How plastic product could bring jobs to Houston economy

This secret economic weapon is called polyolefins. They're a hydrocarbon, petrochemical byproduct of natural gas, that makes up the building blocks for a lot of plastics.

You'll find them in plastic bins, bags, milk jugs and water bottles. It's a part of the economy that is expanding thanks to the fracking that's brought record amounts of natural gas. Plastics are cheaper than ever to make into hydrocarbon pellets and mold into vast numbers of products.

Bob Shanley, with Fortune Personnel of Houston, says, "It's attracting construction and engineering back to the United States."

Much of it is happening here, along the ship channel and the coast, where dozens of new polyolefin producing plants are on the drawing board.

Jeff Applegate says it's not just about exports, even though that's huge for Houston's port. He says it also helps manufacturing -- and he should know.

"If anybody is all in," he says, "it's me. I ended up buying a manufacturing company because I believe in it."

His company, Texas Injection Molding, takes those polyolefin pellets and molds them into products for a variety of uses. He sees the plastic boom as a job creator in almost every sector one could imagine.