About River Bend Industries

          2009

                   River Bend Industries re-certifies and achieves 9001-2008 ISO status.

                   River Bend Industries installs fully automated process monitoring systems in all three facilities (live data exchange).

2008

• In the spring of 2008 River Bend Industries purchased Victor Plastics. The acquisition puts River Bend Industries in the top 100 injection molders in the U.S. 

2006

• River Bend Industries was founded in December of 2006. That same month, with the help of Palomino Capital of Dallas, Texas, they purchsed their facility in Fort Smith, Arkansas. The Fort Smith facility was purchased from Moll Industries. The acquisition was made possible, in large part, by the long time relationship of River Bend owner, Ron Embree, and Whirlpool. The Fort Smith facility has been in operation since 1963. 

2006

• Victor Plastics Inc.'s headquarters moved to the North Liberty Division. Victor Plastics, Inc. also expanded via acquisition in Flora, MS. This expansion will aid Customers with decrease freight cost and increase the capabilities for Victor Plastics, Inc.

2005

• The company has invested heavily in capital equipment (large tonnage presses, robotics); internal systems, processes, controls, training, and clearly defined performance improvement metrics (strategic initiatives); and re-organizational improvements, to better serve our customers, employees, suppliers, lending partners and shareholders. The unified team of 700+ employees at Victor Plastics, Inc. remains steadfast to earn the distinction of "best in class."

2004

• In March 2004 Victor Plastics, Inc. was sold to a private equity firm (Spell Capital Partners, LLC. of Minneapolis, MN), along with a new executive management (equity) team in October 2004 (Michael Tryon, CEO/President; Victor finished 2004 with $102.5 million in revenues (ranked 61st nationally by Plastics News' listing of North American plastic injection molding companies).
• All three manufacturing facilities are re-certified on February 2, 2004 to be ISO 9001:2000 compliant.

2003

• Victor celebrates 20 years in business and the installation of its largest press to date, a 3000 ton capacity Toshiba. Their four facilities offer 105 injection molding presses ranging from 30 to 3000 tons in over 435,000 sq. ft. of manufacturing space. With over 650 employees, Victor processes an estimated 40 million lbs. of plastic each year and ranks 76th nationally in sales according to Plastics News’ Top 100. Victor's continuing growth leads to a manufacturing alliance in Mexico.

2001

• With 365,000 square feet of manufacturing space, Victor purchases its 100th injection molding machine. Injection molding capacities now range from 30 to 1800 tons. The company’s compound growth rate over the last decade has been in excess of 10% annually.
• Along with establishing mold making connections overseas, Victor constructs a new 20,000 sq. ft. tool room.

2000

• Kalona Plastics expands facility by 43,500 sq. ft. to 108,000 and increase the total press count at Kalona to 37. State-of-the-art material handling provides a cleaner, quieter and more efficient workplace and space for 12 to 16 new presses.

1998

• In a move to enhance early design involvement activites, Victor Plastics expands its marketing and sales efforts to include a number of business development engineers (BDE) who have truer technical problem-solving capabilities.

1997

• All three manufacturing facilities and corporate tool room are certified ISO 9002.

1996

• Gas Assist technology is added at all three facilities allowing Victor to offer customers distinct advantages in terms of component strength to weight ratios and finish aesthetics.
• The Cheetah is adopted as the icon to represent the spirit of Victor Plastics. "Speed... Agility... Tenacity...From concept to completion with a sense of urgency" was also adopted, to embody the culture at Victor to adapt to our customer's ever-changing needs.

1995

• Just over a decade in business, Victor’s combined sales pass the $50 million mark. With the strong economy comes continued reinvestment into the business in the form of people, technology and equipment.
• Victor purchased property adjacent to the Victor plant and expanded the facility by 60,000 sq. ft. bringing total manufacturing area to 140,000 sq. ft.
• As a result of growth limitations at the Marion plant the operation is moved to a new 15 acre site in North Liberty, Iowa. The 120,000 sq. ft., state-of-the-art facility offers growing room for the expanding company.

1992

• Victor opens a third plant in Marion, Iowa. The 40,000 sq. ft. facility initially employs 45 and runs 12 presses.

1989

• Large scale production begins with two 2500 ton presses at the Victor facility. The driving force behind this expansion is work for the automotive industry.

1987

• As a result of substantial growth, a second plant opens in Kalona, Iowa which initially employs 30 and houses 7 presses.

1983

• Victor Plastics Inc. opens its doors in Victor, Iowa with 6 molding machines and 25 employees. VPI ends its first year with $2 million in sales.