A Commitment to Innovation Made Presco Possible
At Presco, there’s a lot of pride that goes along with our industry-leading capabilities. Not only are we the foremost manufacturer of outdoor safety marking products, but we also have a thriving film-extrusion division, dubbed Presco. While today, Presco continues to impress clients across the nation, some may be surprised to discover it actually started as an in-house way to improve our vertical integration. If innovation hadn’t been such a crucial element to Presco’s success, the Presco division might never have existed.
Knowing Where We Came From
To understand why the Presco brand has grown into what it is today, it’s important to look at how Presco started. In 1942, Robert McMackin patented a stadia rod to help seismologists in the field, which led to the founding of Precision Specialties Company the next year. While the early years of the company were primarily focused on everything from portable breast reels to specialty applications for dynamite, it wasn’t until almost a decade into the company’s existence that Robert and his son Ed began to use cheesecloth for roll flagging.
As the industry shifted to vinyl, Precision Specialties Company began to see increased demand for roll flagging and wire marking flags. So much so, in fact, that the seismic applications that led to the initial formation of the company tapered off as more and more of the roll flag manufacturing was brought in-house. This was such a successful move that soon, innovations had to be sought to vertically integrate and make it even more efficient to manufacture in-house.
A Groundbreaking Concept
The solution: To internally produce PVC film for roll flagging and stake flags.
And that’s exactly what happened in 1975 when Precision Specialties Company extruded its first in-house vinyl film. This innovation meant that formulas could be adapted to increase the durability and performance of products across the entire line. The quality improved so much that the company’s Texas Grade Roll Flagging product became an industry standard and is still the preferred choice today.
As the company expanded into products such as barricade tape and underground warning tapes, the Precision Specialties Company name was abbreviated to Presco. And shortly after, the company reached a new turning point as it began to sell Presco extruded vinyl film to other companies. This division became so successful, it was spun off into a subsidiary labeled Proflex Vinyls, which later became Presco Engineered Film.
Turning Past Innovation into Present Day Success
Today, Presco is the industry leader in extrusion solutions. With decades of experience to back us up, we continue to raise standards every day. We are proud of our history—it has allowed us to have the wide variety of products and excellent customer service that sets us apart from the competition. To learn more about Presco, or to speak with one of our experts about how our state-of-the-art extruding solutions can work for you, visit Presco.com!