General Plastics Manufacturing Co.

General Plastics Manufacturing Company has been an industry trailblazer for seven decades. Founded in 1941 by L.W. Schatz and still privately held, our company began as a manufacturer of preservative coatings for wood and other organic materials. Later in the 1940s, we ushered in the composites industry with new phenolic-resin plastic laminates for aircraft and commercial uses.

During the 1950s, Schatz identified a prime opportunity in the polyurethanes that came out of World War II. By specially formulating these materials, we pioneered our acclaimed rigid and flexible polyurethane foams with unique cell structures, creating foam blocks that addressed a wide array of aerospace applications. Our company later began fabricating parts for high-performance structures. With the dawn of the Jet Age, our new flame-resistant, high-density foams became the preferred replacement material for wood cores in aircraft composite “sandwich” panels.