It’s the middle of the summer travel season. While air travel is picking back up, a lot of families are still opting to follow in the footsteps of Clark Griswold and take a family road trip.
Never in American history has there been a more beloved highway to travel than Route 66. Spanning from Chicago to Los Angeles, the near 2,500-mile stretch of U.S. Highway 66 was once peppered with iconic gas stations, diners, stores and other attractions. Route 66 has been featured in countless songs, movies, TV shows and books.
Route 66 lost much of its functional value when the interstate system came along. The legendary highway was ultimately decommissioned in 1985, but is still alive and well today.
Route 66 is now being preserved by the National Park Service in collaboration with other governmental, private and non-profit partners. Today’s travelers of Route 66 will see many of the most memorable structures and artifacts of the original route. Travelers can also take in the unique landscapes and landmarks of each city and state they pass through. Route 66 runs through Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California.
Jon Larson, OEM sales manager at Allied Plastics, piled his family into the Larson Family Truckster earlier this summer. Their destination was Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri. Their 8-hour drive darted across parts of Route 66.
To help pass the time, Jon started playing a game where he’d point out different things they drove by that contained Allied Plastics parts.
“I was up to a dozen different parts before my wife started losing interest,” Jon says with a chuckle. “But it was really neat to think about how all of these parts made up in Twin Lakes, Wisconsin, can be seen all over the country along the famous Route 66.”
What did Jon see as he drove along Route 66?
“We passed by some agriculture dealerships, which is the biggest industry we manufacture for,” Jon relates. “You will find multiple Allied Plastics parts within the four walls of a farm equipment dealership.”
Multiple Allied Plastics parts were also seen on the highway itself. Travelers were making use of extra storage in their vehicles’ cargo carriers. In addition, every time Jon passed a tractor-trailer, dump truck or refuse truck, numerous plastic parts were sure to be found.
Allied Plastics parts could also be found when the Larson family reached its vacation destination. “Once we settled in and headed down to the lake, I couldn’t help but notice all of the boats, jet-skis and other powersports that also contain Allied Plastics parts,” Jon says.
The Larson Family Truckster stopped in Missouri, but could have traveled another 1,500 miles west to check out the rest of Route 66. Just imagine how many more Allied Plastics parts Jon would have noticed along the way … and how much fun his wife would have had hearing about it.
Allied aligns with a long list of businesses
Allied Plastics specializes in thermoforming superior-quality plastic parts for manufacturers in several industries.
- Agriculture – parts for tractors and sprayers, feed and water containers, calf housing, bale wagon enclosures, etc.
- Automotive – dashboard assemblies, door panels, seating parts, engine bay paneling, body panels, bumpers, bedliners, floor mats, etc.
- Construction – parts for backhoes, storage sheds, toolboxes, mobile outhouses, etc.
- Lawn & Garden – lawnmower and UTV parts, garden carts, sod pallets, wheelbarrows, hand tools, snowplow blades, etc.
- Material Handling – totes, pallets, carts, etc.
- Medical – electronics housing, imaging enclosures, bins and trays, hospital room panels, bed components, stands, etc.
- Industrial Packaging – pallets, trays, containers, etc.
- Recreational – RV panels, kayaks, boats, exercise equipment, playground components, etc.
- Transportation – seating, paneling, light housings, dashboards, etc.
For more information on how Allied Plastics can help bring your products to market, CONTACT US TODAY.