Beco Products logo

Beco Products

Also known as: Bernard Edward Company

Associated with: Bernard Industries, General Foam Plastics, MSL Plastics

Parent company: MSL Industries (1965-1970)

Company Information
  • Manufacturer and distributor
  • Closed 1968
  • Chicago, IL
  • Pronounced bee-choh

About Beco Products

Originally named the “Bernard Edward Company” (after Bernard and Edward Yellin), the company produced a variety of injection-molded plastic products (e.g. bird cages, kitchen plastics, and housewares). Products were sold under the company’s “BECO” product line name. The company would later adopt the name “Beco Products” after a 1949 lawsuit. Edward would sever “all connections” with the company (Plastics Technology, 1961-04) to found another plastics company, Edward Development Co.

MSL Industries would purchase Beco Products in November, 1965. Beco Products would continue to sell products under their name, often as Beco Products, a subsidiary of MSL Industries. By the summer of 1968, the Beco Products name was discontinued in favor of MSL Plastics and MSL Plastics moved to their Franklin Park, IL location. General Foam Plastics would purchase MSL Plastics’ “molds, tooling work in progress, inventory and all rights pertaining to the merchandise” (Toys and Novelties Magazine, 1970-03) in 1970. General Foam Plastics subsequently owned the molds until their 2017 closure.

In 1969, Bernard Yellin founded a new plastics manufacturing company, Bernard Industries, at the former Beco Products location. The company also sold products under the name “BERNCO” and slogan “another BERCO product” — emulating at least some parts of its Beco Products predecessor.

Blow-Molded’s use of the name Beco Products refers to both the independent and post-acquisition company (excluding Bernard Industries); until their MSL Plastics rebranding.