The origins of Long Plastics date back 25 years to when the company was a small operation within another business.  Following several years of steady growth, Long Plastics was formed in 1997.  Further expansion followed and in 1998 a second plant was established in Brisbane.  Growth continued and the plant capacity was expanded as necessary.

Long Plastics produces two types of products - standard products and custom moulded products.  Standard products are produced for stock and the company owns the tooling.  Customer mouldings are produced to order, usually in batches which suit the customer.  The customer owns the tooling.

Seasonality is a feature of some ranges of products and to manage the Long Plastics operates a flexible two shift operation.  It is assisted by modern, reliable, high capacity machinery with short set up times.

Development of new products is an important part of the long Plastics business.  There is an experienced team aided by up to date design tools.  Computer aided design software is used to model new products and to communicate with the toolmaker.

Long Plastics works with a number of toolmakers, both in New Zealand and offshore, so as to offer choice to customers.  A feature of some toolmakers is their ability to deliver tooling at short notice.  A recent project had a new tool running, in production, just a month after placing the order.

An important ingredient in the success of Long Plastics is the number of long serving employees.  Many have been with the company over 10 years and staff turnover is low.  Additional temporary staff are employed during peak periods.

Storage, logistics and transport are crucial to the business due to the high volume and number of products produced.  With the equivalent of 3 to 6 "B trains" leaving the site every day, co-ordination is critical and is managed carefully by the team.

After more than 25 years in the business, Long Plastics is well placed to advise on any EPS project.