plastic products that weren't there before."

Based on sales, Plaskolite ranked as North America's 17th largest film and sheet maker in a recent Plastics News ranking, with all of its sales from sheet. The firm has annual sales of more than $550 million.

Plaskolite has made 17 acquisitions in the last 13 years and has been majority owned by investment firm Pritzker Private Capital since 2018.