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Thermoforming is the overall process of heating a sheet of material and forming it into its final shape. There are two main types of thermoforming: vacuum forming and pressure forming; and the way in which the forming occurs differs between the two. Vacuum forming, as the name suggests, uses a vacuum to draw the heated material around the mold to create thermoformed plastic packaging, thermoformed plastic trays, or other thermoformed products. Pressure forming, meanwhile, uses air pressure on the top of the sheet to press heated material into the molds, in combination with vacuum under the sheet to create much better definition in part features. Jamestown Plastics will use either process or both when manufacturing products.

Clamshell packaging will typically have a hinge on one side to allow for a product to be sealed between the front and back panels. Sealing is usually done through RF (radio frequency) or heat sealing, welding, or buttons on the clamshell package. Jamestown Plastics specializes in designing custom plastic clamshell packaging. Blister packaging, on the other hand, will have the plastic attached to a paper header card through adhesive or sometimes by stapling. If using adhesive for the header card, the blister will typically not be recyclable as the adhesive contaminates the plastic. The Clamtainer® and Click It Card® from Jamestown Plastics can help solve this problem by separating the messaging from the plastic.

RF (radio frequency) sealing, also referred to as RF welding, uses high frequency energy to bond two plastic sheets together. Heat sealing is similar but instead uses heat and pressure to seal the package. Both processes require the purchase and maintenance of specialized machines. Another packaging option that does not require any machines to close and seal the package is our Clamtainer®, which is easy to close and opens with one-hand.

These are just a few of the many acronyms you will find in the world of thermoforming and manufacturing. Computer aided design (CAD) is used to create digital designs and models of products that will later be produced. Jamestown Plastics’ primary CAD design and modeling software is SolidWorks. Computer aided manufacturing (CAM) is the process and software where the CAD model is used to program toolpaths to machine a part that exactly matches the CAD model. In the thermoforming process, this is most frequently used to manufacture the tooling (molds, plug assists, fixturing, etc.) that produce the finished product. CAM programming is also used for many of our heavy gauge CNC trimming operations. CNC stands for computer numerical control. CNC machining is a programming language output from the CAM process that a machine’s controller can read and interpret into a series of moves that machine, trim, drill, turn or grind the product to a finished part.

A prototype is a sample or model of a product before it is mass produced. Prototypes can be made in a variety of ways, including with single-cavity tools and 3D printing. Jamestown Plastics creates custom-designed, production-quality prototypes, meaning that customers can test with their actual products as if the prototypes are first-quality production runs. Jamestown Plastics achieves this by building our “prototype” tooling as if it was low volume production tooling, using all the same tooling materials and production techniques found in high volume production tooling.

Jamestown Plastics was founded in 1958, so we’ve been in the thermoforming business for quite a while! Learn more about our history here.

All of our production is 100% Made in the USA. We have production facilities in Brocton, New York; Meadville, Pennsylvania; and Brownsville, Texas that provide redundant capacity, along with logistical and geographical advantages for our customers.

There are many factors that determine the time needed to complete your project. A complete design and tooling for a new product will require more time than making parts from existing tooling. In addition, material lead times need to be factored into the production timeline. Depending on these variables, project completion could be anywhere from 4-6 weeks up to 14-16 weeks. Although we are known for pulling off miracles!

Over the years Jamestown Plastics has made products for many different industries. Today our focus is on five main industries: automotive, medical/healthcare, electronics, consumer goods, and general industrial. Within these industries we specialize in a variety of products including automotive trim components, medical device packaging, RV closeout panels, truck closeout panels, POP displays, thermoformed plastic trays, clamshell packaging, and other thermoformed parts.

Yes! We have multiple ISO Class 7 and 8 Clean Rooms, producing clean room packaging that requires control of particulate and contamination.

We can ship products however it works best for you, including small parcel (UPS or FedEx), LTL and FTL.

Yes! Contract packaging, or contract pack out, is one of the value-added services that we have available for our customers. A list of some of our contract packaging and fulfillment services can be found here. Contact us to discuss your project specifics.

Typically, all project work is completed in-house by Jamestown Plastics team members, including design, tooling, and manufacturing. The vertical integration of these processes allows us to control those variables and provide quick turn-around on programs. In some instances, specialized services on projects are completed by our third-party partners, but that does not happen very often.

Jamestown Plastics produces products from a variety of light and heavy gauge materials (see Material Options), including many that can be recycled. While the recyclability of a finished part is ultimately determined by our customers’ designs and specifications, we encourage design and material choices that increase recyclability.

Yes! We can work with you to design packaging that will pass Certified Child Resistant testing. In fact, our Clamtainer® is a solution that works extremely well for retail packaged products that need to be CCR.

It’s great that you know about Clamtainer®, our innovative patented design that turns the cursed clamshell into a reusable container! For businesses looking to purchase lower volume Clamtainers® in case packs, our wholesale program allows for easy ordering and quick shipping through our website. Contact us to learn more.

For consumers looking to purchase Clamtainer® for personal use, they can be ordered on our Clamtainer website.

If you need higher volumes of Clamtainers®, please complete this form on our website, and we will follow up with you quickly.

Jamestown Plastics uses a variety of light and heavy gauge materials in the thermoforming process. You can see a list of the most common materials used here.

Yes! We can source materials for your static-sensitive or ESD specified products. Typically, anti-stat or ESD material is RPET, PET, or PVC.

Jamestown Plastics uses both heavy gauge thermoforming and thin gauge thermoforming to make thermoformed products. We can use material with thickness from 0.005” (0.127mm) to 0.5” (12.7mm). In addition, we can make parts up to 30” x 60” with our in-line production and up to 5’ x 9’ with our single station and rotary thermoforming. Whether you need light gauge or heavy gauge thermoforming, look no further than the experts at Jamestown Plastics!

Yes, Jamestown Plastics has held ISO 9001 certification since 2004 and is currently certified to ISO 9001:2015. We achieved ISO 13485:2016 certification in 2024.

Yes! We partner with our customers on their projects to meet their goals and can be the most helpful when we are part of the team from the start. We pride ourselves on recommending ways in which parts can be designed to use less material or can be made with sustainable material alternatives. Learn more about our sustainability initiatives here.

Yes, as part of our commitment to sustainability we are registered with and have completed a current Sustainability Assessment with EcoVadis. If you’d like to have access to our report, please request it through your EcoVadis account.

Yes, whether you need Prop 65, RoHS, or REACH, we most likely can provide the documentation you need to comply with your specific regulations. Please discuss this with us at the start of your project so we can ensure that all documentation is gathered throughout the project and the correct material choices and recommendations are made.