Our History

T.O. Plastics has been in business since 1948.  Founded by Ted Ingersoll and Oren Beech, the "T.O." name is derived from the first letter of each of their names. T.O. Plastics made its first parts in the garage and basement of Oren's southwest Minneapolis, Minnesota home. Eventually the company moved to Bloomington, Minnesota, where they established offices in an old school house with an attached onion shed that was used for the production area.  After a fire that destroyed the operation, a metal office building and quonset were erected so that business could continue.  In the early 1960's a modern plant was built on the Bloomington site, which was located near what is now Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

T.O. began producing plastic refrigerator components for a company in St. Cloud, Minnesota, called Franklin Refrigeration - today known as Frigidaire. Because these parts were bulky and difficult to ship, the Clearwater, Minnesota facility, now T.O.'s headquarters, was built specifically to service Franklin. T.O. continued to expand its product offerings and customer base, quickly earning a solid reputation in the marketplace for having outstanding quality and service.

In the 1960's, T.O. Plastics began manufacturing containers in which to grow plants. Today our proprietary horticulture container business is still growing and accounts for approximately 36% of the company's overall sales.

In the late 1960's the company went public, selling stock to investors to raise capital. This funding created many opportunities that the company capitalized on in order to achieve growth.

In the early 1980's, both Ted and Oren retired, selling the business to Oren's nephew, who took the company private once again.

In 1993, T.O. Plastics was purchased by Chuck Goers and Denny Schultek. Under Chuck and Denny's leadership, the company's performance, sales and profits increased and the facility in Clearwater was expanded multiple times as new equipment was acquired.

In 2001, T.O. Plastics was acquired by the Otter Tail Corporation (OTTR) of Fargo, North Dakota. Since the acquisition, the company has grown in every measure: parts, people, facilities and sales. T.O. has experienced a period of significant growth over the past 3-5 years and this growth trend is expected to continue.

Early in 2009, in order to meet continued customer demand and to continue to foster the growth of the company, a portion of our Clearwater operations were relocated to Otsego, Minnesota (10 miles north of Minneapolis). This new 57,500 sq. ft. facility houses our medical device packaging and electronics component packaging businesses. A portion of our custom in-line thermoforming production and off-line packaging businesses are also located in Otsego. Our Otsego facility is ISO 13485:2003 and ISO 9001:2008 certified and meets certified cleanroom 10,000 and 100,000 status.

This strategic move brings T.O. Plastics closer to the Minneapolis - St. Paul business economy where many prominent medical device manufacturers are located. The 57,500 sq. ft. of manufacturing space in Otsego is part of a 150,000 sq. ft. building jointly leased with our sister company, BTD Manufacturing, which is also owned by the Otter Tail Corporation.

In 2011, as part of an ongoing committment to provide customers with products and services of the highest quality, T.O. Plastics' Clearwater facility achieved ISO 9001:2008 certification.

T.O. Plastics currently employs approximately 200 people.