Our Story
Plastic Engineering Company of Tulsa, Inc. was born during the spring of 1945 in the garage of Dan and Margaret Byrne, where they started fabricating plastic furniture. Dan had a working knowledge of acrylic and how to form it from working for McDonald Douglass during World War II. The couple quickly decided they would need more space to make a go of their company, then called Plexi Light Plastics. In September 1945, they moved the business to downtown Tulsa and opened the shop with a new name, Plastic Engineering Company of Tulsa.
The company did well and, again, needed more space. In 1951, the move was made to a new building on Admiral Place. The 1950s were growth years for the company as it continued to build a base of fabrication and skylight customers along with distributing sheet goods, like Plexiglas and Alsynite. Dan and Margaret continued to work alongside each other and even began to involve their son, Denny, in the company's operations.
In 1959, an even bigger facility was opened on North Sheridan Road as skylight sales boomed, and the growing popularity of plastic helped the company expand. The '60s brought new sales opportunities for Plastic Engineering Company in the way of light panels, sign supplies, boat resins and paints, infrared heating equipment, silicone adhesives, and fiberglass pipe.
By 1970 it was apparent skylights were where Dan and Margaret's company could become a major force on a national level. By then, Denny had finished a degree in chemical engineering and was a full-time employee and shareholder in the company. The company moved to its current location at 6801 East 44th Street and installed two large ovens capable of blowing skylight domes up to 12' x 12'.
Then, in 1974, the company earned one of its most exciting jobs, furnishing 450 10' x 10' domes for the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington DC.
As commercial construction slumped in the 1980s, Denny's wife, Mary, joined the team and helped reinvent the company as a major player in the field of custom fabrication. Mary and the plant manager, Henry Spencer, continued to grow the business. Together, they took on wildly complicated fabrication jobs using their brilliant creativity and can-do attitude. All the while, Denny had their back with his knowledge of plastic and its unique properties.
For the past two decades, the third generation of the Byrne family has joined the team: Virginia Gleason in 2001 and Matt Byrne in 2003. The company still handles a significant amount of residential local and national skylight business while remaining one of the region's leading custom fabricators when it comes to plastic sheet. Plastic Engineering is also well known as a plastic sheet distributor.
Since its early days in the garage, Plastic Engineering Company has prided itself on a people-first attitude. As a result, the customers and employees of Plastic Engineering have made the company what it is today.