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Every year since 2006, Inteplast Group Ltd. has been named one of the Top 10 Film and Sheet Manufacturers in North America by Plastics News, and last year Inteplast’s Biaxially Oriented Polypropylene (BOPP) operations received the Excellent Rating from the American Institute of Baking. This dedication to operational and product quality led Inteplast to become the largest integrated plastics manufacturer in North America, but this focus is not really intended for the pursuit of awards. Instead, the company strives to provide clients with a comprehensive offering that proves its commitment to excellence and integrity.

“We demonstrate our capability by our actions, not our words,” stresses Chris Watts, director of business development and process technology for the AmTopp Division of Inteplast Group. 

Based in Livingston, N.J., Inteplast has three divisions that work together to serve the full range of clients’ needs. These are:

• AmTopp produces three major product lines: BOPP films, stretch films and plastic concentrates and compounds.
• Integrated Bagging Systems (IBS) manufactures plastic bags and items such as can liners, salt bags, grocery bags, gloves and janitorial supplies.
• World-Pak produces myriad board and heavy film substrates, including corrugated plastic sheets, PVC cellular boards, cross-laminated heavy-duty films, and the TUF board line of trim, decking and siding.

Inteplast notes that every product is made with its commitment to “quality, people and resources.” The company has a 575-acre manufacturing facility in Texas, as well as multiple other operations in North America. The Texas site is ISO 9001:2008 certified and supported by state-of-the-art technology, advanced automation and robotics. Also, each plant has a quality control laboratory and employs on- and off-line quality testing. All of this is backed up by highly skilled technicians who conduct rigorous tests on existing products and continually develop new products and applications.  

“Inteplast was built on the belief that we can protect American jobs by working smartly and engaging all levels of our organization,” says Dr. John Young, Inteplast Group founder and president. “Many manufacturers are relocating overseas, but we believe in building our domestic competitiveness through quality production and serving customers.

“Customers are our priority,” Young adds. “Through a diverse, cross-market product line, we can provide customers with one source for everything they need at the most affordable prices. Our staff works to develop new products and more flexible shipping options to accommodate any customer. Our dedication to efficiently producing  quality goods and ensuring customer satisfaction is matched only by our commitment to the environment and the community.”

Category Strength

With such a comprehensive product line and sizable operation, Inteplast boasts it can offer “a world of plastics.” Maintaining a strong reputation with its production of thin, flexible plastic film, AmTopp says it provides a “world of films.” This division is most well known in the food-packaging sector, producing items such as snack food packaging, bottle labels and adhesive tapes. 

“AmTopp is part of a chain of manufacturing,” Watts says. “We produce our films, but then they go off to a variety of other processes at other companies – depending on the application – before they reach the end-user.”

AmTopp’s three primary products are: 

• BOPP films are produced in two separate side-by-side plants, which have numerous slitters, sheeters and metalizing capabilities. They boast six 8-meter  extrusion lines. AmTopp produces approximately 240 million pounds of BOPP each year. 
• The production of stretch wrap involves a total volume capacity of nearly 200 million pounds annually. AmTopp’s stretch wrap is available in a range of product types and sizes for hand-wrap and machine-wrap applications, including the LoadStar and X-treme brands.  Inteplast’s AmTopp has such confidence in its stretch film capability it is expanding its Texas plant in 2012.
• AmTopp serves commodity and high-tech specialty applications from its plastics concentrates and compounds plant for a total annual capacity of 50 million pounds. 

“We recently added capacities and have made a number of strategic acquisitions to expand both our BOPP film base as well as our stretch wrap,” Watts says. “Right now, our main goal is to integrate these organizations, which will enable us to provide clients with better service through improved product arrangement and capabilities. We are stronger in our category because of this growth.”

Environmental Efforts

With standard and custom products for the commercial, institutional, healthcare, retail, environmental, industrial and food markets, IBS says it supplies the “world of bags” – aiming to become a one-stop supplier for its customers. Its product line is extensive and diverse, and includes can liners, grocery bags, ice bags, garment bags and specimen transport bags for the medical community. All IBS products are FDA-approved for the safe service, storage and handling of food, and they are manufactured from 100 percent resin, so they contain no hazardous chemicals or heavy metals. 

The IBS manufacturing economies of scale streamline the ordering process for  customers, and made-to-order bags are simple to produce because of  the professional product specialists, engineering capabilities and manufacturing technologies. Additionally, IBS customers can combine their specific requirements with standard products to achieve maximum value and efficiency. 

Inteplast is dedicated to helping preserve the environment, and as part of that, the IBS operations are accredited with an Environmentally Preferred Rating from the plastics industry. The division’s InteGreen line offers a number of environmentally friendly products:

• Compostable bags fully meet the ASTM standards of compostability and are certified by the Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI). InteGreen’s can liners and T-shirt bags are made from specially manufactured bioresin. 
• The manufacturing process of IBS oxo-biodegradable bags involves a special additive, which assists in the breakdown process of the bag when it reaches a landfill or other external environment. As a result, these bags and liners degrade faster.
• The division’s reusable bag offering includes heavy-gauge wave-top merchandise bags, non-woven plastic totes, insulated thermal totes and a range of custom options. 

“Plastics are dependent in part on oil-based products, so we have a dependence on imported oil to produce them,” Young explains. “Throughout Inteplast, however, we are focused on increasing our sustainability in a number of ways. By creating thinner films, we are creating less waste. We stay abreast of new technology because we’re always working to improve our sustainability while not compromising  functionality. Our products are protective, not decorative, so we can design them to ensure the maximum shelf life of our customers’ products. This creates less waste overall, as well.” 

He adds that Inteplast is developing a new generation of biopolymers based on edible materials like starch that he believes will provide for the first time affordable substrates with plastics-like qualities usable for food packaging. 

Inteplast also continually works to improve its manufacturing operations to reduce waste. By investing in top notch equipment with the highest efficiencies, Young says, the company can use less energy in the production process as well as recover lost energy.

“We have a very efficient internal recycling program,” he notes. “Our reuse of scrap throughout the company is essentially 100 percent, which is important for the environment and our costs.”

Green Construction

Inteplast maintains its sustainability in the World-Pak division, which offers “the world of green plastics.” At a multi-plant site at the company’s Texas location, World-Pak produces three core products: 

• IntePro fluted polypropylene and polyethylene boards;  
• PVC goods such as the InteFoam expanded PVC foam board, InteCel integral skin PVC board, TUF cellular vinyl composite board and InteClear PVC sheets.
• IntePlus (XF Film) is World-Pak’s co-extruded, cross-laminated, heavy-duty film for shipping sacks and industrial film composites.  

World-Pak also manufactures the AquaPerm Paver, which can be used in sidewalks, driveways, patios, parking lots, decks, outdoor showers and poolsides.

“World-Pak AquaPerm Paver is designed and engineered to drain water for greener construction with lower environmental impact,” Young says. “AquaPerm Paver maintains natural water flow and preserves the ecological equilibrium.”

Dedicated to the Details

Inteplast understands that the breadth and depth of its operations go far in its ability to serve customers’ needs, but it continues to look for acquisitions that will complement and expand its business. Three of its key acquisitions are Niaflex, a producer of flexible packaging; LoneStar Plastics, a polyethylene film product manufacturer; and Salerno Packaging, a supplier of industrial films and bags. 

Young expects the new business units to retain their autonomy as well as their unique identities, fortified by the “Inteplast Management Systems” – signature integrated systems that are proven to work. Through complete data integration, Young says Inteplast can close the financial statement of the group by the first of each month, an impressive achievement seldom seen elsewhere.

“We will make acquisitions mainly to complement our portfolio of products as well as to enhance our equipment utilization, which allows us to optimize customer runs with the added lines,” Young says. “Also, acquisitions give us the capability to respond quickly to regional needs, making us truly a national, diversified and one-stop supplier. But our key strengths lie with the foundation we have created over the years with our operations in Texas – for which I will always be grateful to all my colleagues. ”

Inteplast continues to see positive growth in most of its markets, he says, and it has remained strong through the recession as the result of partnerships with a number of large customers. The company has not seen a major impact from offshore competition, but it will maintain its quality, service and costs to keep offshore firms from being a threat. 

By remaining detail-oriented, minimizing the impact of variable costs and ensuring it has the tools to improve its baseline, Young is confident Inteplast will hold its position as a market leader. He says the company’s continuous focus on operational improvements and dedication to meeting customers’ needs will provide its ongoing strength.

“This company got started 20 years ago in Texas, and its original blueprint focused on economies of scale utilizing the best equipment available at the time, reinforced by automation as well as data integration and attention to every detail,” he explains. “This helped Inteplast establish a foothold in a number of markets. The operation continued to expand its footprint and add to its capabilities. It is a continuous evolving process of growth, learning and further adaptations. 

“Price isn’t everything, and we provide a certain degree of customization to grow our markets and to provide our customers with a complete portfolio of product offerings. Our team is  disciplined not to overcommit and to always deliver on our promises. The key is to push our capabilities, day by day and year by year, to improve our foundational strengths and to serve our customers better.”