Business notebook: Plastics firm moves to area to help laid-off workers

A large, white building sits atop a hill on Rose Con Road in Scott City. Although exterior signs read "Select Plastics," from the outside it may not be evident what goes on inside or how the business born in Fort Worth, Texas, found its way into Southeast Missouri.

Select Plastics LLC is a custom extrusion business. Large plastic sheets of differing sizes are produced around the clock by the company's 40 employees.

Those recyclable plastic sheets then are shipped to a variety of businesses and turned into products used daily. Select Plastics products are used in bathrooms, construction and many other industries.

"The key is our finished good is a raw material for those who ultimately make the end-use product out of our extruded sheets," Greg Nagel, co-owner of Select Plastics, said.

It provides the plastic. What becomes of it is up to its customers.

Nagel and his business partner Steve Ploeger have co-owned the company since 2012. Nagel bought the Texas business in 2010, and Ploeger joined in two years later.

Nagel and Ploeger at one point worked for the Spartech Corp. -- Nagel in the Cape Girardeau facility and Ploeger for the corporate office. They left the company and eventually went on to work for -- and later bought -- Select Plastics. They intended to grow and expand the business in Texas, but when the Cape Girardeau Spartech plant was acquired by PolyOne and shut down in 2013, putting 90 people out of work, they had a change of plans.

Tim Simmers, who at the time was working for Spartech, saw the closure was coming. He called Nagel and Ploeger to let them know he was looking for work, and many other manufacturing workers in the region soon would be as well.

So Nagel and Ploeger took a manufacturing line out of their Fort Worth plant and brought it to Scott City to allow the company to grow there with employees who already were proven and skilled in the trade.

"There wasn't going to be much of an chance for those guys to get good jobs like they had," Ploeger said.

"The attitude you have to have running a public company, for sure, is plant closures and cost reductions," Nagel said.

But because Select Plastics is privately run, he said, "we believe more in creating opportunity and enriching the lives of others."

"It's not something you could justify from a business standpoint," Ploeger said of their decision to bring a line from Texas to Southeast Missouri.

"We bought the company in Texas with the intent of continuing to grow our business in Texas," Nagel said.

But they also saw the Spartech closure as an opportunity.

Simmers now serves as vice president and general manager of Select Plastics. His brother, Gary Simmers, also came from PolyOne and is vice president and operations manager of the Scott City plant.

The Southeast Missouri arm of Select Plastics employs 40 people, most of whom came from Spartech. There is virtually no turnover, the owners said, and absenteeism is nonexistent.

"In manufacturing, it's usually a huge problem. But I'm not sure in 2 1/2 years that there's anyone who has called in without arranging coverage beforehand," Simmers said.

"They each have a sense of ownership and vested interest in the success of Select Plastics for the long term," Ploeger said.

Simmers praised the employees of in the Scott City facility.

"We have just a limited number of rules and no supervision," Simmers said. "Everyone in the plant works pretty much unsupervised. They're just all skilled; they're proud of what they do."

In the 2 1/2 years since opening the Southeast Missouri facility, the business has expanded. The company is installing its third manufacturing line, which the owners expect will bring more jobs.

"Our goal is to continue to grow the business and create more opportunities," Nagel said.

Delta Academy goes to Washington

Members of the Delta Leadership Institute's Executive Academy met earlier this month with members of Congress and federal officials in Washington, D.C., to discuss issues affecting the Mississippi River Delta region. Job creation, workforce training and small-business growth all were on the agenda.

The DLI Executive Academy is a yearlong program for community leaders across the region. It teaches leadership skills and encourages them to collaborate across state and local borders to address the challenges of the region.

Members attending were Penny Davis-McGath of Poplar Bluff, Doug Friend of Fredericktown, Maude Harris of Benton, Rachelle Johnson of Charleston, Kristopher Klaus of Perryville and Margaret Yates of Perryville.

"Our cities and towns are important laboratories for policy development and economic growth in our region. To support smart, effective decision making in our local communities, the Delta Leadership Institute is training and connecting our region's leaders with the tools, network and skills to improve the economic realities of their communities," federal co-chairman Chris Masingill said in a news release. "This session in Washington, D.C., provides them access to each of these and empower them to share their experiences back home and throughout the region."

Business licenses

• Broken and Redeemed LLC, 1217 N. Kingshighway, #250, is a dance studio owned by Jimmie Miller. The anticipated opening date is July 5.

bbrown@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3630

Pertinent address:

507 Rose Con Road, Scott City, MO