Mr. Jones C. Beene, III was a partner in the founding of the Athens Bed Company following World War II and remained as such until he was called into the Korean Conflict, at which time he sold his Bed Company stock. Following his tour of duty in the Korean Conflict, he returned to Athens and considered a new business start. In the meantime, with five children, he opened a clothing store for children. This was a business venture mainly aimed at getting his children clothed at wholesale prices.
Mr. Beene needed a plastic sign to go over the store and went to Knoxville to a sign company to purchase one. The delay in getting delivery of the plastic letters for the sign upset him, as he was not known as a patient man. The owner of the sign company suggested that if he was in such a hurry for the letters, why didn't he just start a company and make them himself. He did just that and this was the start of what was to become Plastic Industries. With Mr. Beene and two employees, the company began making plastic letters and shoe displays; then expanded to make hosiery inspection forms. From its small Pope Avenue site, Plastic Industries - as the company was known then - moved to its first industrial building in 1955. That building has been expanded several times and is now Plant #1 on Congress Parkway. |
