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The plastics industry has always been strong in Youngstown. Even when blast furnaces were belching sooty smoke into the sky, a Youngstown-based company was setting plastic-industry precedents.
"Today, anywhere you go there is plastic" says John Syphard, general manager of Mold-Tech. "Everywhere you see textured plastic. What's produced in this region is everywhere on this planet."
The commercial chemical texturing industry was born in the city in 1955 with the advent of Decorative Media Co., now known as Mold-Tech. Today, the names have changed, and the company is part of a global corporation, but the company continues to make inroads.
The Youngstown operation is one of 20 Mold-Tech plants located around the world (eight in North America). Mold-Tech's parent, Roehlen Industries, is headquartered at 801 North Meridian Road.
"Decorative Media Co. was founded 42 years ago by William Gutknecht, who began photo engraving steel rolls for Sharon...