Berthoud manufacturer turns around again

BERTHOUD – The world was a different place just a few short years ago.

In 2005, defense industry giant BAE Systems Inc. acquired military container manufacturer Engineered Plastic Designs Inc. in Berthoud. The company that had been posting about $9 million in annual sales suddenly became BAE Container Solutions Division, part of the second-largest arms producer in the world.

By 2007, with EPD’s original founders still on staff, the local facility had doubled its staff from 79 to 150, was the second-largest private sector employer in town, and was hiring to fulfill defense contracts that just kept coming.

In 2008, Rob Carr…