With 800 employees in nine facilities, injection molder Parkway Products boasts "a strong balance sheet, so we have the ability to invest in the business."
It's been a busy 76 years for Parkway Products LLC, a Greenville, S.C.-based custom injection molder that's growing both organically and through acquisition.
The company has more than 800 employees in nine facilities — all in the U.S. and Mexico. Parkway specializes in precision molding of both high-performance and advanced materials.
CEO Andrew Green is bullish on the company's outlook.
"The growth rates in injection molding are very attractive. More and more parts are made with high-performance plastics," Green said in a telephone interview. "We have a strong customer portfolio and a strong balance sheet, so we have the ability to invest in the business."
The company, which was founded in 1946, is a leader in five diversified, highly engineered manufacturing technologies and is ranked No. 72 in the current Plastics News listing of North American injection molders, with estimated plastic molding sales of $140 million.
Green said Parkway has more than 200 active customers, and that includes long-term relationships with 26 Fortune 500 clients.
Technologies where Parkway specializes are high-performance polymer molding, machined plastics solutions, magnesium Thixomolding, thermoset molding and thermoplastic injection molding.
According to Green, that portfolio differentiates Parkway from its competition.
"Our breadth and depth of product offerings provides new and existing customers significant benefits," he said.
Target markets include aerospace and electronics, health care, agricultural, heavy truck, off-road vehicles, industrial, automotive and infrastructure.
Parkway was founded on April 1, 1946, in Cincinnati by Edward Willig and his sons, Edgar and Donald. The company was originally named Parkway Patterns, but later increased its offerings to include plastic injection molding and changed its name to Parkway Products in 1964.
Company management — along with Oxford Financial Group — bought out the Willig family in 2006. Shortly after that, the firm bought the automotive injection molding and paint and laser etching business of Nypro Inc.
In 2015, Parkway was purchased by its current owner, Norwalk, Conn.-based private equity firm Capital Partners, which today is known as Heartwood Partners. At that point the company had 560 employees, seven plants and a total of 164 presses.
In 2017, Parkway acquired LMR Plastics from Leonard Industries Manufacturing LLC, adding large-tonnage molding in Greeneville, Tenn.
In 2019, Parkway was on the acquisition front again, first buying Littlestar Plastics Inc. in Machesney Park, Ill., and then two more plants later in the year, in Westminster, S.C., and Arden, N.C., from Injection Technology Corp.
The Littlestar deal added large technical components from high-performance polymers, such as polyetheretherketone and polyamide-imides, as well as the Machine Plastics Solutions product offering. The Itech deal added more thermoplastic molding capacity, including more large-tonnage molding.
Today, Parkway has an Advanced Technology group, with centers of excellence in Atlanta; Loveland, Colo.; Rockford, Ill.; and Saltillo, Mexico, plus a large-tonnage injection molding platform with four facilities: Greeneville, Tenn.; Seneca, S.C.; Asheville, N.C.; and Westminster, S.C., plus molding operations in Fort Collins, Colo.; and Saltillo. Parkway has 238 molding machines, including 189 thermoplastic machines in the tonnage range of 17-1,750 tons, 42 thermoset machines and seven Thixomolding machines.
Green said Parkway is the only injection molder in the Heartwood Partners portfolio, although it has some other plastics businesses.
"Heartwood focuses on investing in family- and management-owned private companies. They have been doing that since 1982. The approach is pretty unique. They don't use a lot of leverage. They have more equity and less debt. It's a different operating strategy," Green said.
"Heartwood invests alongside management. Their niche is attracting M&A from companies that want to see their businesses managed in a financially responsible way," he said. "They are a good fit for entrepreneurs who care a lot about their business, and we'll continue to do that kind of acquisition."
The company has been successful thanks to its "cool culture" that respects employees and their families, plus a focus on quality and service, Green said.
"We win by having the best people," Green said.
Customers that are a good fit for Parkway are ones that have challenging projects and require expertise in services including project management, design for manufacturer, automation or supply chain management.
"We want the most challenging projects that require an engineering solution. Our target customer is going to need a highly engineered project," he said.
"Our people rallied around the business. They realized that we have customers that count on us," Green said. "Some of our business was directly related to saving people's lives. We took a lot of pride in being an essential part of the supply chain for our customers, and we held up our end. We're helping the world pull through a pandemic."
Like other molders, Parkway dealt with challenges including scarcity of resin, labor and some components. "There was chaos in the market, but I think we did really well. That's a credit to our people," he said.
The company moved its headquarters from Cincinnati to Greenville in 2017. It does not make any single-use products, and its sustainability strategy is focused on reducing waste and its carbon footprint.
"We have a very socially responsible culture. We want to be stewards for everything, including the environment," he said.
In early 2022, the company deployed a robust growth plan that will be achieved by exploiting cross-selling opportunities with the top 50 customers and focusing on growth of its advanced technology product lines. The plan also includes deeper expansion into three key end markets including noninvasive medical device, semiconductor and battery electric vehicle.
The company is still looking for acquisition candidates with an emphasis on growing key end markets and the advanced technology product lines.
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