Custom Fibreglass Manufacturing history

In the 1960’s, the marine market was the largest consumer of composite materials.

In 1961, the first carbon fiber was patented and several years later, became commercially available.

In 1965 SNUGTOP produced its first topper for the original Datsun mini truck.

In 1970, Mar-Bal began to make custom-molded breakers for several applications including:

Arrowhead’s first fiberglass molding facility was in Muncie, Indiana and was founded in March of 1972 in a 1600 square foot building.

The company’s reputation for quality led to long-­term contracts with major auto manufacturers, beginning with Subaru in 1979.

Carfair Composites, formerly known as Carlson Engineered Composites, Carlson Structural Glass and Carlson Decorating & Sandblasting has been operating since 1980.

In 1989 SNUGTOP was acquired by its current owners; led by company president Hartmut W. Schroeder.

By the mid 1990’s, composite materials became more common in mainstream manufacturing and construction.

In 1993, in recognition of Bakelite’s significance as the first synthetic plastic, the American Chemical Society designated Bakelite a National Historic Chemical Landmark.

In 1996, Arrowhead bought a building in Eaton, Indiana and created a separate thermoforming division of Arrowhead Plastic Engineering.

SNUGTOP contracted with Budget Rent-­A-­Car Corp. in 1997 to provide Snuglids for over 40,000 pickups.

The company achieves ISO 9001:2000 certification and establishes commercial production of light resin transfer molding (LRTM).