T.O. Plastics history

1953 - Commercialisation of polyester fibres introduces the concept of ‘drip dry’ and ‘non-iron’

1954 - Polystyrene foam (introduced by Dow Chemical Co.)

1955 - First production of high density polyethylene in UK

1956 - Reliant Regal 111, first commercially successful all glass-reinforced-plastic bodied car goes on sale

1957 - First production of polypropylene by Montecatini using Ziegler-Natta catalysts

1958 - First production of polycarbonates (Bayer and General Electric)

1960 - Ethylene-vinyl acetate co-polymers launched by DuPont

The company was founded as Tuscarora Plastics in 1962 by John P. O'Leary, Sr., and Thomas Woolaway, utilizing German technology brought to the United States by Koppers Co. to expand polystyrene into a bubble that could be molded to shape, with the air inside providing insulation.

1965 - Kevlar® is first developed by DuPont

1966 - Blow moulding of fuel tanks introduced

The company began its history as Imperial Plastics in Evansville, Indiana, in 1967.

1970 - First Yellow HDPE pressure pipes for gas introduced into UK by Wavin/British Gas.

Innovation has always been around the corner and by 1971, the company had marketed the first monoblock chair in Canada, the first beverage plastic crates and was the first to manufacture plastic snowmobile coverings.

Carolyn and Myrl founded A&C in 1973 with $5,000 they had saved together.

1976 - Plastics in its great variety of forms becomes the most used type of material in the world

Because of the Faulks’ willingness to adopt a “no customer is too small” strategy, A&C was able to grow into a successful industry “middleman,” and in 1977 the company hit the $1 million sales mark.

Founder Richard “Dick” Smith launched Agri-Industrial Plastics Company in 1978 with one used blow molding machine and four employees.

1979 - Introduction of first commercial mobile/ portable ‘phones

1980 - First production of linear low density polyethylene

His first noteworthy move was the 1981 acquisition of a money-losing vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) plant in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

1982 - First artificial heart made mainly of polyurethane, introduced implanted in a human.

In 1983, Wang acquired Manville Corp.'s bankrupt PVC pipe operations for $20 million cash and a $10 million note.

As if on cue, the construction market recovered in 1984 and the business earned a $5.5 million profit.

Due to continued company growth, the company purchased a facility in Brocton, NY. The company moved to this 100,000 SF building in 1986.

Steady increases followed until 1987, when sales struck a three-year plateau.

The company made its initial public offering in July 1988, raising about $5.6 million by selling about 15 percent of the outstanding stock at $15.50 a share.

Tuscarora Plastics was also growing by acquisition: in 1989 it purchased Plastronic Packaging Corp. and Preferred Plastic Co., the latest of about 25 or 30 small companies acquired since its inception.

Interviewed by Wall Street Transcript in 1990, the younger O'Leary said that most of Tuscarora's manufacturing equipment was being purchased in Germany and that much of its technology for the development of new materials had come from Japan.

In 1991 the company's products were being sold to 1,300 customers in more than 35 states, Canada, and Mexico.

Tuscarora Plastics, which shortened its name to Tuscarora Inc. in 1992, resumed its growth that year, purchased two more companies, expanded its customer base to about five more states, and secured a new plant in Las Cruces, New Mexico--its first industrial facility west of the Mississippi.

In November 1993, Formosa and FIC pooled $2.3 million to rescue Everex Systems, a California manufacturer of "high-end" personal computers, and Wang installed daughter Cher at its head.

Tuscarora's sales of nonfoam products and integrated materials--packaging made of wood, thermoformed plastics, corrugated cardboard, molded pulp paper, collapsible aluminum shipping crates, or combinations of those materials&mdashcounted for 13 percent of all sales in 1994.

Tuscarora entered the British market in February 1995 by purchasing M.Y. Trondex Ltd. of Northampton, England.

In 1998, about 19 percent of Tuscarora's net sales came from products manufactured by its integrated-materials facilities and about six percent from its thermoforming facilities.

2000 - First commercial metallocene catalysed polyolefins introduced.

2001 - iPod dreamed up by Tony Fadell, an independent inventor, developed by Apple Computers

2003 - A sustainable European PVC recycling system, Recovinyl, was established

In 2004 Agri-Industrial Plastics was the first non-automotive custom blow molder to invest in multi-layer continuous co-extrusion blow molding capability to produce low perm EPA compliant fuel tanks.

2005 - Polycond project established to look at the potential of conductive polymers

2011 - VinylPlus, a new industry sustainability programme established

2013 - Recovinyl recycles more than one million PVC-U window frames per year in the UK

In 2016, IPL acquired Encore Industries Inc., a plastic container manufacturer and distributor with customers throughout the US and Canada.

In 2017 IPL pursued its growth and acquired Macro Plastics Inc., the largest manufacturer of rigid plastic bulk bins worldwide and a market leader in providing value-added rigid plastic bulk packaging solutions to the agricultural and automotive sectors.

An avid golfer and hunter, Dave earned the distinction of harvesting the largest archery Black Bear taken in New York State in 2020.