Plastics have center stage
Her Houston company provides panels for stadiums, churches and Las Vegas attractions.
A&C Plastics founder Carolyn Faulk has built a $28 million company selling plastic sheets. The panels, measuring 4-by-8 feet and bigger, get turned into all kinds of products, including skylights, hockey rinks, shower doors, greenhouses, store signs, patio tables, boxes to protect museum pieces and bullet-resistant bank teller windows.
Faulk runs the 45-year-old business with her daughter, president Katie Clapp, from an ever-expanding distribution center near Hobby Airport. In fact, Faulk now leases several buildings the company has outgrown along a stretch of Northdale Street to other businesses and is preparing to expand again. Faulk is lifetime board member of the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo and founder of the Faulk Foundation, which supports families facing challenges. The Chronicle recently visited her at her Houston facility.
Q: Tell me about your business.
A: We sell hard, flat sheets. Anything from 1/32- up to 4-inches thick, used for all different industries. We’re your one-stop shop. People know if we don’t have it, we’ll find it.
Q: What is the plastic used for?
A: NRG Stadium, Minute Maid Park, the Houston Astros, that’s our plastic that’s in their signage. The signage at Kyle Field, the Green Bay Packers, a lot of the stadiums. Second Baptist, if you watch Ed Young on TV, that acrylic podium is mine. We sell to a lot of artists. The artwork on Santa Monica Boulevard. Bank teller windows. The Blue Man Group stage in Las Vegas. The Cirque du Soleil stage. The covered walkway in Las Vegas on
Fremont Street that lights up every hour. Point of purchase displays at malls. We sell acrylic to picture framers. The skylights in the Galleria.
Q: How much does a sheet of plastic cost?
A: Depending on the thickness and the size, $35 up to $6,000. (The top price would be for 6by-10-foot sheet sold to the museum industry.)
Q: Where do you get the plastic sheets from?
A: We buy from manufacturers all over the world — China, Taiwan, the U.S.
Q: You’ve said prices are up as much as 30 percent. Do customers push back?
A: They pay it because they usually have a job. They’re not ordering it because they want to stock their warehouse. (The price increase) trickles on.
Q: What areas do you see the biggest growth in sales?
A: Everything is seasonal in our business, and that’s why we’ve expanded. If one area is slow, we have other areas that we can pick up in.
Q: How many employees do you have? A: About 50. Some employees have been here over 30 years.
Q: How many facilities do you have?
A: Three. Houston, Chicago and Colorado Springs.
Q: What are the biggest challenges you face?
A: In plastics, there’s such an opportunity to grow in many areas. We’re always learning, but you’ve got to be careful, because if you grow too fast, you’ll grow yourself out of business. It creates a cash flow problem. We grow conservatively. Then we have challenges with hiring rock stars. We want to hire the right fit for the job and also want provide opportunities for all our team members. The people you surround yourself with are going to take you to the next level.