Custom Plastic Products’ Role in Our Nation’s Recovery

Custom plastic products are an integral part of this Country’s economic development and recovery. There is no more versatile material on the planet for use in electronics, medical, automotive, defense, consumer products, toys, and the list goes on. The inventors and entrepreneurs this country generates are well served by considering plastics for a broad range of applications.

Polycarbonate Housing with Inserts

Physical properties for plastics range from gel-like elastomers used in overmoldings and as cushioning grommets, to fiberglass and mica filled plastics replacing steel components. They can have anti-microbial, fire-retardant, and food grade properties, UV and chemical resistance, and be electrically insulating, dissipative, or conductive.

Plastics can be clear, translucent, black (and any color in between), or accept a broad range of coloring effects such as metal flake filled, flip colors, swirling, and iridescent.

They can be made to sink or float and are recyclable. Over and over again.

Custom plastic products can be overlaid with a printed film using a process called hydro-graphics, often used for camouflaging products. They can be pad printed, screen printed, hot stamped, painted, engraved, annealed, or sterilized.

While of course there are applications where plastics simply won’t work, this versatility combined with the low cost of manufacturing make custom plastic products unmatched in the realm of product development. The low quality and increasing costs of overseas manufacturing has put American manufacturers and the businesses that support them in a unique position for our recovery. Our resource rich nation can continue to be the driving force for innovation globally if we use those resources wisely. Plastics included.

So if you have a product or idea that serves a want or need, and are trying to decide the best material to use, there’s a good chance plastic has something to offer.