Over the last 30 years, Manitowoc, WI-based Extrutech Plastics Inc. (EPI) has grown from a single extrusion line making vinyl window profiles and tubing for central vacuum systems, to now manufacturing plastic wall and ceiling panels, concrete forms, doors, and other construction components for food processing, agricultural, car and truck washes, pharmaceutical, animal health, cannabis production, and many other industries throughout the United States and Canada.
EPI president, Greg Sheehy, founded Extrutech Plastics in January 1992 with his wife Debbie and brother Pat. In 1999, Mike Sheehy joined the company. The business has expanded from a 4,000-square-foot leased building where the brothers ran their first line to the current 162,000-square-foot facility with 60 full time employees working 24 hours across three shifts to run the company’s 22 extrusion lines.
“Really, the strength of the business has been the employees that have helped grow the business over the years,” Sheehy says of EPI’s success over the last three decades. “We have a team effort in both production and sales, along with our office staff to help move everything along nice and smooth.”
EPI is calling out its anniversary with a new logo celebrating its 30 years of operation on its advertising. Additionally, the company will hold festivities over the summer, such as an employee appreciation fry out, to celebrate the landmark with the entire staff.
EPI has been working with the car wash industry since the mid-1990s, starting with providing its plastic liner panels for local car and truck washes for walls and ceilings. The addition of concrete forms for walls to EPI’s offerings in 2013 significantly expanded its ability to serve the car wash industry. In addition to the plastic wall and ceiling panels it previously provided, the concrete forms filled with rebar and concrete provide a durable plastic surface on both sides. These stay-in-place concrete forms serve as both the inside and outside surface of a building’s walls.
“Our idea was to develop a line of construction products so a builder can come to us, and we can offer them a complete, custom package for their project. We can supply the concrete wall forms, interior wall and ceiling panels, finish trim, and doors to the customer, all from one American supplier,” Sheehy says.
Looking forward to the next 30 years, he says the company wants to continue to grow and is always looking for new opportunities. “I think the car and truck wash industry is going to be very important for our nation and will continue to grow. As prices for new cars and trucks continue to climb, the owners will want them looking good all the time, so they will be washed more often. We hope to grow along with this industry for the next 30 years.”
For more information, visit the company on the web at www.epiplastics.com.