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ters facility until 1991. "Today, many medical thermoformers have Plastofilm people," he adds. An example is Nelipak, a firm devoted exclusively to medical and pharmaceutical thermoforming. Based in The Netherlands, Nelipak has six plants, including two in the U.S., and over 400 employees worldwide. Dick Simmons, Nelipak strategic account manager in Cranston, R.I., was at the reunion, because he spent 38 years at Plastofilm in sales, toolmaking, and production. A second breakthrough for Plastofilm was the carrier-tape business, which has been continued by Beyer, who founded his own company, Tek Pak, in Batavia, Ill., in 1992. Although most of that business, like the electronic assembly work that it supports, has moved to Asia, Tek Pak retains 35 carrier-tape forming lines and is the largest such operation in North America, Beyer says (see last October's cover story on Tek Pak). Beyer employs 18 former Plastofilm people. He's also a customer for the younger Cantu's cutting dies. Former Plastofilm employees scattered to other companies after George Wiss retired and the company was sold and resold to a series of buyers. After its purchase by Alcoa in 2004, Plastofilm's fortunes declined dramatically. In 2008, Alcoa sold what was left of Plastofilm—then down to $3 million in sales—to a group of buyers that included Brentwood Industries, a thermoformer and injection molder based in Reading, Pa. Advocating the purchase at Brentwood was Richard Partlow, who had been sales manager and president of Plastofilm during his tenure from 1986 to 2000. Now a consultant in Naperville, Ill., he also convinced Brentwood to sell much of the Plastofilm machinery to Tek Pak. During its heyday, "There was Plastofilm and there were guys who wanted to be Plastofilm," recalls John Clark, who started there in 1990. The secret of Plastofilm's success? "Its incredibly knowl- edgeable sales force," says Clark, who is now Northeast regional sales manager for Pacur, a major sheet extruder "It was an amazing place. It let you grow and do a variety of things," adds Sue Foos, who started as a third-shift packer/inspector at Plastofilm in 1981 and then worked in the die shop, model shop, and purchasing until she left in 1999. She now works at Tek Pak, "doing everything from customer service to shipping." Her parents worked at Plastofilm in its first days, washing film. Her father, Arnold Foos, became plant supervisor. Her husband, John Major, worked at Plastofilm from 1977 to 1990 as a machine operator and die mounter. The reunion party was the result of two years of planning. It was organized by a committee of six, but the driving force behind it was Tony Beyer. The party had a Blues Brothers theme, "Getting the band back together," and music by the The Blues Brothers Revue. The choice of band was not accidental: As Beyer explains it, John Belushi (one of the original Blues Brothers musical duo with Dan Akroyd) was a native of Wheaton, Ill., and worked at Plastofilm briefly one summer, because his mother was also employed there. There were other intriguing details to be learned at the party. For example, Beyer worked as a toolmaker on packaging trays for early products from Apple Computer. One of Plastofilm's salesmen worked together with Apple founder Steve Jobs on those projects. Another Plastofilm salesman worked with Bill Gates on thermo- formed packaging when Microsoft had fewer than 50 people, Beyer recalls. "Lots of neat stories from those Plastofilm days," he says. "It was an amazing place that let you grow and do a variety of things." Tony Beyer, left, former toolmaker and later plant manager at Plastofilm, and founder of his own thermoforming firm, Tek Pak. Edmond Turner, right, former maintenance man and machine builder at Plastofilm, now works at Tek Pak. Tino Cantu, Sr. (left) and Jr., who worked a combined 45 years at Plastofilm. Cantu Jr. left to form his own firm that makes cutting dies. Sue Foos and husband John Major, both of whom worked more than a decade at Plastofilm. Her parents also worked there in the firm's earliest days. George Wiss, founder of Plastofilm Industries in 1941. 24 AUGUST 2016 Plastics Technology PTonline.com T H E R M O F O R M I N G Close -Up On Technolog y