Business Spotlight: Diversified Plastics Corporation

Like most businesses, Diversified Plastics was formed to fill a need _ literally.

In 1969, Fasco Industries needed a packaging product and a group of partners stepped in to meet that need. Diversified Plastics was born. Ken Magers, president of Nixa-based Diversified Plastics, said, _We got our little group (of partners) together and we made it happen. It led from one job to the next._

Four of the original partners in that group remain connected to the business: Garnett Carnahan, Marvin Carnahan, Ken Magers and Scott Schaefer.

_Diversified Plastics has been a good company for us. We_ve been together all these years; enjoyed a lot of nice large customers throughout the years,_ Magers said.

Packaging was the niche Diversified Plastics filled. That included protective corners for Zenith_s shipping department when Zenith dominated the local job scene, said Bob Broyles, director of marketing and sales.

Today, with two locations in Missouri _ Nixa and Centralia _ the corporation_s Web site describes Diversified Plastics as _a custom molder of all types of plastics, from expandable foam co-polymers to injection grade plastics._

Broyles listed four principle markets for the company_s products: packaging, lost-foam foundry patterns, automotive crash impact foam and construction materials.

Lost-foam foundry patterns allow foundries to cast products like motor housings using foam patterns.

_You get a precise product which requires virtually no machining,_ Broyles said. He said lost foam is a steady specialty business.

Diversified_s major product is automotive, energy-absorbing crash impact foam, Broyles said. This foam goes into side-impact areas in automobiles.

_Our foam probably sits in most vehicles being driven in Springfield,_ Broyles said. _We ship to all of the major automotive manufacturers and their suppliers._

Construction materials is a relatively new product focus for Diversified. The company has been in it for about 30 months.

_The construction demand is spectacular and growing,_ Broyles said. He said construction business is tripling every year.

_The principle application is insulating concrete forms. ... Concrete is poured between the foam panels producing a tornado-resistant and very highly energy-efficient structure,_ Broyles said. Construction material is shipped to 18 states on a regular basis, Broyles said.

Meanwhile, the packaging segment, Diversified_s original business, isn_t faring as well. _Packaging is, unfortunately, moving off-shore with an awful lot of our manufacturing customers. When manufacturers move overseas, there_s nothing left to package. That_s a stagnate business. If this area increases its manufacturing ability, we expect to be there,_ Broyles said.

_(Overall) we_re growing annually about 10 percent. The construction segment is growing at 40 percent. Annual revenues are approximately $35 million a year._

Diversified Plastics employs 125 at the Nixa site and about 100 at the Centralia plant, Broyles said. The business also has 20 tractor-trailer trucks.

_We ship for General Motors to Oshawa, Ontario, Canada and to Ramos, Mexico,_ Broyles said. _That_s pretty significant because our quality is such that they are willing to pay when they_ve got other foam molders that literally sit on their doorsteps._

Better process control, quality improvement and extensive documentation help set Diversified Plastics apart, Broyles said.

_We are independently audited to quality standards every quarter,_ Broyles said. The standards are QS-900 and ISO-9002.

Despite the company_s emphasis on quality and diversification, there are challenges.

_Business is a little stagnant at this time and we are trying to grow it again by developing new areas,_ Magers said.

Broyles added: _We have products in development that will truly change the way framing and roofing is done in mass production housing._