Dart Container sure knows how to throw a party.
Several bounce houses kept kids occupied as they slid down a slide to get their picture taken with Spiderman and Tinkerbell. Employees of Dart Container came out to the site at 4610 Airport Road for lunch during the Plant City office’s Dart Container 30th anniversary party.
Those in attendance included Hillsborough County Commissioner Ken Hagan, Mayor Mike Sparkman and Attorney General Pam Bondi.
“We just wanted to show an appreciation for our employees and their families,” Plant Manager Jimmy Rigdon said.
Rigdon has been with Dart Container for 46 years and with the Plant City office since it opened. He transferred from a Georgia facility to start the Plant City location. Distribution started in October 1982, and production started shortly after, in 1983.
“It was hard work and took some long hours to get going,” Rigdon said.
The Plant City location started with just 35 employees and now employs 250. Before the recession, numbers reached as high as about 300 employees.
“We do seem to be rebounding from the economic downturn,” Rigdon said.
Dart Container started as a small machine shop in Mason, Mich. Established in 1937, it was known as Dart Manufacturing Company. The business prospered through the manufacture of products such as plastic key cases, steel tape measures and identification tags for the armed services. Subsequent experimentation with expandable polystyrene in the late 1950s led to a line of high quality insulated foam cups. Customers took a liking to foam cups, and sales took off.
Dart manufactures a broad range of quality single-use products for the food-service, retail/consumer and food packaging industries. It is the world’s largest manufacturer of foam cups.
Dart Container has offices around the U.S. and the world including Florida, Georgia, Texas, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Kentucky, North Carolina, Canada, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Australia, Brazil and Argentina.
Every year, Dart Container gives a specified amount of funds to each office to give to schools or organizations through its the Dart Foundation. For the company’s 50th anniversary in 2010, the Plant City office was given $25,000, which they directed at STEM, science and technology programs in schools. Burney Elementary School received interactive whiteboards, and Walden Lake Elementary School received technology equipment.
“It’s very important,” Rigdon said of the program. “It sends a message to the community about what Dart is about. Its not just a company that is here to make money. It’s also a company that wants to be part of the community.”
Rigdon also loves the security and the way the company operates.
“The Dart family has always impressed me with their business decisions and by surrounding themselves with good people,” Rigdon said.
Contact Amber Jurgensen at ajurgensen@plantcityobserver.com.
