David M. Bestwick was born October 3, 1933 in Grove City, Pennsylvania. Dave graduated from Grove City College in 1957 with a degree in Business.

Bestwick joined General Fireproofing as a salesman in 1957. He bought his first business, Business Equipment and Supply and moved to Reading, Pennsylvania in 1967, selling the company to a partner in 1974.

David Bestwick, along with partners acquired the thermoforming operation of W. R. Grace in 1975. Tray-Pak started with eleven machines and thirty-six employees, manufacturing cookie and candy trays. In 1981, Dave bought his partners shares and created a vision for Tray-Pak that is followed today: Focus on what the customer needs and direct all of your effort toward supplying a quality solution in a timely and cost effective manner.

David Bestwick introduced HIPS trays to the mushroom industry in 1977. The transition from pulp to thermoformed trays increased shelf life in the supermarkets 30- 40%.

Dave has always maintained a focus for Tray-Pak to support the development of new materials and their application in the marketplace. Tray-Pak was involved in the early development of CPET - dual ovenable trays in the 1980’s. Tray-Pak’s early involvement in sustainable packaging was further enhanced in the mid- 1990’s when they were thermoforming recycled or post-consumer PET. Tray-Pak continued to stay in front of the sustainable industry, co-presenting to the industry on NatureWorks PLA material.

In the early 1980’s, under Dave’s guidance, Tray-Pak began working with customers to introduce new designs created for customers to sell more product. In 1982, Tray-Pak added in-house tool fabrication through the purchase of S. R. Schlegel. In 1991-1992, along with Ben Franklin Partners, Tray-Pak integrated their process into CNC and Autocad Technology. Bi-Color Clamshells were introduced and Tray-Pak’s I-POPTM (Images Printed on Plastic) put pre-printed sheet in the marketplace in 1995. Tray-Pak’s Design and New Product Development groups added rapid-prototyping and digital scanning to their in-house capabilities. Twelve people now provide creative solutions for a variety of industries.

Dave’s vision always challenged his employees to look at new markets and products to enhance the value of Tray-Pak to its customer base. In 2000, TPSource was added to support the needs of captive thermoformers. It supplies tools, materials, and tech support to customers a la carte. In 2003, with the help of the late, Scott W. Bestwick, Tray-Pak launched Fusion-Pak, this unique concept that married the graphic capabilities of printed board to the flexibility of thermoformed packaging. This package eliminated the need for the “box”. Tray-Pak utilized this platform for direct mail programs earning them over 20% response. Tray-Pak was awarded a 2009 American Design Award from Graphic Design USA for this program.

David Bestwick has grown Tray-Pak from 36 employees in 1975 to over 250 dedicated employees today. Operating forty-four thermoforming machines in nearly 200,000 square feet of space, Tray-Pak offers custom design, in-house tooling and engineering, and automation expertise. Tray-Pak converts a myriad of material types- polystyrene, polypropylene, HDPE, LPDE, PET, and PVC as well as co-extruded and laminated materials. Dave also directed Tray-Pak’s efforts into markets such as food and food service, automotive, consumer, electronic, health and beauty, industrial, medical, and pharmaceutical products.

Bestwick and Tray-Pak have also received the 2002 Pennsylvania Department of Commerce Award, the 2003 Ben Franklin Technology Partners Grant for Economic Development, and the 2007 Ben Franklin Technology Innovation Award.

David Bestwick has served on the Berks County Manufacturers Board of Directors, the Ben Franklin Partners at Lehigh University, and the Reading YMCA Board of Trustees.

He is a member of the SPE, SPI (Society of Plastics Industry), and the Ben Franklin Technology Group.

David Bestwick continues to serve his community and support the growth and the sustainability of the plastics industry.