With PPE Manufacturing Booming, Modern Plastics Look To Expand Into Derby

DERBY — A Shelton-based business is expanding operations to Derby in order to ramp up production of plastic face shields.

After COVID-19 was detected in Connecticut in March and protective equipment was in short supply, Modern Plastics President Bing Carbone repurposed his Shelton facility on Long Hill Cross Road and created an Infection Control Division to manufacture plastic face shields.

Now the company is expanding the business into neighboring Derby. The additional space is needed to ​“exclusively” mass produce protective, plastic face shields for the medical community and beyond, according to Carbone.

Carbone said he hopes to move into the former Charles J. Dickgiesser & Co. factory building, at 257 Roosevelt Dr., by the end of November or early December. He said the building, which he will lease from owner Benjamin Perry, is currently being renovated to accommodate Modern Plastic’s https://modernplastics.com/ needs to manufacture PPE (personal protective equipment). 

Currently, the Shelton facility is manufacturing 300,000 plastic face shields a month, but Carbone said with the surge in demand, he needs to ​“take it upwards to 1 million a month” at the Derby facility. 

Carbone said the company has its marching orders for the next 18 months, filling an order from a major medical company for 35 million face shields.

With the expansion, Carbone will be bringing new jobs to Derby and expects to hire an additional 60 to 65 employees. He previously hired an additional 100 employees to keep up with the demand at the Shelton headquarters.

Carbone said he chose the Derby location after posting a message on his personal Facebook page in search of warehouse space. He said Perry contacted him about the Dickgiesser building, and once Carbone took a tour, he knew the space was perfect.

“Derby Mayor Richard Dziekan and his economic liaison, Carmen DiCenso, have been absolutely terrific in helping Modern Plastics with this new facility and have been very welcoming,” Carbone said. ​“It is so nice to have such an aggressive and positive response from the Mayor.”

The Roosevelt Drive corridor is an industrial zone bordering a residential zone on Park Avenue. The old manufacturing uses have faded away and have been placed by businesses such as the Bad Sons brewery.

But outdated industrial uses can create conflicts, too, such as former employee parking lots in residential zones being used as year-round industrial storage lots, or residential backyards on Park Avenue being converted into construction yards. The use by Modern Plastics is more in-line with underlying zoning rules, and keeps the manufacturing use out of the residential zone on the north side of Park Avenue.

“Any additional jobs we can add to the community are a major plus,” said Andrew Baklik, Mayor Rich Dziekan’s chief of staff. ​“We are a distressed community and with all the folks currently out of work, we are hoping to see local people get the jobs created by this move.”

Carbone said when the pandemic hit he knew he had to rethink the company’s purpose. A post on his personal Facebook page, spreading the word that Modern Plastics was poised to mass produce plastic face shields, landed the company’s first order for 500,000 shields from the State of Connecticut within a few hours.

“We successfully adopted our business back in March of 2020 to meet the demand for PPE needs relative to plastics such as Plexiglas barriers, intubation enclosures, modular wall systems, student desk barriers, plastic face shields and a host of other COVID prevention products,” Carbone said.

Modern Plastics, a family-owned manufacturing business that makes high-performance engineered plastics, celebrated 75 years in the business this year. The company serves a variety of industries including medical plastics, defense & aerospace, food processing, with worldwide clients including Heinz, Dell, Ford, General Electric, Delta Airlines and Johnson and Johnson.

Carbone said he anticipated revenues to increase this year from $15 to $17 million. However, with the newly repurposed business model geared to provide potentially life-saving PPE, he expects that number to double to $30 million.

Greater Valley Chamber of Commerce President Bill Purcell lauded Carbone and Modern Plastics’ efforts to adapt in an ever-changing business climate.

“The Chamber is grateful and excited by the company’s decision to expand their production capacity into neighboring Derby, and for giving this landmark industrial property a new lease on life,” Purcell said. ​“This is a credit to the resourcefulness of new building owner, Ben Perry, the ingenuity of Bing Carbone and his team at Modern Plastics and the pro-business attitude of Derby Mayor Richard Dzieken. Working together, they are making a valuable contribution to our nation in the fight against this public health crisis.”