Often there is more romance and real drama in the background of a business venture than is generally known.The spark of this company's founding was struck when Jones C. Beene III was unable to obtain a plastic part he needed without an unacceptable long wait. He was told that if he wanted the part sooner, he would probably have to make it himself. So that's exactly what he decided to do!House on Pope AvenuePlastic Industries, Inc., first opened for business in a one-story frame house on Pope Avenue in September of 1952. Mr. Beene and the work force of Rubye Maupin and Thurston Thompson began making plastic letters for signs and store displays and eventually expanded to making hosiery inspection forms.From its small Pope Avenue site, Plastic Industries — as the company was known then — moved to its first industrial building in 1955. That building expanded several times and was known for many years as Plant #1 on Congress Parkway.
