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Port Richey's Seaway Plastics celebrates 30 years

 
Tim Smock is co-owner and CEO of Seaway Plastics.
Tim Smock is co-owner and CEO of Seaway Plastics.
Published July 23, 2014

Spotlight | Seaway Plastics

PORT RICHEY — The staff at Seaway Plastics produces parts for products lots of people use. This summer, its Port Richey campus celebrates its 30th anniversary, a milestone its owner can explain:

"We have a very good group of people," said Tim Smock, 57, co-owner and CEO of Seaway. He owns the business with Paul Bernard, 59, Seaway's president.

The business began in Detroit. In 1984, its original owners opened a Port Richey location. Seaway makes molds for parts, injects plastic into the molds and sells the parts to clients that produce the products that require them.

Eventually, "the previous owners wanted to downsize," Smock said. "Back then, a lot of companies in the U.S. were moving moldmaking to China. Paul and I recognized (that) the niche we wanted to serve doesn't want to go offshore, for a whole host of reasons."

So in 2003, Smock and Bernard bought out the original owners. The business has had significant growth since. The 80,000-square-foot facility is made up of five buildings in Port Richey and one in Brooksville, and the parts the business makes are varied.

There are valves for 7-Eleven Slurpee machines and pieces that belong in commercial icemakers. There are window frames for Airbus and Boeing airplanes, missile components and "some things I can't talk about, but they're military-related," Smock said.

Medical clients account for 30 percent of Seaway's business, Smock said. The company creates parts for X-ray and MRI machines, he said, and parts for devices designed to detect cervical cancer — a project for which Seaway recently received a Medical Design Excellence award.

"Our (staff is) challenged and they enjoy what they're doing," Smock said. "People want to work at Seaway."

Visit seawayplastics.com for more information about the company.

Cafe to mark first anniversary: Celebrate A Cup of Organic Café's first anniversary on Saturday. Drinks are buy-one, get-one from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mike Wells Jr., who is running for Pasco County Commission District 4, has a Q&A from 9 to 11 a.m. The cafe is at 33204 State Road 52, St. Leo. (813) 546-6659.