Hoosier Custom Plastics in Knox is the 2022 recipient of the Starke County Economic Development Foundation’s Industry of the Year Award.
“Our board of directors chose Hoosier Custom Plastics as the 2022 Industry of the Year because they are a Starke County success story,” said Lisa Dan, SCEDF executive director. “This is a homegrown company that continues to find innovative solutions to problems.”
Hoosier Custom Plastics was founded on March 1, 2004, by former employees of plastics product manufacturer Stelrema. Its first customer was a neighboring business, MPI in the Knox Industrial Park.
HCP soon branched out into manufacturing biodegradable golf tees and added golf bag tags to its product lineup. The EcoGolf and ProTag business split from HCP in 2021.
HCP serves several industries, including the Department of Defense, automotive, trailer manufacturing, consumer product, industrial fluid power, and cannabis packaging. Owners Craig Dulworth and Mike Tetzloff’s growth plans include expanding the company’s reach into other markets to remain resilient in the event of an economic downturn.
The Wall Nanny is HCP’s most popular consumer product. It protects homeowners’ walls from damage when using safety pressure gates to keep babies and animals contained.
The Wall Nanny was developed by a chiropractor in Wichita, Kansas, who had an initial goal of selling $40,000 worth of product annually. Wall Nanny sales today average $40,000 monthly and is available at Walmart and Amazon.
HCP also helped to develop the CAT Strap Military Torniquet.
CAT, which is short for Combat Application Torniquet, is standard issue gear for the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, and Coast Guard. It was introduced by the U.S. Army in 2005.
HCP employs 33 people who work three shifts.
