Inline Plastics Corporation, a major American thermoformed packaging manufacturer with over $200 million in annual revenue and operations spanning four states, is abandoning Michigan after just four years, leaving a rural community reeling from the sudden loss of its only specialized packaging facility.
A federal WARN notice filed in November 2025 confirms the permanent closure of the company’s Gladwin manufacturing plant, eliminating 25 jobs and erasing an estimated $3 million in annual economic activity when accounting for direct compensation, benefits, and the cascading effects on local suppliers and businesses. The shutdown, effective January 12, 2026, with worker separations beginning January 11, underscores the fragility of industrial investments in small-town Michigan.
$3 Million Economic Blow to Rural Community
The economic impact extends far beyond base salaries. With Michigan manufacturing workers earning an average of approximately $50,000 annually, the 25 positions represent roughly $1.25 million in direct wages. When employer-paid benefits, payroll taxes, and insurance are included, total compensation reaches approximately $1.75 million annually.
However, economic research from the plastics manufacturing sector indicates that each direct manufacturing job sustains 2.2 to 4.8 additional jobs through supply chain relationships and local spending. For Gladwin—a Mid-Michigan city of roughly 3,000 residents in a county of 25,000—the ripple effects are substantial. Workers’ paychecks support grocery stores, gas stations, restaurants, and service providers throughout the region. When these multiplier effects are factored into the analysis, the total annual economic activity tied to the plant approaches $3 million, now permanently erased from the local economy.
The WARN filing confirms a complete facility closure, with all terminations completed within two days. Affected employees lack union representation or bumping rights, meaning no ability to transfer to other Inline Plastics facilities based on seniority. Displaced workers must now compete for positions in a tightening regional manufacturing market where Michigan’s unemployment rate continues to exceed national averages.
Established Industry Player Exits Midwest
Inline Plastics is far from a minor player in the American packaging landscape. The Connecticut-based manufacturer, founded in 1968 and family-owned for three generations under CEO Tom Orkisz, operates a network of advanced manufacturing facilities producing thermoformed PET containers for the nation’s largest supermarket chains, food processors, and foodservice operators.
With estimated annual revenue exceeding $200 million and 201-500 employees across multiple states, Inline Plastics ranks among the leading specialized producers of tamper-evident food packaging in North America. The company’s patented Safe-T-Fresh product line—featuring distinctive tear-strip technology for salads, cut fruit, deli items, and prepared foods—has become a recognizable standard in retail fresh food departments nationwide.
The Gladwin facility was acquired in May 2022 when Inline purchased Cam Packaging’s Michigan operation, aiming to expand thermoforming capacity and serve Midwestern food industry clients more efficiently. The plant joined a strategic network spanning Inline’s headquarters facilities in Shelton and Milford, Connecticut; a major production hub in McDonough, Georgia (opened in 2010); and a Western regional plant in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Now, with Gladwin permanently shuttered, Inline Plastics withdraws entirely from Michigan and the broader Midwest manufacturing corridor. The company’s remaining operations consolidate in Connecticut, the Southeast, and the Mountain West—a geographic retreat that mirrors broader industry patterns favoring Sun Belt locations over traditional Rust Belt manufacturing centers.
Industry Consolidation Pressures Mount
Inline Plastics’ specialization in clear PET thermoformed containers positions it in a competitive segment facing intense pressure. The Gladwin plant supported production of Safe-T-Fresh tamper-evident packaging, including recently launched innovations like the 2024 Safe-T-Fresh 7-inch Rounds with multi-compartment designs for fresh produce and prepared foods.
Despite ongoing product innovation and strong demand from food retailers, broader industry forces are reshaping the packaging landscape. Michigan’s manufacturing sector shows contradictory signals: while the state reached employment levels in early 2024 not seen in over two decades, growth has since stalled. By late 2025, Michigan’s unemployment rate stood among the nation’s highest, and automotive-related suppliers—including plastics manufacturers serving the transportation sector—reported declining demand and sharp employment declines.
The packaging industry is undergoing aggressive consolidation. In mid-2025, packaging titans Amcor and Berry Global completed a merger creating a $23 billion global entity, triggering facility rationalization across overlapping markets. Such mega-mergers typically result in capacity pruning, with corporations closing smaller or redundant plants in favor of high-volume production hubs that maximize economies of scale.
For mid-sized manufacturers like Inline Plastics—substantial regional players but far smaller than the newly formed giants—competitive pressures intensify. Maintaining multiple manufacturing locations becomes increasingly expensive when larger competitors consolidate operations into fewer, more automated facilities.
Michigan’s Manufacturing Crossroads
For Gladwin County, the 25-job loss represents a meaningful economic setback. State economic development agencies frequently attract manufacturers with grants, tax abatements, and infrastructure investments, though specific incentive details for Inline Plastics’ 2022 Gladwin acquisition remain undisclosed. The rapid closure raises questions about clawback provisions designed to recoup taxpayer investments when companies exit prematurely.
Inline Plastics has emphasized environmental responsibility, incorporating recycled PET content into Safe-T-Fresh products to balance tamper-evidence requirements with recyclability goals. However, sustainability commitments have not prevented geographic consolidation decisions driven by operational economics.
Displaced Gladwin workers now face a shifting employment landscape where manufacturing positions increasingly require advanced technical skills, while service and logistics roles expand but often at lower compensation levels. For many, retraining programs become necessary to transition into growth sectors.
The closure spotlights ongoing risks for rural communities dependent on single employers or narrow industrial bases. While Inline Plastics’ decision registers as minor in national employment statistics, it signals the vulnerability of smaller manufacturing investments in non-metropolitan areas. As packaging regulations evolve and sustainability mandates reshape production economics, Michigan communities must weigh whether such industrial footholds provide durable economic anchors or merely temporary employment that vanishes when corporate strategies shift.
The permanent loss of $3 million in annual economic activity—representing not just paychecks but the complex web of suppliers, contractors, and local businesses supported by those 25 manufacturing jobs—leaves Gladwin confronting the same question facing dozens of similar communities across the industrial Midwest: how to build economic resilience when even established manufacturers can disappear with barely 60 days’ notice.
Sources:
Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity – WARN Notice: Inline Plastics Corp. Facility Closure, Gladwin, MI
Inline Plastics – Meeting the Growing Demand: Inline Plastics Expands its Footprint into Midwest
PlasticsToday – Inline Plastics to Close Michigan Manufacturing Plant in January, Eliminating 25 Jobs in Gladwin
Michigan Center for Data and Analytics – 2024 Michigan Annual Economic Analysis Report
Plastics Industry Association – The Economic Contributions of Plastics Manufacturing in the U.S.
Packaging Dive – Where is packaging industry consolidation likely in 2025?