Press Release
Star Plastics Founder Doug Ritchie Announces Retirement
For Immediate Release
Media Contact:
Scott W. Blanchard
Marketing Communications Leader
Phone: 330.322.8111
Email: sblanchard@starplastics.com
Millwood, West Virginia – August 27, 2026 — Star Plastics founder S. Douglas “Doug” Ritchie has retired effective July 31, 2026, concluding a 38-year career with the company he founded in Ravenswood in August of 1988.
Ritchie founded Star Plastics, originally SDR Plastics, to process recycled and custom-compounded plastics. The company has since grown into a global plastics manufacturing and material supplier serving multiple industries.
Ritchie formally stepped down as President and CEO following Star Plastics’ partnership with Akoya Capital in 2021 and continued his leadership with the company as its Chief Strategy Officer.
Key facts
- Founded Star Plastics: 1988 in Ravenswood, West Virginia
- Career with Star: 38 years
- West Virginia Spirit of Philanthropy Award for Corporate Responsibility: 2020. The state’s highest honor for corporate giving and community engagement.
- Akoya Capital partnership: 2021
- Manassas Polymers integration: 2021
- Trivalence Technologies integration: 2025
- Community Fund Founder: Ritchie and his wife, Judy, established the Fund for Ravenswood in 2021. By the end of this year, the Fund will have awarded nearly $1 million for a wide variety of community projects throughout Ravenswood.
- Renewable Ravenswood: The Ritchies have spearheaded an initiative focused on community revitalization and economic development. renewableravenswoodwv.com.
- 2025 recognition: Ritchie received West Virginia Wesleyan College’s Alumni Achievement Award for professional achievement, leadership and community service.
- Education: Bachelor’s degree in business management from West Virginia Wesleyan College, 1983.
- Community service: member, board of directors:
- West Virginia Economic Development Association
- Coplin Health System
- Polymer Alliance Zone, founding board member
- Jackson County Chamber of Commerce, former president
- Star Plastics Board: Doug will continue to serve on the Akoya/Star Plastics board of directors.
Ritchie is a fourth-generation Ravenswood resident and graduate of Ravenswood High School. He will remain actively involved in community and economic development efforts.
“I am blessed to have had the opportunity to work with so many good people and thankful to the people who built the company and accomplished so much together,” Ritchie said.
Doug and Judy will continue their community economic development and philanthropic activities in Ravenswood and beyond following his retirement.
About Star Plastics
Star Plastics is a custom compounder of engineering-grade thermoplastics, specializing in recycled, flame-retardant, and UL-recognized materials. The company serves a diverse range of industries, including consumer electronics, electrical, lighting, appliances, transportation, furniture, industrial, and telecommunications. Headquartered in Millwood, West Virginia, Star Plastics is a subsidiary of the Star Plastics Manufacturing Group which operates manufacturing facilities in Millwood and Ravenswood, West Virginia; Evansville, Indiana; Calhoun, Georgia; and Shandong, China, delivering consistent, high-performance material solutions to customers around the world.
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