east valley
Volume 3 Issue 50 Mesa, AZ
June 27, 2021
Mesa plastics company found a great future BY MELODY BIRKETT Tribune Contributor
O
IN THE BIZ
ne of the most memorable lines in the 1967 classic film “The Graduate” comes when a family friend tells a young Dustin Hoffman’s character: “There’s a great future in plastics. Think about it.” Two decades after the movie’s release, Jack Thompson found out he was spot-on. He started Fiesta Plastics in 1988 with already 30 years of experience in the industry, purchasing a small injection-molding machine that paid off so well within a few months that he bought three more. Today, Fiesta Plastics powers 18 injection-molding machines ranging in size from 25 tons to 650 tons in a 20,000-square foot factory near Dobson Road and Main Street in Mesa. Thompson is now retired but Fiesta Plastics is still a family-run and familyowned business with Operations Manager Mike Greathouse at the helm. “I’m as close to family without being blood-related,” he said. “The owner still takes us to lunch and makes sure we’re doing our job. He likes to come in and check out everything. We have one press that he can still work on since it’s very basic. We have a lot of new customers so sometimes he’ll meet and greet them.” Fiesta Plastics’ 35 employees who work in three shifts days a week, 24 hours a day. Greenhouse explained that injection Public Notices ............... page 2 © Copyright, 2021 East Valley Tribune
Mike Greathouse is operations manager at Fiesta Plastics in Mesa. (Melody Birkett/Tribune Contributor) molding involves “taking pelletized plastic, melting it and then injecting it under extremely high pressure into a steel mold. “When that mold is closed, there’s actually water circulating through it which sets the part. After that cooling cycle is done, the molds will open up and the parts will come out.” The company’s primary products include construction and safety equipment, art supplies, bill accepter components for vending and casino machines and outdoor courts for basketball and volleyball. “We have over 1,500 individual parts we produce here,” said Greathouse. “That includes components, not necessarily an entire project.” (USPS 004-616) is published weekly
Mailing Address: 1620 W. Fountainhead Pkwy., Suite 219, Tempe, AZ 85282
(480) 898-6500 Steven Strickbine, publisher Paul Maryniak, executive editor
All the manufacturing is done in their shop. “We can build molds basically from a napkin drawing of an idea all the way up to mass production,” explained Greathouse. “We can develop the parts, making it easier to be injection molded. “Usually, a transition from a 3D drawing on a computer would go to a 3D printing but there are things that can make injection molding easier, faster and we can help consult with that and give guidance because most of our customers have an idea but they don’t know how to execute it. That’s where we can really help them. “We do almost all plastics with the exception of silicone. They’re actually developing silicones that can be injection Subscriptions are $26 for 2 years, $14 for one year. Periodicals postage paid at Phoenix, AZ 85026.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: East Valley Tribune, 1620 W. Fountainhead Pkwy., Suite 291, Tempe, AZ 85282