At the end of 2020, everyone was excited about the economy beginning to reopen after the Covid-19 pandemic. Little did we all know that the Covid pandemic would lead to the chaos of 2021. Let’s be honest, how many of us were going through our fraternity/sorority days, trying to recall what the next variant was going to be named.
At the start of 2021, things appeared to recover from the Pandemic shutdowns, but we all quickly fell victim to the Covid one-two punch. By the end of the first quarter, new challenges emerged as prices began to spike and shortages became painfully apparent in every sector. Prices for chemicals, metals, fuel, freight, and basically everything else, increased at levels not seen in decades.
Between material shortages, labor shortages, and Covid protocols, manufacturing was particularly hard hit in 2021. Every business struggled to find employees and keep them safely working. In a business like ours, where everything we make is custom, and employee knowledge is our greatest asset, our biggest success was keeping our team together, working safely to support our customers in 2021.
In 2020 “survival of the adaptable” was a key phrase, and it became even more applicable in 2021. Pleiger Plastics Company, like every other company in America, quickly became experts at sourcing alternative materials in order to supply our customers with their critical components. While Pleiger Plastics experienced the same supply chain headwinds in 2021 that we all faced, we fought to keep our customers supplied, and never ran out of products our customers need for their businesses.
2022 will likely begin where 2021 left off, but we at Pleiger Plastics Company see reasons to be optimistic about 2022. Global shortages are slowly dissipating and supply chains are becoming more elastic to meet our collective needs which we believe will allow the business to return to pre-pandemic norms by mid-year as the pandemic becomes endemic. Prices may take years to recover, but deliveries will become more reliable, ultimately improving lead times. We are looking forward to continuing to supply our old reliable products like screen printing squeegees and stock shapes, while also continuing to invest for the future, expanding our capacity and technology. We are actively planning for growth in 2022 as planning continues for our new building construction, new equipment purchases are being finalized, new staff is being hired, and new urethane systems are being tested.
We want to thank all of our employees, customers, and suppliers for their efforts in 2021 and wish them a safe and successful 2022. While there is always uncertainty about what the future brings, the hottest fires forge the strongest steel, and after 35 years, Pleiger Plastics is still bullish on America and her hard-working people.
Michael J. Savage, P.E.