Who We Are

Established Industry Leader

An environmentally focused recycler and film, bag, and resin manufacturer providing superior products and solutions.

Dedicated to Our Mission

To earn the appreciation and respect of our customers, associates, and communities.

Committed to Sustainability

To be the innovative leader in environmentally responsible manufacturing, packaging, and recycling of plastic bags and films.

55
Years in business

33175676
Lbs of Recycled Plastic
Used in 2025

500
Associates

Our Culture

Family-Owned Company

We are a small, privately held, family-owned company, which has allowed us to cultivate the company culture in every associate who joins our team. Each person offers a singularly important perspective on how to innovate and improve, representing a dynamic culture that is constantly rising to meet the needs of our customers.

“Hands-On” Mentality

Our culture is one of “Hands-on,” “Feet-on-the-street,” and “Feet-on-the-production-floor.” Whether you are the CEO or a new packing associate on the floor, we like to have the entire team engaged. If you see someone struggling, help them; if you see trash on the floor, pick it up. If you are a manager, understand how you can help, coach, motivate, and improve the work-life of your staff.

We dedicate ourselves to continuous improvement daily, as this is a state of mind and a way of life for us. All of our associates are encouraged to offer ideas for improvements. We strive to keep our facilities safe, but most of all, we want our company to be a fair and equitable place to spend our working hours.

Our History

The Early Years

Duke and Paul Keiswetter founded Petoskey Plastics in 1969. On April 1, 1970, operations began with five employees and one bag machine that converted purchased film into plastic bags. The company found our calling in 1975 when we purchased an extrusion line to manufacture film. Over the next several years, we grew and acquired additional extrusion lines.

Sustainable Mindset

We first began in-house recycling in 1978, after we added on to the new Petoskey plant location. In 1990, we were awarded a grant from the state of Michigan through the Quality of Life Bond Fund to recycle post-consumer polyethylene waste. The fund enabled Petoskey Plastics to purchase a recycle line from Italy to reprocess plastic scrap.

In 1991, with the State of Michigan’s assistance through a Quality of Life Grant, we expanded the recycle department with wash line technology to reprocess post-consumer bags and film. Now, the Petoskey plant features numerous extrusion lines utilizing recycled materials from our Indiana recycling facility.

Continued Growth

In 1999, Petoskey Plastics acquired the assets of a polyethylene film plant in Morristown, Tennessee. We made significant investments to refurbish and add new equipment. Today, the Morristown Plant has multiple 3- and 5-layer extrusion lines utilizing recycled materials, converting lines, and a 4-color offset paper printing press.

The summer of 2007 marked the opening of our new corporate headquarters building in downtown Petoskey. Later that year, we renovated a former garage door manufacturing facility in Hartford City, Indiana, converting it to a 330,000-square-foot leading-edge recycling facility. In 2013, we added blown film manufacturing and converting lines.

More Recently

At the beginning of 2020, Jason Keiswetter was named President, and Paul Keiswetter transitioned into his role as Chairman-CEO. The same year, Petoskey Plastics responded to the medical community’s need for polyethylene gowns during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. This occurrence prompted the company to consider producing medical gowns as a permanent product offering. We added another new product line in 2021: our GreenPE Shrink®. At launch, the shrink film stood out in the market with high recycled resin content 5-layer film.

Notably, in the spring of 2021, Petoskey Plastics opened its fourth manufacturing location in McKinney, Texas. This location positions us closer to suppliers and West Coast customers.

In November 2023, Petoskey Plastics and Paul Keiswetter, Chairman-CEO, were honored to receive the 2023 Veteran Business of the Year award from the National Veteran Business Development Council (NVBDC). Concurrent with the NVBDC award, Crain’s Detroit Business listed Petoskey Plastics as the 6th largest Michigan Veteran-Owned Business based on revenue.

Most recently, the company celebrated 55 years in business in 2024.