Barnes Plastics was originally founded by Alan Barnes in the mid sixties and is today the largest and longest established shape moulder of expanded polystyrene in New Zealand.

The company was bought by Richard Purchase in 1974 and registered as Barnes Plastics Limited. In 1990 the company was bought by Pacific Dunlop and became part of the RMAX group of factories in Australia.

Initially the company produced packaging for appliances such as television sets but in the eighties, as many appliance manufacturers moved offshore, the emphasis shifted to packaging for chilled export seafood.

In 1996 Barnes Plastics was purchased by Huntsman Chemical Company New Zealand Limited, a joint venture between Huntsman Chemical Corporation of the United States of America and Consolidated Press Holdings in Australia.

Huntsman, with over US$8 billion in turnover per annum and with operations in 40 countries worldwide, provides Barnes Plastics access to a global resource base.