Behind The Scenes At D&J Plastics, Inc.

By BassFan Staff

Last week, BassFan editor Todd Ceisner was part of a select group of media given an exclusive, all-access tour of the facilities at D&J Plastics, Inc., in Georgetown, Ga.

D&J is a family-owned business and its factory, located just a few miles from the shores of Lake Eufaula, stands as one of largest soft plastic factories in the world. Its specialty is private-label manufacturing for many brands and retailers. It also manufactures products for Big Bite Baits.

Our tour included a brief walk-through of the office before spending the bulk of our time on the production floor and in the warehouse learning about the process of how soft-plastic fishing baits are made, packed, stored and shipped. The company has approximately 64,000 square feet of space spread across three primary buildings.

Daily production at D&J ranges between 750,000 and 1 million baits. The production line is capable of churning out 41,666 baits per hour (or 694 baits per minute). In a given year, 16 billion baits are made at D&J, enough to fill up 32 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

Below is a collection of photos taken during our visit to the factory:

×

Sign of the Times

BassFan editor Todd Ceisner was among a select group of media members given an exclusive all-access tour of the D&J Plastics, Inc., facility in Georgetown, Ga., last week. It was the first time the company had opened its doors to media. (Photo: BassFan)

Heavy Metal

This mold is used to make a fork-tail minnow at D&J Plastics. The cost to build each mold can range between $5,000 and $10,000. (Photo: BassFan)

Fresh Frogs

Here's what a newly-made string of Big Bite Baits Fighting Frogs looks like just off the assembly line. D&J Plastics manufactures products for Big Bite Baits. (Photo: BassFan)

Holding Pattern

After the baits are removed from the mold, they are hung on metal racks to cool. (Photo: BassFan)

Crappie Candy

There was a run of crappie baits being made during our visit to the D&J plant. The baits are later clipped from the string of plastic and prepared for packaging. (Photo: BassFan)

Too Many To Count

Here's a rack full of brown and chartreuse crappie baits. There are a few thousand individual baits in this photo alone. (Photo: BassFan)

Keep It Churning

This is one of the color barrels that was hooked up to the production line during our visit. The apparatus on top of the barrel keeps the liquid stirred during production. (Photo: BassFan)

Chartreuse Froth

At the next station, a barrel of chartreuse coloring was being used in the production of crappie baits. (Photo: BassFan)

Pick a Color, Any Color

Here's a sampling of the paints used in the production of soft plastic fishing lures at D&J Plastics. (Photo: BassFan)

Make It Sparkle

Small, medium or large and in several different shapes, there is plenty of glitter on hand ready to be mixed in during the bait production process. (Photo: BassFan)

Rainbow Room

Barrels of ready-to-use material is stored in this room in case a certain color bait needs to be produced. (Photo: BassFan)

Ready To Go

This barrel was lined up ready to be moved to the production line. (Photo: BassFan)

Man In Charge

Dennis Montgomery and his wife Joyce are the owners of D&J Plastics, Inc. It's a family-run business that employs anywhere between 40 and 100 people depending on the time of year. It's estimated that in Montgomery's 30 years in the injection plastic industry, he's produced more than 400 billion baits. The boxes behind Montgomery are full of various soft plastic baits in different shapes and colors. (Photo: BassFan)

Minimizing Waste

The scrap plastic that is left over after a production run is ground up and saved in these big plastic bags. The material is then sold to companies overseas for use in producing soles for shoes and sneakers. (Photo: BassFan)

Baits, Baits and More Baits

This is just one of several warehouses at D&J Plastics where loose product and packaged products are stored, ready for shipment. The company produces between 750,000 and 1 million baits per day and goes through 3 million pounds of plastic per year. (Photo: BassFan)

Wacky Rig, Anyone?

This is one of thousands of boxes of baits on hand at D&J Plastics. Each cardboard box is individually labeled with size, brand and color. (Photo: BassFan)

And They're Growing

The framework is already in place for a two-story expansion on the back of the main warehouse to allow for additional storage and workspace. (Photo: BassFan)

Big Bite

D&J Plastics manufactures products for Big Bite Baits and there's a showroom on site to display all of the Big Bite products (Photo: BassFan)

Dean's Treasure Trove

The Big Bite Baits signature series products of Elite Series angler Dean Rojas are displayed prominently under replicas of huge bass. (Photo: BassFan)

Russ' Goodies

The products under Russ Lane's signature series were arranged neatly next to Rojas'. (Photo: BassFan)

Kriet's Catch

The finesse fishing baits under Jeff Kriet's signature series are also on display. (Photo: BassFan)

◄ Back

Next ►

Picture 1 of 21

D&J Plastics Tour -- Georgetown, Ga.

◄ Back

Next ►

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
•