Trash stash: Plastopan Industries Inc. builds a special kind of refuse receptacle--one that locks to protect sensitive discarded documents from theft.

TRASH and crime figure prominently in the fortunes of Plastopan Industries Inc.

Founded in Lindenfels-Eulsbach, Germany, and now based in South Central Los Angeles, the company that began by producing injection-molded trash bins is now focused on manufacturing bins with locks (and five-year warranties) that protect discarded documents from being stolen in identity-theft schemes or for other illicit purposes.

"People stealing garbage is a huge consideration for businesses," said Sofia Miller, vice president of sales and the niece of company founder Barthel Bitsch, as she navigated her way through a warehouse filled with rows of trash bins stacked on top of each other.

The growth potential has led to the opening of a 35,000-square-foot plant in Wurtland, Ky., five years ago to service clients on the East Coast. While the operation is now headquartered in the United States, there is still an office in Germany.

Miller said that the need to keep discarded documents secure has created a sub-category in the business of trash collection: companies that collect and then destroy paper waste through shredding or other means.

"We are not a trash collecting company," explained Tami Maynard, sales manager of Safeshred Co. Inc. of Commerce, which buys about 600 secured bins from Plastopan each year.

"We are a document destruction company. For just about any company today it is just a regular business expense. So much material they discard has confidential information they want to make sure it is in secure bins that are picked up and shredded."

Evolving product line

Safeshred is one of 4,000 customers in Plastopan's databank, according to Miller. While most are companies that collect trash and shred it in a central location, 10 percent are city governments and 7 percent are individual companies concerned about documents being misused by their employees.

The move toward secure bins is just the latest adjustment in Plastopan's product line.

Bitsch, now 72 and still active in product development while remaining in Germany, founded the company in 1965 when it became apparent that synthetic material could be heated, shaped and molded into large sturdy trash bins. As the technology caught on and competition intensified, Bitsch looked for innovations that would set the Plastopan apart.

"He expects everything to be perfect every time," Miller said. "He is very old-school that way but that is why the company has grown to be what it is."

Eager to find new sales opportunities, Bitsch asked his niece, Catherine Bump (Miller's sister), to establish an outpost in the United States in 1992. She opened a small office in San Francisco but business was slow at first, Miller recalled, so they looked south.

Plastopan responded for a request for bids by the city of Los Angeles calling for 400,000 60-gallon refuse containers to be used as the city mechanized its trash collection program beginning in 1994. By agreeing to move to the area, the company received a l0 percent bid preference when evaluating it against other bidders.

"The city said it would knock off 10 percent from our bid if we opened in an urban area. So we moved onto this block," she said, surveying the industrial neighborhood that houses Plastopan's 50,000-square-foot manufacturing and warehouse facility, once a wax paper factory.

The city contract got things going, but it was a limited piece of business that was filled before the end of 1997. The company still does some business with Los Angeles, including supplying the recycling bins used during the last Los Angeles Marathon.

"We order the Plastopan products because they seem to be very durable," said Brian Gonzalez, a senior management analyst for the L.A.'s Department of General Services. "And they have the specialty bins we need for events like the marathon."

While Plastopan has developed business by contracting with cities like Berkeley interested in bins made from recycled material, the real money is in the locked trash containers.

"You never thought there would be a day when Joe Criminal would go to the trash can to try and steal something," Miller said. "But that is exactly it, if you don't think about it is can be a big problem. That's why we think about it all the time."

The company does appear to be doing its part to nudge the still-struggling South Central business community forward, whether it involves using its office space to host meetings to help organize a local Business Improvement District or employing ex-cons whose resumes are not so impressive.

"We need good, hard-working people and, you know what? Sometimes the good, hard-working people from around here have made mistakes in their life," Miller said.

PROFILE

Plastopan Industries Inc.

Year Founded: 1965 (1992 in the U.S.)

Core Business: Manufacture of locking trash bins used for the collection of confidential material

Revenues in 2002: $3.2 million

Revenues 2003: $4 million

Employees in 2002: 42

Employees in 2003: 43

Goal: To provide the best waste and recycling storage equipment for the best possible price

Driving Force: To come through for customers no matter what their challenges