Our Pioneer Series is thrilled to introduce you to Dave Ring, Owner of Applied Plastics Co. Inc. Applied Plastics has been in business for 64 years and is a trusted LIA. Read about the company’s origins, evolution, and future interests in this interview.
Q: When was your company
founded?
A: 1953 in Norwood, Massachusetts.
Q: Who founded the
company and why?
A: My father, Frank Ring, was the
founder. He couldn’t work for anyone else and wanted the independence of
working for himself. He already had a history in industrial coatings and
decided a move over to Teflon™coatings made the most sense.
Another motivation for starting his
own company was, he was a Type 1 diabetic and had experienced some discrimination
in his career. When he had it, Type 1 diabetics had to keep a strict treatment
routine that many offices weren’t willing to accommodate. Working for himself,
he could build his schedule around the routine rather than be discriminated
against for it.
Q: What was the first
significant piece of equipment you purchased?
A: My father’s first piece was an
old-fashioned pizza oven, which was still around when I started in the late
60s. There was a lot of sentiment attached to the oven, so it was a long time
before anyone did anything with it.
Q: How would you
describe the changes in the company now from when it was first started?
A: For the most part, society changed
more and faster than our company did. Our changes happened a little every day
so no one notices. Then you look back after five or ten years and the company
is very different. Customers’ needs change, so you change to meet them without
realizing you’ve done anything differently. For example, New England industry
went from textiles and rubber to medical supplies. A contract manufacturer like
Applied Plastics has to listen to its customers, so now we do more medical.
Adding computers and new ordering
systems were two of the few big changes we implemented. Another was the
introduction of powdered Teflon coatings or powdered epoxies. When I first
started, we didn’t have those.
Q: What would you
consider significant milestones in your company?
A: Buying that first pizza oven,
moving locations three times, and building our second building, while
maintaining constant production in first building, would be our biggest
milestones. We also developed custom coating equipment a little more than 30
years ago so we could coat customers’ odd shaped parts.
Q: How has the coating
industry itself changed over time?
A: Equipment’s improved, customers’
demands are more rigid, and environmental regulations and worker safety
regulations have changed and gotten stricter.
Overall, we started local, and now we
ship worldwide. There also was no FedEx or faxing when we first started, but we
recently filled an order for a company out in the middle of the Indian Ocean. That’s
how the industry is now. Every contract manufacturer develops their own little
expertise. For example, a Texas company might develop something specifically
for the oil industry, then they’re selling that product to someone in the North
Sea, not just in Texas.
Q: When did you get your
LIA license?
A: Applied Plastics was one of the
originals in the early 60s. A sales rep from DuPont showed up with a plaque and
said the company had a great record and wanted Applied Plastics to start
handling local service and the detailed questions of customers in New England.
Q: How has being an LIA
affected your company?
A: It’s not a bought license. It can
only be earned a good reputation and consistent product. Being an LIA connects
Applied Plastics with great technical information from DuPont (now Chemours),
legitimizes smaller companies, and improves relations with customers, who tend
to listen more attentively if you’re an LIA.
Q: What is your favorite
Teflon coating?
A: The 856 series FEP coating. It has a
great balance between release, chemical resistance, and tolerance. You get good
results without having to build up too thick of a coating.
Q: What excites you
about the future of the coating industry?
A: It’s fun to come to work everyday. Learning
about new applications and solving customers’ problems, as well as seeing how
the company’s going to change day by day is why I look forward to my job every
day.
For more information on Applied Plastics, visit their website here.
