HISTORY
Simple Beginnings
In the early 1960's a company called Quikut, located in Fremont, Ohio, developed a plastic handle for its cutlery business and purchased several injection molding machines to begin this new venture.
In 1964, Quikut was purchased and became a division of The Scott Fetzer Company. At that time, Scott Fetzer/Quikut invested in capital equipment, increased its manufacturing capabilities and began a core group to produce plastic injection molded components for other Scott Fetzer divisions, mainly The Kirby Company and Wayne Home Equipment.
Expansion and Relocation to Tennessee
In 1978, Scott Fetzer divided the cutlery portion and the plastic portion of Quikut into two separate groups. The plastics division was managed by Western Enterprises, located in Avon Lake, Ohio. In 1979, to support the core group inter-divisional business, Western Enterprises opened a new facility in Portland, Tennessee.
In 1983, the company began to compete in the custom plastics open market and continued its growth through the Scott Fetzer core and outside custom businesses.
In 1989, The Scott Fetzer Company divided the Western Enterprises Company into two groups, creating Western Plastics in Tennessee, while the other business remained in Ohio.
Focus on The Kirby Company
In 2006, Western Plastics became a dedicated plastics plant to The Kirby Company.
The Kirby Company’s history dates back to 1914 with a business partnership between George H. Scott and Carl S. Fetzer in Cleveland, Ohio. In 1919, The Company first introduced the Vacuette non-electric cleaner, of which more than 1 million were sold. The following year, The Kirby Company became a direct selling organization pioneering sales through in-home demonstrations. This was followed in 1925 by the Vacuette cleaner and in 1928 by the Scott & Fetzer Sanitation System. In 1935, the first vacuum to carry the name of inventor Jim Kirby was introduced. The Generation 3, introduced in 1990, represented one of the greatest product changes in the company’s history.
Today, Western Plastics is the primary manufacturer of molded parts for The Kirby Company. Together, they continue to lead the home cleaning industry, creating a powerful, reliable product sold in over 55 countries around the world.
