Phoenix Technologies receives recognition from Ohio’s Wood County

Pictured above, from left: Wood County Commissioners Craig LaHote and Joel Kuhlman, Phoenix Technologies President L. Robert Deardurff and Wood County Commissioner Doris Herringshaw. Photo: Welch Publishing

A leading producer of recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET) Phoenix Technologies International, headquartered in Bowling Green, Ohio, has been named Corporate Citizen of the Year by Ohio’s Wood County Economic Development Commission (WCEDC), which also is located in Bowling Green.

"When evaluating companies for our Corporate Citizen of the Year award, we look for organizations that have taken a leadership role in their industries and have made a positive impact on northwest Ohio," says Wade Gottschalk, WCEDC executive director. “Phoenix Technologies is an excellent representation of those ideals."

Throughout the past 25 years ago, Phoenix (profiled in the July 2015 issue of Recycling Today) has grown into a major supplier of rPET for a variety of packaging and other applications. One out of every 20 PET bottles recycled in the United States comes to Phoenix to pelletize and crystallize for reuse back into consumer packaging applications, the company says.

Phoenix has grown its manufacturing capabilities over the years, announcing an $18 million expansion in 2015 to enable upstream production integration. The company added a new proprietary wash line to self-manufacture clean flake, which is used as feedstock to create rPET. The new line is housed in a leased 66,000-square-foot facility near Phoenix’s existing 90,000-square-foot manufacturing plant. 

“On behalf of our employees, suppliers and customers, Phoenix is honored to accept this award,” said L. Robert Deardurff, president of Phoenix Technologies.

“In addition, I would like to thank the people, enterprises and organizations of Wood County that truly make it a great place to do business,” he said when accepting the award.

Phoenix Technologies is a member of the Plastic Technologies Inc., Holland, Ohio, family of companies.