U.S. Plastic Lumber

Mark Alsentzer never saw himself as an environmentalist. He was a business man. It turned out, however, that a lucrative business opportunity and a boon to environmental health were meant to be one and the same for Alsentzer. Alsentzer began investing in the company Earth Care in 1996 because he thought highly of its concept for turning tossed-away plastic into a beneficial product, plastic lumber. The business was in financial trouble at the end of 1996, so Alsentzer took over. Investing in research to speed up the manufacturing process and acquiring other plastic lumber companies helped expand output while increasing product recognition helped improve consumer demand for plastic lumber. Alsentzer counted on this two-pronged strategy to secure the company’s future.