From CT scanners to car seats and BMW fenders to John Deere hoods, many of the objects we encounter every day are made by a company based in Belmont.
Wilbert Plastic Services moved its headquarters to Belmont in 2010 as the company grew both as a whole and in the Southeast. Before 2010, Wilbert Plastic Services called Chicago home but had a plant in Belmont. The Gaston County location offered all the right elements — space for a headquarters, professionals, a good community and quick access to the airport.
Both the plant and company’s center of operations are just off Interstate 85 in the Oaks Commerce Center. Wilbert Plastics has eight locations in five states, employing around 13,060 in the Southeast and Midwest.
In Belmont, 44 people work at the headquarters and another 106 work at the plant. The company has more than 300 employees in North Carolina and 340 workers in South Carolina. That means more than 40 percent of Wilbert’s workforce is based in the state, said Wilbert CEO Greg Botner.
The company goes beyond manufacturing to designing, engineering and inventory management, Botner said. Wilbert has developed a relatively new material to create products. Botner described it as a laminated polypropylene sheet that could be used to produce automotive parts because the material has a soft surface.
The Belmont plant focuses on thermoforming — a process of heating plastic sheets until they are pliable enough to be formed into shapes to create products, like a CT scanner used at hospitals. Each plant must be able to create a multitude of products, tailoring the work to each customer’s demands and needs, Botner said.
“We’re truly a custom business,” said Botner. “We don’t have dedicated manufacturing. Even though volumes are high, we’re a made-to-order business.”
Like other companies, Wilbert faced setbacks during the recession. Sales dropped to about $150 million in 2009. This year Wilbert expects to close the year with $260 million in sales, Botner said. Wilbert Plastic Services anticipates growth in the future, too. Botner said he expects sales to reach $320 million in 2015.
“We’re an American company with American-made products. We don’t have operations outside of the U.S.,” Botner said. “We believe in the manufacturing and capabilities here are the best in the world, and we’re investing heavily in that.”