Port Erie Plastics, Inc.

Company: Port Erie Plastics, Inc.
Location: Harborcreek, Pennsylvania
Product: Injection-Molded Plastics
Annual Sales: $20 million
Number employed: 200
Years in Business: 42

Situation:

Port Erie Plastics wanted to produce a strong but lightweight 48" x 40" plastic pallet that could be priced competitively against traditional wooden skids. The pallet needed to be manufactured from a wide range of materials, including recycled plastics, and be recyclable itself.

Project:

John Beaumont, director of the PTDC's Computer-Aided Engineering Center, used finite element analysis to develop the pallet and mold design. Simultaneous engineering allowed Beaumont to evaluate materials selection, part design, mold design and processing before the mold was constructed.

Result:

Port Erie's Skidmarx is the lightest weight, lowest cost domestic plastic pallet on the market. The pallet can be sold for under $20 in volume when made from virgin resin, and less with recycled material. When Skidmarx wear out, they can be recycled into a new pallets. This new product is expected to create 30 jobs through 1998.

Company Comments from William Witkowski, President:

"We went to the people at the PTDC because they had the capability to analyze all types of recycled materials. They worked with us to design the pallet to take advantage of the properties of recycled materials, which are in plentiful supply."