A&C Plastics Company History
From One Woman’s Vision to a Family Legacy
In 1973, Carolyn and Myrl Faulk took a bold leap of faith. When Polycast Corporation, where Myrl worked, decided to close its Houston branch, the couple saw opportunity instead of loss. With $5,000 in savings, a client list, and a shared determination to succeed, they founded A&C Plastics right here in Houston, Texas.
Carolyn, a schoolteacher by day and entrepreneur by night, poured her heart into building the business. With no inventory and limited credit, she and Myrl started small — selling plastics one or two sheets at a time and promising every customer unbeatable service. Their philosophy was simple but powerful: no customer is too small.
That relentless work ethic paid off. By 1977, A&C Plastics had surpassed $1 million in sales, and Carolyn’s commitment to exceptional service became the cornerstone of the company’s success. In 1986, after the couple’s divorce, Carolyn bought out Myrl’s share and became the sole owner of A&C Plastics. Under her leadership, the company continued to grow, eventually earning her Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award in the Manufacturing & Distribution category in 1995 — a testament to her grit, vision, and trailblazing spirit in a male-dominated industry.
Over the years, Carolyn carved out a niche for A&C by stocking the hard-to-find colors, sizes, and specialty plastics others didn’t. That strategy earned the company its now-famous reputation as “The Distributor’s Distributor.”
“I believe you can actually grow yourself out of business, and I’m taking measures to ensure that doesn’t happen.”
– Carolyn Faulk
A&C’s products are sold to a variety of manufacturing companies and are used in making retail signs, shower doors, skylights, space suits, and even pianos.
Some of the company’s bullet resistant materials are used for drive-through bank windows, convenience stores and prison windows. Carolyn and Myrl founded A&C in 1973 with $5,000 they had saved together. Polycast Corp., which had been Myrl Faulk’s employer, decided to shut down its Houston warehouse and exit the market — a move the couple saw as a business opportunity.
“Polycast just didn’t think they were making enough money here, but what was no money to them was big money to me,”
Carolyn Faulk explains.
“We took the $5,000 we had saved and started up with a client list and no inventory.”
“We sell service and throw the plastic in for free.”
– Carolyn Faulk
A New Generation of Leadership
In 1998, Carolyn’s daughter Katie Clapp joined the company as a Receptionist / Director of First Impressions. Over the years, she worked in nearly every department — from sales to purchasing to operations — learning the business from the ground up. In 2013, Katie was named President of A&C Plastics, carrying forward the same grit, heart, and customer-first focus that her mother built the company on
Under Katie’s leadership, A&C has continued to expand and modernize. In 2021, the company completed construction on its state-of-the-art 235,000-square-foot headquarters and warehouse in Houston, which proudly showcases many of the plastics A&C sells throughout the building itself — a living example of the beauty, versatility, and durability of the company’s own materials.
Together with its regional branches in Chicago, Illinois, and Colorado Springs, Colorado, A&C Plastics now operates over 335,000 square feet of total warehouse space nationwide, ensuring fast, reliable service coast to coast.
A&C’s culture of excellence and innovation has earned national recognition, including:
- A feature in Dave Ramsey’s 2025 best-seller Build a Business You Love , highlighting A&C as a model for purpose-driven leadership and lasting family success.
- The 31st Annual Tilt-Up Achievement Award (2021) for the Houston facility.
- The Houston Business Journal Landmark Award (2022) and finalist honors.
Our Commitment Today
More than 50 years later, A&C Plastics remains family-owned and operated, grounded in the same principles that started it all — hard work, integrity, and world-class customer service.
As Carolyn famously says:
“We sell service and throw the plastic in for free.”
From one family’s dream to a nationwide industry leader, A&C Plastics continues to grow — not just in size, but in heart, legacy, and commitment to every customer we serve.
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