Plastics Unlimited
Plastics Unlimited is a privately held, family-owned custom thermoforming, composites, and urethane molding manufacturer in Preston, Iowa, serving enterprise OEMs across agriculture, construction, transportation, medical, material handling, and outdoor recreation with its patented TEC process and AS9100D-certified quality systems.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1993
- HeadquartersPreston, United States
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Plastics Unlimited does
Plastics Unlimited is a custom thermoforming, composites, and urethane molding manufacturer headquartered in a 130,000-square-foot facility in Preston, Iowa. Founded in 1993 on the Kieffer family farm by Terry, Nancy, and Gene Kieffer after health issues from livestock farming prompted a career change, the company started with a single used thermoforming machine in a machine shed. The second generation — Travis Kieffer (COO) and Dakota Kieffer (Sales & Marketing) — assumed co-ownership around 2018 and have since grown revenues approximately five-fold while expanding the facility to its current size and headcount to roughly 140 employees.
The company's core capabilities include vacuum, pressure, and twin-sheet thermoforming (gauges from .040" to .400"+); fiber-reinforced composites using fiberglass and carbon fiber with polyester, vinyl ester, urethane, and epoxy resins; and cast urethane molding with Shore hardness from 25A to 80D. Its flagship offering is the patented TEC (Tooless Engineered Composite)® process, which bonds a thermoformed plastic skin (ABS, TPO) with a structural composite backing, producing Class A finishes at lower tooling costs than RIM, RTM, or SMC and with minimal VOC emissions. In-house design and tooling (Solidworks, MasterCAM, Robot Studio) and 5-axis CNC, 6-axis robotic, and 7-axis waterjet trimming capabilities support prototype-to-production integration.
Plastics Unlimited serves enterprise OEM customers across agriculture (sprayer panels, tractor fenders, combine components), construction (heavy-equipment hoods, enclosures), transportation (mass-transit panels meeting NFPA130 / UL94), medical (MRI, CAT scan, and X-ray components), material handling, outdoor/recreation, and dunnage — with named customers including John Deere, Bobcat, Gomaco, Ditch Witch, and Harley-Davidson. Revenue is generated via quote-based direct sales through a field sales and technical-advisor model, with global shipping reach and dual AS9100D and ISO 9001:2015 certifications supporting aerospace/defense and other regulated OEM programs.
Plastics Unlimited firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Plastics Unlimited
- Legal name
- Plastics Unlimited
- Website
- https://plasticsunlimited.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1993
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- Plastics Unlimited is a privately held, family-owned custom thermoforming, composites, and urethane molding manufacturer in Preston, Iowa, serving enterprise OEMs across agriculture, construction, transportation, medical, material handling, and outdoor recreation with its patented TEC process and AS9100D-certified quality systems.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Plastics Unlimited industry classification
Industry- NAICS
- Plastics Product Manufacturing (3261), Other Plastics Product Manufacturing (32619)
- SIC
- Miscellaneous Plastics Products (3080)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Custom Thermoforming & Contract Manufacturing (IMANAHAI)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Thermoformed Building & Construction Products (Panels, Liners, Covers) (IMANAHAF)
Keywords
Where Plastics Unlimited is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Preston
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Plastics Unlimited business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Custom Plastic Parts Manufacturing: Manufacturing and sale of custom thermoformed, composite, and urethane molded plastic parts for various industries including agriculture, construction, transportation, medical, and OEM applications. Parts are produced in various volumes from prototype runs to high-volume production.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels3 records
Plastics Unlimited product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Plastics Unlimited is a custom contract manufacturer that produces thermoformed, composite, and urethane-molded plastic parts for OEM and brand-name manufacturers. Core offerings include custom thermoforming (vacuum, pressure, and twin sheet forming), composites with fiberglass and carbon fiber, urethane molding, in-house design and tooling, and part-trimming, supported by the patented TEC (Tooless Engineered Composite)® process.
Product overview
Plastics Unlimited is a custom thermoforming, composites, and urethane molding manufacturer offering a portfolio of manufacturing services. Their core capabilities include Thermoforming (vacuum, pressure, and twin sheet forming), Composites (fiberglass and carbon fiber reinforcement), and Urethane Molding. Central to their offering is the patented TEC (Tooless Engineered Composite)® process, which combines thermoforming with composite reinforcement. Supporting services include in-house design and tooling (using Solidworks, MasterCAM, Robot Studio) and part-trimming via CNC routers and waterjet machines. They serve diverse industries including Agriculture, Construction, Medical, OEM, Transportation, Material Handling, Outdoor/Rec, and Dunnage.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Companies that use Plastics Unlimited
Customer profileNamed customers8 records
Segments8 records
Ideal customer profiles7 records
Plastics Unlimited technology and API
TechnologyAPI detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Plastics Unlimited partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators5 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Plastics Unlimited competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Productive Plastics: Custom heavy-gauge thermoformer serving industrial, medical, and transportation OEMs with engineering, tooling, and finishing — a direct competitor to Plastics Unlimited's thermoforming line of business.
- McClarin Plastics: Custom thermoformer and thermoformed composites manufacturer offering design, tooling, and fabrication services to industrial and transportation customers, overlapping closely with Plastics Unlimited's thermoforming and composites capabilities.
- Ray Products: Custom thermoforming and composites manufacturer serving heavy equipment, medical, and industrial OEMs — directly comparable in process mix (thermoforming + composites) and customer verticals.
- Profile Plastics: Custom thermoformer focused on heavy-gauge parts for industrial and transportation OEMs, with in-house tooling and CNC trimming — a close process-and-customer analog to Plastics Unlimited.
- Core Molding Technologies: Public composites manufacturer producing fiberglass and carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic components for heavy trucks, construction, and industrial customers; comparable to Plastics Unlimited's composites business serving similar heavy-equipment end markets.
- Diversified Plastics: Custom heavy-gauge thermoformer serving industrial, medical, and transportation OEMs with engineering and tooling capabilities, competing for similar programs as Plastics Unlimited.
- TriEnda Holdings: Thermoformed plastic dunnage, pallets, and material handling solutions provider; directly comparable to Plastics Unlimited's dunnage and material handling thermoforming product lines.
- Plasti-Coil: Custom molded polyurethane and cast urethane parts manufacturer serving industrial and OEM customers — a direct comparable to Plastics Unlimited's urethane molding capability.
Broad incumbents
- Bemis Manufacturing Company: Large diversified plastics manufacturer with thermoforming, injection molding, and urethane capabilities serving industrial and consumer OEMs; broader portfolio but overlapping technology and customer base.
- Continental Structural Plastics (Teijin Automotive Technologies): Large composites and Class A panel manufacturer supplying automotive and heavy truck OEMs; a broader incumbent in thermoset and thermoplastic composites comparable to Plastics Unlimited's TEC-based structural parts business.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Plastics Unlimited social profiles
Digital presencePlastics Unlimited compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
Plastics Unlimited financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Plastics Unlimited leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Plastics Unlimited funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Plastics Unlimited M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Plastics Unlimited
What does Plastics Unlimited do?
Plastics Unlimited is a custom contract manufacturer that produces thermoformed, composite, and urethane-molded plastic parts for OEM and brand-name manufacturers. Core offerings include custom thermoforming (vacuum, pressure, and twin sheet forming), composites with fiberglass and carbon fiber, urethane molding, in-house design and tooling, and part-trimming, supported by the patented TEC (Tooless Engineered Composite)® process.
Is Plastics Unlimited a public or private company?
Plastics Unlimited is a private company. It is currently operating.
When was Plastics Unlimited founded?
Plastics Unlimited was founded in 1993. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is Plastics Unlimited based?
Plastics Unlimited is headquartered in Preston, United States, in the North America region.
How does Plastics Unlimited make money?
One revenue line is on record: custom Plastic Parts Manufacturing.
Who are Plastics Unlimited's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Productive Plastics, McClarin Plastics, Ray Products, Profile Plastics, Core Molding Technologies, Diversified Plastics, TriEnda Holdings and Plasti-Coil. Broad incumbents are Bemis Manufacturing Company and Continental Structural Plastics (Teijin Automotive Technologies).
Does Plastics Unlimited have an API?
No public API is recorded for Plastics Unlimited.
What industry is Plastics Unlimited in?
Its primary akta.pro industry code is IMANAHAI, Custom Thermoforming & Contract Manufacturing, with a secondary code of IMANAHAF, Thermoformed Building & Construction Products (Panels, Liners, Covers). Its NAICS code is 3261 and its SIC code is 3080.