Iowa-based thermoformer Plastics Unlimited expands

Preston, Iowa-based thermoformer Plastics Unlimited Inc. built a $4 million, 30,000-square-foot addition — its second in four years — to meet demand for composite parts as it grows with customers.

The expansion created about 45 jobs — bringing the total staff to 140 people — and it adds space for assembly, warehousing and manufacturing equipment and robots.

"We have been growing in agriculture, construction, medical, aerospace and industrial," owner Dakota Kieffer said in an email about the expansion.

Founded in 1993, Plastics Unlimited produces custom thermoformed plastics and urethane products. The family-run businesses specializes in patented toolless engineered composites (TEC) that it says combines the speed of thermoforming with the strength and durability of composites.

Plastics Unlimited now operates out of a 130,000-square-foot place after a previous 30,000-square-foot expansion in September 2019 just ahead of the COVID-19 pandemic that started in March 2020. Business slowed for a couple of months as the illness spread, government lockdowns were enforced and materials were limited, but Kieffer said the 2020 lull didn't last long.

Related: Plastics Unlimited expands in Iowa, adds 15 jobs

Since then, sales have almost tripled.

"We have grown to all three shifts and many new customers," Kieffer said. "Much of our growth has been from growing work within our customers that we have been supplying for many years that we have great relationships with."

These customers include John Deere, which turned to the plastics processor to manufacture its new articulated dump truck grill.

As part of its latest investment, Plastics Unlimited invested in two dual-arm robotic cells, which increase efficiency by almost three times compared with the older computer numerically controlled equipment.

"What used to take us about nine minutes to trim some very complex parts can now be trimmed in about three minutes. This will allow us to continue to grow even with challenging labor shortage conditions," the company's Facebook page says.

The company also bought a new three-station rotary thermoformer, which has improved capacity, setup times and decreased scrap rates.

Strong demand is coming from the agriculture market, Kieffer added, but he said that could change with decreasing commodity prices.

"Our outlook is very positive overall, but the economy seems uncertain. The increasing interest rate and inflation have us concerned," Kieffer said.