Petoskey Plastics Expands to Texas

Petoskey Plastics is investing $30 million to expand its PE film, recycling and resin manufacturing business by building a new plant in McKinney, Tex.

The COVID-19 pandemic pushed the company over capacity and created high customer demand for its blown film products such as trash bags, construction sheeting, and automotive seat covers. A combination of converting and extrusion lines in the Texas facility will increase output by approximately 15% over the next 12 months to help meet this growing demand. Petoskey Plastics currently manufactures blown film products with post-consumer recycled content in Petoskey, Mich., Hartford City, Ind., and Morristown, Tenn.

Said Paul Keiswetter, Petoskey Plastics chairman and CEO,  “This expansion is an exciting one for us. We are greatly increasing our ability to service current customers and adding new opportunities for our growing sustainable product lines, while operating in a highly desirable location with a small-town feel.”

The existing building is more than 53,000 ft². Building expansion is scheduled for completion in August 2022 and includes an additional 40,000 to 60,000 ft² square feet for converting and warehouse space, nine silos, and rail spurs. Stated Jason Keiswetter, company president,  “This facility will give us the opportunity to be closer to our raw material suppliers in the Gulf and will help us service our West Coast customers. We will be cutting our delivery time in half for both raw material and finished goods and will be more competitive, overall. This plant will start production as early as April and receive the most state-of-the art equipment available in the blown film market space over the coming months.”

Petoskey Plastics plans to grow the Texas facility to a total of approximately 130,000 ft² within five years. Said Matt Mihelich, plant manager, “McKinney is an exciting and growing area we feel will be a great match for our equally exciting and growing business. We are eagerly looking forward to establishing a best-in-class facility in the community.”

Companywide, Petoskey Plastics currently employs 564:  451 full-time and 113 part-time and temporary. Initially, the company plans to hire 20 associates to fill seven positions to open the facility in Texas. After the building expansion, they will add 55 new jobs. 

Jason Keiswetter said, “Over the next three to five years, we will continue to invest in top equipment and training for our associates. We are very proud of this new expansion and confident it will give us a competitive edge in the future.”