Plastics Industry Knowledge Base
Purpose
This document captures key facts, terminology, and industry-specific knowledge about plastics recruiting to help understand BAINTL’s business model, market dynamics, and client needs.
🏭 Industry Segments (BAINTL’s Market)
Core Plastics (Primary Focus)
1. Resin Distribution
- Companies that distribute plastic resins (raw materials) to manufacturers
- Materials: Engineering resins, commodity resins, specialty compounds
- Customers: Injection molders, extruders, blow molders
- Key roles: Outside sales, technical sales, inside sales, purchasing
2. Plastics Extrusion ⭐ BAINTL’s Core Specialty
- Manufacturing process: Forcing molten plastic through a die to create continuous shapes
- Products: Sheet, rod, tube, profiles, film, packaging
- 190 contacts in database - This is BAINTL’s strongest segment
- Common titles: Branch Manager, General Manager, Sales Manager, Operations Manager
- Why it’s core: BAINTL has deep candidate pipeline for extrusion roles
3. Injection Molding
- Manufacturing process: Injecting molten plastic into molds
- Products: Automotive parts, medical devices, consumer products, packaging
- High-volume production environment
- Common roles: Process engineers, quality managers, operations managers
4. Thermoforming
- Manufacturing process: Heating plastic sheets and forming them over molds
- Products: Packaging, trays, containers, automotive components
- Lower capital requirements than injection molding
5. Packaging
- Overlap with extrusion, thermoforming, and injection molding
- Products: Film, bags, bottles, containers, flexible packaging
- Market drivers: Food safety, sustainability, e-commerce growth
6. Sheet/Rod/Tube Distribution
- Distributors sell cut-to-size plastics to fabricators
- Customers: Sign shops, machine shops, OEMs, fabricators
- Key roles: Outside sales (territory-based), inside sales, branch managers
Adjacent Markets (Expansion Opportunities)
7. Chemical Distribution
- Similar business model to resin distribution
- Products: Solvents, additives, specialty chemicals
- Transferable skill set: Technical sales, logistics, supply chain
8. Metals Distribution
- Similar distribution model (cut-to-size, territory sales)
- Products: Aluminum, steel, stainless, alloys
- Overlap: Many fabricators buy both plastics AND metals
9. Industrial Distribution
- Broader category: MRO supplies, industrial equipment
- Overlap with plastics distribution customers
👥 Common Roles & Hiring Patterns
Branch Manager / General Manager / Profit Center Manager
- Reality: These are BOTH candidates AND hiring managers
- Dual Role:
- As Hiring Managers: They hire salespeople, inside sales, operations staff
- As Candidates: BAINTL places many branch managers (career progression path)
- Complication: If they work at an active client company, DON’T send candidate recruitment emails
- Salary Range: 150K+ depending on branch revenue
- Key Skills: P&L management, sales leadership, operations
Outside Sales / Account Manager / Territory Manager
- Primary revenue drivers for distribution companies
- Territory-based (geographic or vertical market)
- Comp structure: Base + commission (high variable)
- Career path: Sales Rep → Senior Sales → Territory Manager → Branch Manager
- BAINTL places A LOT of these roles
Inside Sales / Customer Service
- Order processing, quote generation, customer support
- Entry-level to mid-level
- Often a stepping stone to outside sales
- Salary: 65K
VP of Sales / Regional Sales Manager / District Sales Manager
- Manage multiple territories or branches
- Strategic sales leadership
- Comp: 200K+
Operations / Manufacturing / Engineering
- Plant managers, production supervisors, process engineers
- Roles in extrusion plants, injection molding facilities, compounding operations
- Technical background often required
📊 Business Model Insights
Recruiting in Plastics Distribution
Why Branch Managers Are Both:
- Distribution companies are highly decentralized (e.g., Polymershapes has 70+ branches)
- Branch managers are autonomous profit centers
- Many branch managers have sales backgrounds → they’re recruitable
- They also hire their own teams → they’re hiring managers
- This is normal in this industry, not an edge case
Proactive vs Reactive Clients:
- Proactive: Will call BAINTL when they have a need
- Reactive: Will hire IF you reach out, but won’t proactively seek help (e.g., Polymershapes)
- Implication: Reactive clients need regular MPC touchpoints to generate business
MPC (Most Placeable Candidate) Strategy:
- Don’t just blast job descriptions
- Send targeted profiles: “I have a great extrusion sales candidate in your area…”
- Personalization matters: Reference their specific niche (resin distribution, sheet distribution, etc.)
- Expected response rates:
- Manual targeted MPC: 30% (Aaron’s historical experience)
- Automated targeted MPC: 15%+ (realistic at scale)
- Generic blasts: 4-5% (Dan’s test with relocation job)
🏢 Major Players (Context)
Large Distribution Companies
- Polymershapes - 70+ branches, decentralized, reactive hiring style
- Curbell Plastics - Major sheet/rod/tube distributor
- Ridout Plastics - West Coast distributor
- Note: Giant multi-billion dollar companies are HARD to penetrate for recruiting (procurement gatekeepers)
Why Size Matters in Recruiting
- Small to Mid-Size: Decision-makers accessible, shorter sales cycles
- Enterprise (Multi-Billion): Procurement barriers, HR bureaucracy, MSAs required
- BAINTL’s Sweet Spot: Mid-market companies with 500M revenue
💡 Industry-Specific Terminology
Manufacturing Processes
- Extrusion: Continuous process (sheet, film, tube, profiles)
- Injection Molding: Discrete parts (automotive, medical, consumer goods)
- Blow Molding: Hollow parts (bottles, containers)
- Thermoforming: Heating and forming sheets (packaging, trays)
- Compounding: Mixing raw polymers with additives/colors
Material Types
- Commodity Resins: PE, PP, PVC (high volume, low margin)
- Engineering Resins: ABS, PC, Nylon, Acetal (higher performance, higher margin)
- Specialty Compounds: Custom formulations for specific applications
Distribution Terminology
- Sheet/Rod/Tube: Cut-to-size plastics sold to fabricators
- OEM: Original Equipment Manufacturer (end customers who make finished products)
- Fabricator: Machine shops that cut, mill, weld plastics
- Masterbatch: Concentrated color or additive compounds
🎯 Campaign Targeting Insights
Why Industry Segmentation Matters
Core Plastics = Conservative Approach:
- BAINTL has deep candidate bench
- High placement success rate
- Can be very specific in MPC emails
- Example: “I have a candidate with 10 years in sheet distribution…”
Adjacent Markets = Aggressive Approach:
- BAINTL testing these markets
- May not have as deep a bench
- Broader value prop needed
- Example: “We’ve helped industrial distribution companies find top sales talent…”
Geographic Considerations
- Plastics manufacturing is concentrated in certain regions
- Relocation is a major barrier (Dan’s 4.5% response when location mentioned)
- Territory sales roles are inherently location-dependent
- Exception: High-level VP/Director roles may relocate
⚠️ Edge Cases & Special Situations
The Branch Manager Dilemma
- Problem: Can’t recruit branch managers FROM active client companies
- Why: Damages client relationship (“You’re trying to steal our people!“)
- Scale: In plastics distribution, this is 50-100+ contacts easily
- Current Solution: Manual review of campaign lists before sending
- Alternative Considered: Company exclusion lists (rejected - blocks hiring manager emails too)
Multi-Site Companies
- Polymershapes example: 70+ branches
- Each branch has its own manager (potential hiring manager)
- Decentralized = each branch manager makes hiring decisions
- Need to track company-wide relationship vs individual branch relationships
📚 Key Learnings from BAINTL
What Makes a Good MPC Email (Per Aaron’s Examples)
1. Specificity Wins:
- ❌ “I have a plastics candidate”
- ✅ “I have a candidate with 10 years in engineered resins distribution selling to injection molders”
2. Target Persona Match:
- Match the candidate description to the recipient’s exact niche
- Branch manager in sheet distribution gets sheet distribution candidates
- VP of sales in compounding gets compounding sales talent
3. Soft Approach:
- “Does this sound like someone that might be of interest to you?”
- Not pushy, conversational tone
- Aaron’s style: Professional but casual
4. Urgency is Subtle:
- “Quietly exploring new opportunities” (implies discretion, limited window)
- “Just completed a search and interviewed…” (implies fresh, timely)
- Avoid: “URGENT HIRE NOW” (too aggressive)
Campaign Cadence Philosophy
- Outreach: 3-4 touches over 12-14 days (initial contact)
- Nurture: Monthly touchpoints (stay visible)
- Customer: Quarterly check-ins (relationship maintenance)
- Key: Automation provides baseline; manual 1:1 emails always allowed for hot candidates
Database Reality
- 11,000 total contacts
- Many are legacy (2011 Bullhorn migration)
- Estimate: 20%+ are outdated/deceased
- Priority: Focus on fresh, accurate data rather than volume
- Quality > Quantity (Aaron’s preference)
🔄 Ongoing Updates
Living Document
This knowledge base should be updated as new industry insights emerge from client conversations, campaign results, and market trends. Add new sections as needed for specific sub-industries, geographic markets, or role types.
Last Updated: 2026-01-13
Recent Additions:
- Initial creation based on 2026-01-13 meeting notes and historical project documentation
To Be Added:
- Compensation benchmarks by role
- Seasonal hiring patterns (if any)
- Industry conference/event calendar
- Competitor intelligence (other plastics recruiters)
- Success metrics from deployed campaigns