Soybeans are key to area business
PRESTON, Iowa — An area plastics firm is using soybeans in its recipe for success.
Plastics Unlimited uses soybean resin as a key component of its production of fiberglass products, said Nancy Kieffer, who along with her husband, Terry, started the firm in 1993.
The Kieffers farm soybeans on their century-old farm outside Preston.
“We believe using soybeans this way benefits both the American farmer and our nation,” Nancy Kieffer said.
The company produces products that have a Class A Finish, are lightweight, and incredibly strong.
“We have a unique patent-pending process that no other firm is using, in which we bond fiberglass to a thermo-formed skin,” she said. “Plus, companies like that we utilize a renewable resource, which certainly gives us a marketplace advantage.”
Once the firm receives a query about manufacturing a specific product, its engineering staff determines whether it can produce the product.
For example, if a firm requests a plastics product no more than a quarter inch thick, but still able to support 300 pounds, the firm’s staff must determine if that is possible
“It all depends on what the specifications are,” Keiffer said. “If we can’t meet the specifications, if we believe another firm can do it, then we would recommend that firm.”
If the product is proven viable, a wooden model is made of a prototype. If that model is deemed practical, an aluminum mold is made and plastic sheets are thermo-formed into the desired shape.
More companies are discovering the Kieffers’ unorthodox use of the renewable resource.
Last year, Plastics Unlimited entered into a contract with U-Haul to manufacture about 150 cab extensions daily.
“U-Haul has been pleased with our work quality and we are currently renegotiating the contract,” Kieffer said.
Clients of Plastics Unlimited include Caterpillar, Deere & Co., Bandag, Diamond Reo Trucks, Winnebago, Navistar International and the Bobcat Division of Ingersoll-Rand.
Deere praised Plastics
Unlimited for its production of air scoops for its combines. According to a letter from Dave Lolley, aftermarket engineer for the Moline-based company, Plastics Unlimited “performed beyond expectations.”
The firm’s initial production of 150 scoops has more than tripled. The company also manufactures protective panels. fan shrouds for military use, high-impact doors and a variety of industrial trays.
“We certainly manufacture a lot of trays,” she said. “It could be a tray to hold 16 batteries, or a dozen of some other item. It depends on what the customer wants.”
The company now has 130 employees, including 95 new employees hired in the past year.
Plastics Unlimited has been nationally honored by the Society for Plastics Engineers and by the American Composites Manufacturers Association. It also has been presented with a Venture Award by the State of Iowa for its leadership, innovation and its creation of job opportunities.
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