Marcia Coulson and her sister Dee Andrews were looking for a business opportunity that would enable the growth of their customers to fuel their own growth.

They found it in Eldon James Corp., a Loveland-based manufacturer of plastic tubing and fittings used in a wide range of industries, including health care, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, auto manufacturing, biofuels and alternative fuels.

The sisters bought the company in 1987, partially because they saw the potential for repeat business, Coulson said.

Eldon James today makes more than 6,000 products, including “any piece of equipment connecting tubes carrying either fuel or air,” she said.

“We were looking for a product that we could manufacture ourselves, where the customers would buy it time and again,” Colson said. “Once the customers design it into their equipment, you grow with their company.”

The company has 36 employees, including a sales force of nine, and a large network of distributors.

Eldon James uses extrusion and injection molding processes to make the tubing and the fittings that connect the tubes together.

In extrusion, molten plastic is forced through a die that