| Type | Employee Owned |
|---|---|
| Industry | Craft, Jewelry and Toys |
| Founded | 1932 |
| Headquarters | Hope Valley, RI, USA |
| Website | www.thebeadery.com |
Greene Plastics Corporation is an employee-owned company located in Hope Valley, Rhode Island. The main office, manufacturing facility, engineering, design and shipping warehouse are located in a facility in the village of Canonchet.
The company was founded in 1932 by Oliver Watson Greene, and was originally located in Wakefield, RI. In the 1950s, after being purchased by William White, the company was relocated to its current location in Hope Valley, RI. In 1985 it was sold to an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) trust. Now profits and shares of the company are allocated to the employees as retirement accounts.
The current headquarters and manufacturing facilities are located in a complex of buildings added over the years to the Ashville Mill, an historic textile mill dating back to 1848. In 1990 a facility was constructed for warehouseing, shipping/receiving and the design department.
In the early years, the thermoformed beads were sold primarily to the fashion jewelry industry, for which Rhode Island had been a major manufacturing center. Later injection molding enabled the creation of many styles and colors of beads. Compression molding was also used, and the results were beads and related items such as cabochons formed of extremely hard compounds that simulated costly semi-precious materials.
In the 1970s, a "do-it-yourself” handicrafts division was developed under the name THE BEADERY. Some of the products developed under this brand name are beaded holiday ornament kits, bead jewelry kits, plastic mosaic pieces, bead boxes filled with craft and jewelry beads and supplies and beaded banner kits.
In recent years, due to market demand and consolidating of suppliers by customers, Greene Plastics has started importing items that round out the product lines. Some imported materials include glass, wood, stone and bone beads; wire, hemp, leather and various other cords; jewelry findings and crafting and jewelry making tools.
Expansion into other markets, such as the toy industry, has been ongoing with the design of activity sets and the Beads-n-Beams construction system.