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MAN OF RECYCLED PLASTIC Jim Turek, CEO of Plasticon Intl. says his company’s recycled plastic products are stronger than comparable steel products - Environmently-Friendly Company Transforms an Industry
Jim Turek is a man on a mission. He wants to prove to the world that his company’s recycled plastic products are not only more cost-effective than comparable steel products, they are stronger as well.
In the last 15 years, Mr. Turek has been a passionate advocate for the use of recycled plastics products in the construction and transportation industries by demonstrating the advantages his company’s patented line of plastic rebar supports and transportation signage have over metal products.
“I understand that people are skeptical,” Mr. Turek said. ”Some people can’t wrap their mind around the concept that recycled plastic can be stronger than steel. But we have demonstrated time and time again, from the laboratory to the actual job site, that our recycled plastic products are stronger and more versatile than comparable steel products. I always say to people that if I were a superhero, I’d rather be the Man of Recycled Plastic than the Man of Steel because recycled plastic is stronger.”
JUST ONE WORD: PLASTICS
Since founding Plasticon International, Inc. Mr. Turek has changed an industry. When Mr. Turek started the company and began to tout the benefits of recycled plastic products, the construction and transportation industries initially did not accept recycled plastic products. However, today they are now becoming widely accepted and are used in many high profile projects across the country.
“Sometimes I feel like a character in ‘The Graduate’. You know the guy who says to Dustin Hoffman – ‘I just want to say one word to you. Just one word: plastics!’ Of course, I felt that he should have been the main character, not Dustin Hoffman,” Mr. Turek said with a laugh. “Some people call me an evangelist for recycled plastics. I guess my main strength has been persistence.”
Due to a number of industry trends, including increased government regulation which favors environmentally-friendly products, the skyrocketing price of steel, and imminent Federal and State spending relating to the recently passed $286 billion transportation bill, Plasticon International Inc. is experiencing a dramatic increase in demand for its products. Plasticon recently announced that the company is profitable as of the second quarter of 2005.
Today, the company’s products are used in all 50 states and territories, every province of Canada, throughout the Caribbean and Latin American, in Europe, the Middle East and in Asia. In the U.S., Plasticon’s products are used everywhere from mission critical sensitive government facilities such as the Los Alamos Laboratory, Wright Patterson Air Force base and Pearl Harbor to North America’s premiere corporate and entertainment facilities such as the Tampa Convention Center, IBM Headquarters in Toronto, Ford Motor Company Headquarters in Toronto, Disney Orlando, Universal Studios, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Plasticon’s products are also currently used in over 200 bridges across the country as well as major roads, highways and other infrastructure nationwide.
Their transportation signage is used on highways in 37 states.
BUILDING A FOUNDATION
Mr. Turek said that he realized early on that there were four key factors that were critical to the long term success of Plasticon International. “First of all, I realized that the construction industry was dependent on steel, which was more expensive and less abundant. So having an incredibly abundant source of raw materials with recycled plastic resins was very important. We realized that there would be a virtually endless supply of reasonably priced resins because of the amount of plastic in landfills in the U.S. Secondly, I thought that it was important to develop our own line of proprietary products so that we would create long term value with the company. Third, our products had to be cost-competitive.
And fourth, in order to be successful I felt that we had to solve a major problem that was not being addressed in the construction industry - spalling and the corrosion of concrete.
Mr. Turek noted that most people don’t realize that rebar supports are used to hold steel reinforcing bars in bridges, buildings, highways, and infrastructure across the country. “Our products are everywhere,” Mr. Turek said. “It’s just that they are invisible to the naked eye. But that’s the way it should be. You should never see our products. The problem with metal rebar supports is that we often see them because they are exposed due to the fact that they cause spalling which leads to corrosion damage and deterioration. The reason for this is that metal supports cannot withstand moisture, chemicals used to treat snow and ice, and chloride ion attack. Chloride ion attack is a process where salt laden water seeps into the concrete and creates an environment where electrical currents flow between positively and negatively charged metal and ultimately consume the metal rebar support.”
Spalling, which leads to corrosion damage, costs the U.S. billions of dollars per year. “The next time you are walking under a bridge, if you look up you will probably see chunks of concrete that have broken off and you will see rusted reinforcing bar exposed,” Mr. Turek said. “We call this corrosion damage in our industry. And that was the problem I knew I had to solve. What if some one could engineer a rebar support that would not be affected by corrosion damage? Our recycled plastic rebar supports are impervious to all of the factors that affect metal rebar supports and in fact will not deteriorate. They are impervious to moisture, do not conduct electricity and will not corrode. We are proud of the fact that we designed and engineered the most advanced rebar support in the marketplace, which solves the issue of spalling and corrosion in concrete as it relates to metal rebar supports, therefore prolonging the use of the structure. We’re also proud of the fact that we were able to accomplish this in an environmentally-friendly manner.”
Turning Point: Exclusive Contract with the Largest Distributor of Building Materials in the U.S.
In the last year, the most significant development at Plasticon International has been the exclusive contract they signed with the largest distributor of building materials in the United States. The company distributes products through 63 strategically located warehouses across the country. As a result of this expansive distribution network, Plasticon’s reach has extended nationwide. “Our close working relationship with our distributor is a key factor to the success of Plasticon International as we move forward. In fact, it makes us the single largest supplier of rebar supports in the country. No one in our industry can come close to our distribution network. We now have the largest distribution network in the industry, giving us an undeniable competitive advantage,” Mr. Turek said.
EARLY STRUGGLES -- LOOKING BACK
But Mr. Turek was not an overnight success. It has taken 15 years to build a base for Plasticon. Since its founding the company has pioneered innovative new products, applied for and received patents that are valued at over $20 million, built an inventory of injection molds that the company owns outright that are presently valued at over $10 million, built relationships with distributors, and applied for Federal and State Department of Transportation (DOT) approvals. Plasticon is currently the only company in its industry with DOT approvals in all 50 states. “It was an arduous process, there’s no question about it,” Mr. Turek said. “But it was worth it. We knew that we had a vision that was worth pursuing. When you are the first to market, you have to be willing to sweat out the early years and make the necessary sacrifices. We were trying to change an industry and this was a Herculean effort.”
While Plasticon enjoys the dominant position as the pioneer in the recycled plastics sector today, Mr. Turek recalled that when the company was founded it was not so easy to convince others to buy into his vision.
When Mr. Turek founded Plasticon International (then called International Plastics, Inc.) the construction industry initially resisted using recycled plastic products. “We certainly had a lot of resistance at first,” Mr. Turek recalled. “When we started, plastic rebar supports were not even in the CRSI (Concrete Reinforcing Steel Institute) manual, which is the bible of the industry. They did not include plastic rebar supports and no engineer or architect would specify plastic rebar supports because they were not in the manual. It took two years of our efforts to get CRSI to include it, which then opened the construction industry up to the use of recycled plastic products.”
There were financial hardships initially as well. “Plasticon was definitely way ahead of its time,” Mr. Turek said. “My wife and I had to take out second and third mortgages to finance the company. At that point, no bank would work with ‘a recycling company’, because they had no lending experience with green companies. We were environmentally-friendly before it became fashionable, as it is today.”
A RARE DISEASE, A RARE DETERMINATION
But Mr. Turek, who grew up in a working class neighborhood in south St. Louis, took all of it in stride because he had overcome obstacles his entire life. “I think my background helps me to keep things in perspective. I grew up in a row house in St. Louis where my parents struggled to make ends meet,” Mr. Turek said. “As a young child, I was diagnosed with a rare debilitating disease called scleroderma, which only 3 people in the country had at that time. I was told by doctors that I would always be physically handicapped and unable to play sports. This was a defining moment in my life.”
Ultimately, Mr. Turek not only overcame this debilitating disease, he went on to play professional football for 2 years, and to live an active, fulfilling life.
“I’ve really lived the American Dream because I’ve been fortunate enough to overcome these obstacles and to pursue my vision as an entrepreneur. When you’ve overcome a potentially crippling disease, I think you gain a renewed appreciation for life and every obstacle you encounter in business or in life seems trivial by comparision.”
Mr. Turek said that he is optimistic about the future of Plasticon International. “We are confident that our products will become the industry standard and will replace steel. I continue to be excited about the market potential for the company’s core products. The market for the rebar support industry is $30 billion per year. The informational signage industry is a $20 billion per year business in the U.S. alone. As we continue to demonstrate the dramatic advantages our engineered recycled plastic products have over metal products, we believe our market share will continue to grow.”
Plasticon International, Inc. (PLNI) is a publicly traded company and is based in Lexington, Kentucky. Company information can be found online at: http://www.plasticonintl.com. .
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Plasticon International, Inc. 3166 Custer Drive, Suite 101 Lexington, Kentucky 40517 859.245.5252 voice 859.245.5105 fax General Information: info@plasticonintl.com Investor Relations: Contact Bill Howe, Investor Relations department at 800-889-0915.
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