Overview
Craig Carson, a former Army infantry commander and West Point graduate, has forged a global custom plastics company that counts both direct and indirect exports as his source of business in other countries through personal contact with end-users. Language skills and cultural sensitivity were prerequisites for this approach, as well as close coordination with government organizations such as the US Export-Import Bank and DoC.
Jeco Plastics, a family-owned business in Plainfield, Indiana, just outside of Indianapolis, by passes distributors, going directly to large overseas companies for the development and production of custom plastic products suited to the demanding needs of companies in Germany, France, Mexico, Japan and many other countries.
Sure, they make high tolerance, durable proprietary plastic pallets for a wide variety of customers both in the US and abroad, but it’s their ability to engineer specialty plastic products that also end up in places like the International Space Station (ISS), the interiors of Airbus and in automotive plants for Volkswagen.
Company applications
Mr. Carson, Jeco Owner and CEO, said, “We get calls from these large companies seeking very specialized plastic components like for the door liner for cryogenic containers on the ISS and other highly specialized applications. We are selected because of our unusual process technology and engineering expertise. Apart from our own engineering staff, we work with universities such as Purdue to augment our expertise.”
“One notable experience was being called by a large aerospace defense contractor,” he continued. “They wanted us to manufacture wing ribs for a large drone out of high temperature thermoplastic composite materials with unidirectional carbon fibers. Although the project was subsequentially a victim of budget cuts, it was again our engineering capabilities and unique process technology which attracted this unusual application.”
Supply chain challenges
Supply chain challenges are a never-ending issue with Jeco, especially for machinery parts and materials. “Because we deal with so many of these customized jobs, we are constantly searching for suppliers both here and overseas to fulfill our needs and those of our customers. It’s an ongoing struggle, but one we’ve always been able to solve by applying just in time smart supplier selection decisions. We primarily rely on American suppliers to maintain our supply chain, but occasionally seek out internationally-based suppliers.”
Jeco is noted for extremely strong, high-tolerance engineered specialty products such as plastic pallets and containers thanks to its knowledgeable engineering staff and experience since its founding over 40 years ago. The company focuses on the printing, automotive and aerospace markets worldwide.
For more information about the company and its products, visit www.jecoplastics.com
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