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Grassroots Energy Efforts . . . As SPI ramps up its lobbying efforts on Capitol Hill, work continues behind the scenes to rally industry support of comprehensive energy legislation and provisions that provide greater access to domestic natural gas supplies. A major grassroots letter writing campaign launched early this month by the association was aimed at garnering the support of plastics companies - SPI members and non-members alike - in the home states of the eighteen Senators on the Senate Energy Subcommittee for the Alexander-Johnson "Natural Gas Price Reduction Act of 2005" (S. 726). The message, crafted from each of the four SPI regional offices to include plastics industry data specific to each state, urged plastics manufacturers to contact their state Senator and ask for his/her support of the legislation. A sample letter was provided for participants to download and send to their lawmaker. For more information or to request a copy of the letter targeted at the representatives in your area, contact Natha Freiburg, (202) 974-5216; e-mail nfreibur@socplas.org. To learn more about identifying your federal and state representatives, to review their voting records or for help in crafting customizable letters to them on issues ranging from energy to health care, link to SPI's Political Action Center.
Q1 2005 Machinery Report Now Available . . . SPI's Committee on Equipment Statistics (CES) has released its "First Quarter 2005 Report." The new publication provides an overview of plastics equipment shipments from Second Quarter 2003 through First Quarter 2005. The CES report also includes an analysis of U.S. economic trends affecting plastics machinery markets, looking at such factors as capital spending on industrial equipment, U.S. industrial production, the capacity and utilization rate of the plastics industry, the crude oil and natural gas market, the producer price index and the purchasing manager's index. Compiled by VERIS Consulting, LLC, using data supplied by CES participating companies, the report was created to provide a beneficial and important tool for examining and understanding the vital U.S. plastics machinery and equipment industry. The CES collects monthly order and shipment data from manufacturers of plastic injection molding, extrusion, blow molding, auxiliary and component equipment manufacturers. The monthly data is compiled by a confidential third-party fiduciary, then aggregated and disseminated to participating companies, making the SPI program the only provider of timely and reliable plastics equipment statistics in the country. The report can be purchased online at www.plasticsdatasource.org or by calling SPI's literature sales department, (800) 541-0736. The cost of the CES Annual Report (Reference No. AB-151) is free for SPI members, $580 for non-members. For a one-year subscription, which includes the Committee's Annual Report plus the quarterly reports (AB-152), the cost is free for members and $1,180 for non-members. For more information, link to http://www.plasticsindustry.org/industry/equipment.htm.
ISO Poly Films Celebrates Worker Certification . . . SPI member ISO Poly Films, Gray Court, SC, last week celebrated the certification of 19 employees in a recognition ceremony attended by the Upper Savannah Workforce Investment Board (WIB), the Laurens County Chamber of Commerce, elected Council Members, the Polymers Center of Excellence and SPI's Southern Region staff. The training and National Certification in Plastics (NCP) project began last year and was funded with a $17,600 Workforce Investment Act grant through the Upper Savannah WIB Incumbent Worker Training Program. The Polymer Center of Excellence provided on-site training in extrusion with a blown-film customization, and this particular program certified nearly 50 percent of ISO Poly's current workforce. ISO Poly CEO Jon McClure said the company would continue to support workforce development initiatives because training provides a competitive advantage. Other SPI members, Precise Technology, with facililties in Anderson, SC, and Excelsior Springs, IN, as well as United Southern Industries, Forest City NC, are nearing completion of grant-funded training and certification projects which trained 37, 19 and 26 workers respectively using SPI's injection molding course. These workers will sit for the NCP exam by the end of May. Updates for SPI's Body of Knowledge and the injection molding NCP exam will begin this summer, and Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) are still needed. Please contact Barbara Darby, Manager of Workforce Development, bdarby@socplas.org or 864-239-2939, ext. 4, for more information or to make SME recommendations. To learn more about SPI's workforce development programs, link to the Web at http://www.plasticsindustry.org/outreach/careers.htm.
For more information about SPI Link, mailing list additions/deletions, or to receive the publication by e-mail, contact Paula Weis, (202) 974-5282; e-mail pweis@socplas.org. More About SPI: Vision and Mission . Membership . Business Units . Regional Offices . News and Publications . Calendar of Events . Terms and Conditions of Use |
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SPI Talks Energy on the Hill . . . As the Senate this week mark-ups its Energy Policy Act of 2005, SPI continues to call on key staffers to encourage their support of legislation that will quickly reduce the price of natural gas by increasing supplies and giving greater access to areas that are currently off-limits to natural gas production. During meetings held Friday and today, the SPI delegation told Senate staffers of the devastating impact soaring natural gas costs have had on the U.S. plastics industry in recent years. SPI President Bill Carteaux, SMG I Chair Pete Jones and Gene Steadman, Chair of SPI's Energy Task Force, met with representatives from the offices of Sens. Carl Levin (D-MI), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Tim Johnson (D-SD), Mary Landrieu (D-LA) and Barbara Boxer (D-CA). In addition to educating Senate staff about the size and scope of the plastics industry and its impact on state economies, SPI also advocated the "Natural Gas Price Reduction Act of 2005" (S. 726), introduced last month by Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Tim Johnson (D-SD). In addition to promoting its support of the bill's conservation and efficiency measures, SPI stressed the importance of certain provisions in the bill that would allow for relatively quick access to natural gas fields in the Lease 181 area - a section of the Gulf of Mexico located about 100 miles off the coasts of Florida and Alabama. The Lease 181 area is thought by government estimates to hold some 1.25 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, or about a 15-year supply for over a million U.S. families. The Hill visits by SPI's leadership are part of the association's ongoing strategy to promote among state and federal lawmakers the need for comprehensive energy legislation, as well as the critical need for affordable and reliable sources of natural gas for U.S. plastics manufacturers. 
SPI's Trade Show V.P. Retiring . . . Jordan L. Morgenstern, vice president of trade shows for the Society of the Plastics Industry Inc. (SPI) since 1986, will retire as of May 31, 2005. Under his leadership, SPI's triennial NPE consistently ranked among the top five largest manufacturing expositions in North America and emerged as a world-scale showplace for the international plastics industry, noted SPI president Bill Carteaux. "Jordan's enthusiasm and instinct for the trade show business have been crucial to the success of NPE and SPI as a whole," said Carteaux. "Building an expert team of trade show specialists and working with plastics company leaders from every sector of the industry, he created a program that ultimately more than doubled the size of NPE and broadened its range to include new types of exhibitors and greater participation from other countries around the world." During Morgenstern's leadership, the number of exhibitors increased 160 percent. At the same time, the number of net square feet of exhibit space grew, from 482,000 sq.-ft. to 1,142,000 sq.-ft. On his watch, the number of participants increased as well, with peak attendance of 90,000 in 2000. Additionally, Morgenstern presided over the growing internationalization of the show, as measured by the number of exhibitors coming from outside the U.S., by the number of country pavilions, and the number of international visitors. In fact, for the upcoming NPE, more exhibit space has already been assigned to companies from outside the U.S. one year prior to the event than was assigned to non-U.S. companies in total at NPE 2003. For more information about NPE 2006, link to 
SPI Receives Esteemed Publications Award . . . SPI last month received an American Inhouse Design Award for its "SPI 2004 Annual Report." The competition, sponsored by Graphic Design USA magazine, recognizes the outstanding work of in-house designers in the face of special challenges. Of the more than 3,000 entries submitted this year, only the top 15 percent were honored. Kudos to designer Patrice Lee and editor Paula Weis for a job well done! To download a PDF version of the Annual Report, link to 
Leading Rubber Industry Group Joins NPE 2006 . . . SPI recently announced it has reached a cooperative agreement with the Rubber Manufacturers Association (RMA) that will increase the value of attending the NPE 2006 exposition for designers and processors who need to know about new developments in elastomers. Highlighting the agreement is a plan by the RMA's General Products Group to organize both a multi-exhibitor pavilion and an educational program featuring business and technical sessions on topics relevant to the elastomer industry. These events will present, for the first time in NPE history, materials and machinery developments spanning the entire range of elastomeric polymers, including thermoset rubber and thermoplastic elastomers. "For designers and processors serving the automotive, appliance, medical device, and other industries where elastomers are widely used, the rapid growth of TPEs is doing away with the longtime distinction between plastics and rubber," said SPI president Bill Carteaux. "Because of the agreement between SPI and RMA, NPE 2006 will provide an even broader array of polymer options to these professionals, helping them to identify the elastomeric solutions that best meet their needs, regardless of traditional classifications." Set for June 19-23, 2006, at McCormick Place in Chicago, NPE 2006 will be the year's largest international polymer exposition and the third-largest show of any type in the U.S. For more information, link to the Web at 
EPA Issues Toxics Release Inventory . . . The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last week made public The 2003 Toxics Release Inventory (TRI), a database containing information on toxic chemical releases and other waste management activities reported annually by certain covered industry groups and federal facilities. According to the study, the amount of toxic chemicals released into the environment by reporting facilities continues to decline, with total reductions of 42-percent since 1998, and year-over-year reductions of six percent between 2002 and 2003. EPA continues to make progress on electronic reporting by facilities, making it possible to release the data to the public more quickly. To read the full text of the report, link to the Web at 
Help Clean Up the Environment . . . Spilled pellets make their way into local waters and eventually end up in our oceans, where they create both a litter problem and a deadly threat to sea life. As responsible stewards of the environment, the plastics industry is addressing this critical issue, but Zero Pellet Loss can only be achieved with your help. SPI is urging its processor members - and all U.S. plastics processors - to make a commitment to helping keep the environment clean. By becoming an Operation Clean Sweep® (OCS) partner, your company can show its commitment to serve as an environmental steward. Through the OCS campaign, a joint initiative of SPI and the American Plastics Council, the industry groups aim to help every plastic resin handling operation implement good housekeeping and pellet containment practices to work toward achieving zero pellet loss. Make your promise to prevent pellet loss at