If you’ve ever used a plastic disposable lid for your iced coffee or soda drink, there’s a chance that it was made on Turkey Creek Road in Plant City.
Ugo Mazzarolo, vice president and general manager of LidWorks, is celebrating the 30th anniversary of LidWorks this month. Despite the ups and downs over the years, Mazzarolo is pleased with the direction that the company, which specializes in creating disposable lids for plastic cups, is taking.
“I’ve got a great team,” Mazzarolo said. “Everyone is marching in the same direction, and I’m very proud of that.”
The company creates a variety of lids in different colors and shapes, which are then sent off to distribution centers. After receiving modifications, the lids go to different quick-serve restaurants like Burger King and Jamba Juice.
LidWorks has also had its product distributed to other companies, such as Cumberland Farms, Taco Bell, Speedway Gas Station and 7-Eleven. But for Mazzarolo, who began working with the company owned by his family in 1999, LidWorks still has plenty of room to grow.
Within the next five years, Mazzarolo says the company is planning on doubling the size of their business.
LidWorks is also focused on educating the public about environmental issues, especially those involving the plastics industry.
“Plastic has a negative impact if not dealt with responsibly,” Mazzarolo said.
The company mostly uses a type of plastic called polyethylene terephthalate, more commonly known as PET. This plastic is one of the most widely recycled types and is typically used in clear lids for soda drinks. Additionally, LidWorks also purchases a recycled form of polystyrene plastic, or PS. The plastics used depend on the needs of the customers, but Mazzarolo’s company remains conscious about their environmental impact.
“Our customer base is always changing,” Mazzarolo said. “It’s a big, vast industry. We’ve had a bunch of innovations in the industry over the years.”
LidWorks also has an Earth Day event every year for the employees of the company, as well as their friends and family.
Besides working to benefit the environment, Mazzarolo believes that he has also made positive changes in the Plant City community. LidWorks production is somewhat seasonal, with a strong summer season. This summer, the company will have about 150 to 160 employees.
“There are 150 people who depend on me for their livelihood, and I take that very seriously,” Mazzarolo said. “It makes me want to come here and do it all the time.”
It’s All in the Plastic
LidWorks uses polyethylene terephthalate to make its lids. PET (or PETE) is a form of polyester (just like the clothing fabric). Pellets of PET resin are heated to a molten liquid, which can be easily be molded into almost any shape, and is used for plastic bottles and containers for packaging foods and beverages, personal care products, and many other consumer products. PET was first synthesized in the U.S. during the mid-1940s by DuPont chemists searching for polymers that could be used to make new textile fibers.
You can distinguish PET bottles, lids and packaging from others from a symbol on the bottom or sides of PET containers: the number 1 surrounded by the triangular “chasing arrows” symbol and the acronym PET or PETE below the triangle. Only PET carries the #1 identification code.
Benefits of PET
• strong and lightweight
• non-reactive
• economical
• shatterproof
• safe for food, beverage, personal care, pharmaceutical and medical applications
Contact Emily Topper at etopper@plantcityobserver.com