JM Eagle history

In 1985, a group of investors acquired the empty shell, changed the name to Blackhawk Holdings, Inc., and began operating in the field of financial services.

When this venture failed, the board decided to make a fresh start and in 1992 brought in four members of Spell Capital Partners as directors.

Eagle Plastics had 100 employees in 1993 and revenues of $24.2 million for the first 11 months of the year.

Sinks, James, “Pacific Western Plastics Makes Recycled Pipes to Control Landfill Runoff,” Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News, August 24, 1994.

In 1995, parent company Simpson Investment decided to concentrate on its paper and timber business and sold PWPipe to Mitsubishi Chemical for about $85 million.

However, an economic contraction in Asia, starting in the fall of 1997, pushed Mitsubishi to seek a buyer for PWPipe.

The infrastructure improvements paid off in 1998, as total pounds sold rose 13 percent, compared to industry-wide growth of 1 percent.

A leadership change also took place in 2001: Jim Rash retired in February from his position as president and was replaced by Larry Fleming.

In a further effort to improve its financial condition, PW Eagle entered into an agreement in March 2002 to sell and lease back several of its facilities.