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JULY/AUGUST 2022 SPE’S 80 TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL ISSUEHIFILL N functional mineral filler for plastics and elastomers offers superior weatherability versus other mineral fillers.INSIDE PLASTICS ENGINEERING VOLUME 78 NUMBER 7 JULY/AUGUST 2022 8 Letter from the CEO CELEBRATING MILESTONES 5 GET YOUR OWN! Plastics Engineering keeps plastics industry professionals informed of the latest news and in-depth reporting on state-of-the-art and emerging technologies that impact the R&D and processing of plastics products. This is the magazine every plastics industry professional NEEDS to read. 4spe.org/Subscribe 4 LETTER FROM THE EDITOR SPE’S 80TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL ISSUE For this issue, Plastics Engineering focuses on issues and topics that will have an impact on much of the industry during the next decade. 2022 TRENDY Awards Most Improved Magazine www.plasticsengineering.org | JULY/AUGUST 2022 | PLASTICS ENGINEERING | 195 | Calendar 96 | Ad/Editorial Index INSIDE PLASTICS ENGINEERING VOLUME 78 NUMBER 7 JULY/AUGUST 2022 42 MAKING AND PRESERVING HISTORY Glenn Beall stamps an indelible legacy on the growth of plastics and SPE. 38 CHAMPION FOR CHANGE Sal Monte continues to challenge conventional thinking about coupling agents and catalysts. 10 | Workforce Development SHAPING FUTURE WORKERS Labor shortages can be overcome with apprenticeship programs and by hiring untapped talent. 38-55 | SPE Timeline A chronological list of some notable highlights that are taken from SPE archives and other sources. 56 | Supporter Company Profiles 88 | SPE Chapter Profiles 18 | STEM/DEI Programs ACHIEVE AND INSPIRE South Africa’s Sibongile Manthata looks to be a STEM role model for young women. 22 | Digital Twin Design MAKING IDEAS REALITY Digital-twin software builds formidable modeling capabilities for diverse design and processing needs. 24 | Design Notes ASSESSING THE FUTURE OF DESIGN How will society and technology impact the way products are created? 32 | Metal AM READY FOR PRIME TIME Toolmakers embrace benefits of metal AM for demanding injection mold applications. 36 | Thermoplastic Composites TACKLING TOUGH APPLICATIONS Thermoplastic composites displace metals in structural applications, reducing mass and boosting functionality. 52 EVERYONE WINS An industry vet and a recent college grad form a friendship and network connection via SPE. 48 LIKE FATHER, LIKE DAUGHTER SPE and plastics are a family affair for Len and Lauren Hampton. 2 | PLASTICS ENGINEERING | JULY/AUGUST 2022 | www.plasticsengineering.orgPatrick Toensmeier Editor-in-Chief (203) 777-1474 ptoensmeier@4spe.org Michael Greskiewicz Director, Sales & Advertising (203) 740-5411 mgreskiewicz@4spe.org Ryan Foster Art Director (203) 740-5410 rfoster@4spe.org Sue Wojnicki Director of Communications (203) 740-5420 swojnicki@4spe.org Editorial & Publishing Staff President Jason Lyons CEO Patrick Farrey President-Elect Bruce Mulholland Vice President – Chapters & Secretary ScottEastman Vice President – Business & Finance / Treasurer James Waddell Vice President – Professional Development Pavan Valavala Vice President – Sustainability Conor Carlin Vice President – Member Engagement Lynzie Nebel Vice President – Publications Raymond Pearson Vice President at Large Paul Martin Past President Jaime Gómez SPE 2021-2022 Executive Board Contributing Editors NANCY D. LAMONTAGNE ndlamontagne@gmail.com Nancy D. Lamontagne reports on science, technology and engineering. Topics she covers for Plastics Engineering include thermoforming, blow molding, medical plastics, packaging, and education and career development. ROBERT GRACE bob@rcgrace.com Robert Grace has been in B2B journalism since 1980. He covers design and business for Plastics Engineering and is editor of SPE’s Journal of Blow Molding. Professional memberships include the Industrial Designers Society of America. JENNIFER MARKARIAN technicalwritingsolutions@comcast.net Jennifer Markarian has been reporting on the plastics industry for more than 20 years, covering a range of technology topics. She is also the newsletter editor for SPE’s Palisades-MidAtlantic Chapter. CATHY NESTRICK Cathy Nestrick is the former vice president and general counsel of Berry Global Group Inc., a Fortune 500 manufacturer and marketer of plastics packaging and engineered materials. She is the founder and co-host of Parity Podcast, which focuses on accelerating gender equality. ERIC F. GREENBERG Eric Greenberg focuses on food and drug law, packaging law and commercial litigation. Work includes regulatory counseling, label and claims review, product development, GRAS, food contact materials evaluations and clearances, and related areas. www.plasticsengineering.org | JULY/AUGUST 2022 | PLASTICS ENGINEERING | 3 PEGGY MALNATI peggy@malnatiandassociates.com Peggy Malnati has over 30 years’ experience covering plastics, composites and automotive. She has organized technical conferences for SPE and served as board member and communications chair for SPE’s Automotive Division. GEOFF GIORDANO geoffgio@verizon.net Geoff Giordano has been a contributor to Plastics Engineering since 2009, covering a range of topics, including additives, infrastructure, flexible electronics, design software, 3D printing and nanotechnology. FROM THE E xactly 80 years ago, Fred O. Conley of Detroit and two colleagues signed incorporation papers in Michigan and the Society of Plastics Engineers was born. Conley was a major figure in the development of SPE: He was the first president, formed the Detroit, Chicago and Cleveland Sections, and supplied much of the funding that the nascent organization needed in its early years. Born in 1899, he had been in the industry since 1920. By the time he started SPE, he had a record of accomplishment in plastics, his profession, as well as automotive plastics, one of his specialties. Conley was a successful manufacturer’s rep, and a designer and developer of several “firsts” in plastics. In automotive these included a cowl ventilator and a patented interior sun visor. He’s also credited with designing the first plastics cabinet for a portable radio. In addition to being inducted into the Plastics Hall of Fame and being a charter member of the Plastics Pioneers Association, he was named to the Automotive Old Timers, which became the Automotive Hall of Fame. Conley had a vision for SPE. Promoting plastics products would certainly have been one goal, as well as developing an organization with a global reach and, through Chapters and conferences, a local presence. Education would be an important benefit in the early days of SPE—as now—and the ability to network, make friends and learn about opportunities would have provided unparalleled collegiality among members. He may also have envisioned an organization that would encourage students to make plastics their career and so promote mentoring, scholarships, internships and other supports to help make it happen. Conley was a visionary and an achiever who saw the need for SPE at a particular time and place—1942 in wartime Detroit, then a major manufacturing center—and worked diligently to make it happen. One could not expect less from someone who claimed he could trace his lineage to Charlemagne (yes, that Charlemagne). The organization he founded 80 years ago is still in business, stronger than ever and fulfilling its commitment to members, to education, to developing the next generation of plastics engineers, and importantly, to reaching out to people from underrepresented groups who also see plastics as a viable career. The fact that SPE is 80 is remarkable. It is unusual to find companies or the trade associations that support them as long-lived as SPE. Wasim Jabbar, writing in Business Data List in April, noted, “In any given year, about 50 percent of new businesses close within their first year. In the next 12 months after that, nearly half of those that didn’t close in the beginning are gone for good. After three years it’s 90 percent, and after five years it’s 99 percent.” In 2016, Stéphane Garelli, emeritus professor at the Institute for Management Development of Lausanne, Switzerland, wrote about a then-recent McKinsey study which “found that the average lifespan of companies listed in the Standard & Poor’s 500 was 61 years in 1958. Today (i.e., 2016), it is less than 18 years. McKinsey believes that, in 2027, 75 percent of the companies … on the S&P 500 will have disappeared. They will be bought out, merged or will go bankrupt …” Garelli cited British economist E.F. Schumacher who, in 1973, published Small Is Beautiful, a book that exposed the “inefficiency of large enterprises.” According to Schumacher, “What characterizes modern industry is its enormous consumption to produce so little … It is inefficient to a degree that goes beyond imagination.” SPE is hardly inefficient. It gets the most from its resources and the people who make it work every day—executives, staff and members— are tireless and successful in their efforts. I daresay that 20 years from now SPE will be celebrating its centennial as robustly as it now marks 80 years, and with many more successes. “Dreams are the yeast of accomplishments,” said Charles Breskin, a Plastics Hall of Fame inductee in 1973. Fred O. Conley was still alive then, and one hopes he was at the ceremony to hear that. Because if anything can sum up what drove him to lay the foundation for SPE, it was that observation. Thanks, Fred! Happy Birthday, SPE! PAT TOENSMEIER Editor-in-Chief ptoensmeier@4spe.org 80 YEARS AND COUNTING 4 | PLASTICS ENGINEERING | JULY/AUGUST 2022 | www.plasticsengineering.orgI am going to confess something that I have barely been able to admit to myself yet, let alone share with all you good people. I turned 60 years old last month. There, I said it. And I still don’t like it! This being my sixth “decade birthday,” it struck me how different each of those prior milestones felt. Turning 10 and 20 were full of excitement about my upcoming years. At 10, I could see my teenage era approaching. That’s when all the good stuff starts to happen … right? Turning 20 brought me “this close” to consuming my first beer. Legally. But 30 was tough. My first son was soon to be born, and with him came mortgage payments, parental responsibility. Ugh! 40 and 50 sailed by, almost without a thought. The pages of the calendar continued to turn, life going on as it should. Then I hit 60. Boom! What the … ??? How did this happen? I could wax philosophical here and share with you all the platitudes which have been heaped on me of late. Age is just a number. Yeah, a big number now! You’re only as old as you feel. Well, some days I feel like a 60-year-old guy! And that kinda sucks. But there is one thing I do love about being 60. I have a ton of great stories! I have been super fortunate to meet and know some truly amazing people. I have been to more places than I ever imagined. I have a treasure trove of experiences that only come with age. That’s really priceless, and I wouldn’t trade any of it to be 20 again. I imagine SPE might feel the same way. As you see from our cover, the Society of Plastics Engineers is 80 years old this month. On an August day in 1942, Fred Conley, Charles Hamilton and Gilbert W. Carpenter signed and notarized articles of incorporation, thereby legally establishing the Society. The first of SPE’s stories was written. In this issue you will read about just some of the many people, companies and organizations which weave into the history of SPE. At 80, you’re entitled to talk about yourself a little. Indulge us if you will. But this is not just the story of the past 80 years. This is also the story of SPE’s future. And while our past is interesting, our future is exciting! SPE continues to be a force in the plastics industry, as the world’s largest individual membership organization, with members in 84 countries. As it has been, for decades. We have a volunteer army nearly 1,000 strong. These volunteer leaders, with the support of the SPE Executive Board and the HQ staff team, produce dozens of events a year. Around the world. For every part of the plastics value chain. As they have, for decades. The SPE Foundation continues to invest in the next generation of plastics professionals. Through positive plastics education for students at all grade levels. With scholarships and grant programs. By hosting after-school STEM Clubs. And by encouraging the industry to be more inclusive, diverse and equitable. As it has, for decades. SPE’s four peer-reviewed journals, Plastics Engineering magazine and our SPE News and Plastics Insight e-newsletters keep stakeholders apprised of the technical advances in the industry. As we have, for decades. As you read about the people and companies that are the fabric of SPE’s history, consider how you can be part of SPE’s future. Get involved! Do something that the industry will remember, like the men and women of SPE’s history have done. Be one of the stories that old guys, like me, tell when we recount the amazing accomplishments of the amazing people we know. Email me, and let’s do something memorable together. pfarrey@4spe.org. PAT FARREY CEO, SPE CELEBRATING MILESTONES www.plasticsengineering.org | JULY/AUGUST 2022 | PLASTICS ENGINEERING | 5In order to be able to satisfy the strongly growing customer demand, EMS has been constantly increasing the production capacities for polyamide specialties at the Gross-Umstadt (D) and Domat/Ems (CH) sites for the last two years. At the production site in Domat/Ems (CH), for example, a new production line for the manufacturing of high-performance poly- mers was put into operation after a construction period of only eight months. This was just the start of an extensive investment project. The company‘s latest compounding plant was also built in record time in Gross-Umstadt (DE) and will be inaugurated in July 2022. The new production line will manufacture large volumes of high-performance plastic specialties such as Grivory GV and Grilon TS, significantly reducing the workload on German production and the main Swiss plant in Domat/Ems (CH). Already under construction is another polymerization plant for amorphous, partially aromatic polyamides, which is scheduled to come on stream in Domat/Ems (CH) in 2022. The plant will come on stream in the second half of 2022 and is intended to help counteract the global shortage of polymers. In addition, a further PPA production line (Grivory HT product fa- mily) will be commissioned in Domat/Ems (CH) in the last quarter of 2022 to meet the strong growth in global demand. View of the Domat/Ems (CH) plant site, in the heart of the Swiss Alps. On the far left you can see the new high-wrack warehouse 4, which was built in 2021. The project is also part of the considerable expansion investment that will be made in the next five years at the Domat/Ems (CH) site alone. | The company‘s largest compounding plant in Gross-Umstadt (DE) (picture above/below right). | The success story of the polymerization line developed by EMS two years ago means we are now able to push production even further with a new, even larger line in the existing building (center right image). EMS-CHEMIE (North America) Inc. Business Unit EMS-GRIVORY America 2060 Corporate Way, PO Box 1717, Sumter SC 29151, USA EMS massively expands PPA production capacitiesEMS-GRIVORY High-performance polyamides for electric vehicles Your innovative development partner EMS-CHEMIE (North America) Inc. Business Unit EMS-GRIVORY America 2060 Corporate Way, PO Box 1717, Sumter SC 29151, USA Lightweight construction with long-fiber reinforced polyamides Tailor-made products for cooling systems Flame-protected polyamides for electric vehicles Grilamid TR Piano Black the noble touch for interiors High-performance polyamides from EMS-GRIVORY are not only predestined for use in cars with classic combustion engines, they are also excellently suited for electromobility applications. These include classic, lightweight design applications and structural parts as well as thermal management and components for high-voltage on-board power systems.Next >