Roger Klouda
MSI Mold Builders Inc
SPE Mold Maker of the Year 2013

At an event during Amerimold 2013 in Rosemont, IL on June 12th, the Society of Plastics Engineers’ (SPE) Mold Making and Mold Design Division gave its Mold Maker of the Year Award for 2013 to Roger Klouda, president of MSI Mold Builders Inc., Cedar Rapids, IA.

The awards go to people who have shown they can adapt to changing technology, provide career and technical guidance to others, and share their information and experience with others in the industry. That description fits Roger Klouda perfectly, and there is still more worthy of respect.

In 1978, Klouda joined MSI Mold Builders, which his parents had founded in 1971. In 1990, the company moved to its present 35,000 square foot facility in Cedar Rapids. Continuing to grow, in 2001 MSI opened a 20,000 square foot facility in Greenville, SC to better service its clients in the Southeast.

Today, the 75 employees in the two plants can produce tools from eight by eight inches to six by eight feet and weighing up to 30 tons. The company is driven by lean principals, continuous process improvement, and commitment to ISO principals, having received ISO 9001:2008 Certification in 2010.

Besides his involvement with SPE, Klouda is very active in SPI: The Plastics Industry Trade Association, of which MSI Mold Builders is a long-term member. He currently is a member of SPI’s National Board, Board of Directors, Membership Subcommittee, and Equipment Council, and in the past has held other positions. That part of the Mold Builder of the Year that is for sharing information and experience with others is evident at SPI meetings.

The part of the award recognizing career and technical guidance is evident from Klouda’s activity with Kirkwood Community College, also in Cedar Rapids. He provided seed money for a tuition assistance program at the college to help students complete the CNC Machinist Certification Program.

Klouda is also active outside the plastics sector. For example, he helps the iWarriors organization set up three years ago by another mold maker, Tim Bartz of Mold Craft Inc. (Willernie, MN). iWarriors organizes donations of iPads to wounded members of the 5^th Marine Regiment, which recently in Afghanistan added to a long history of hard combat. The iPads help wounded Marines stay in touch with family and friends, a key aspect of their recovery.

Okabashi Brands (Buford, GA) makes and sells shoes and sandals — mostly flip-flops —that are made of the company’s Microplast proprietary blend of plastic material. The footwear is colorful, they look cool, and thanks to the company’s concern for the environment, wearing a pair makes you one of they eco-friendliest people around — below the ankles.

One Okabashi customer’s well-protected flip-flops.

Okabashi has created a closed-loop recycling system for its shoes and for the material it uses to make them. Virtually nothing is wasted and virtually none of its material goes to a landfill—ever. For instance, production scrap is fed to a grinder and then used to make new flip-flops and shoes.

But to be a fullyclosed-loop recycling system, the post-consumer waste, in this case shoes and sandals, must be recycled as well. So Okabashi created a system aimed at keeping its shoes out of landfills.

Okabashi customers, who sound more like fans, say the sandals and shoes are so comfortable that they wear them as often as they can. Naturally, they will wear out, but when they do the user simply sends them back to the factory in Buford, Georgia. To encourage the return of used-up shoes, Okabashi gives a coupon toward the purchase of a new pair.

Returned footwear is inspected for contaminants, then like production scrap, is sent into a grinder, softened and returned to the production line for its next life. Post-consumer and production scrap makes up 15 to 25 percent of a pair of new Okabashi shoes.

Okabashi offers various styles, and recycles them all.

Alternatively, Okabashi advises customers that a well-worn pair can also be recycled locally by the owner, and suggests contacting 1800recycling.com to find a nearby recycling location that takes #3 material, the Resin Identification Code (RIC) for PVC/Vinyl. Does that give away the secret of the company’s proprietary Microplast material? No. Basic PVC is rigid, and wearers of these sandals rave about how comfortable they are. The secret is how that’s achieved.

The company says that last year alone it was able to regrind and reuse over 100,000 pounds of scrap material, which kept the equivalent of 10 tractor-trailer loads of waste material out of the landfills.

In a CNN video report on Okabashi Brands, the company’s VP marketing, Brad Laporte, said the company sends nothing into oceans or landfills. He also mentioned that, since Okabashi in one way or another uses virtually 100 percent of the raw material it works with, its costs are lower, which helps explain why almost all the company’s shoes and sandals cost less than $20.

For that low price Okabashi gives a lot more than good looks and recyclability. The shoes and sandals are anti-microbial, said to help arthritis sufferers, and are endorsed by the American Chiropractic Association. They have Japanese-inspired massaging insoles and a real arch, are dishwasher-safe (it sanitizes them), carry a two-year guarantee, and are vegan-friendly.

Another feature appreciated by customers is that all the shoes and flip-flops are “Made in the USA” at the Buford factory. There are good economic reasons for that, but also some solid environmental benefits. The average shipping distance for Okabashi shoes is about 7 percent that of the average imported shoe, a difference of almost 10,000 miles, which translates into much less greenhouse gas in the air.

Almost everyone has heard by now that, in general, students and younger people are not interested in manufacturing, whether it’s plastics or any other kind,  as a career choice, and we in manufacturing know that one of the biggest reasons why is the outdated or just plain wrong images younger people have of what a manufacturing environment is like. We also know that with few exceptions they have never see a production facility.

50 middle school students now know how Pioneer Plastics makes things.

The youngsters think it’s dark and dreary, that the image of late 19^th century factories is today’s reality. Meanwhile, everyone in manufacturing, especially in the plastics sector, knows that today’s manufacturing environments are, in reality, pretty darn nice places to work, and that the work is interesting and creative.

Obviously what’s needed is to bring students into manufacturing facilities so they can experience it for themselves. So here’s a big shout-out to Pioneer Plastics (North Dixon, KY) for acting on that problem by bringing students into its factory and doing its part to change those mistaken impressions.

Pioneer Plastics has 23 injection molding systems and a thermoforming machine

We came across a story on the 14 News website of WFIE, the NBC affiliated TV station based in Evansville, IN, that describes how Pioneer Plastics hosted 50 middle school kids from Henderson County, KY, the home territory of Pioneer Plastics. The students are visiting several manufacturing locations this week as part of a program conducted by Henderson Community College. Next week they will be visiting healthcare facilities. Manufacturing will be very real to them…the real manufacturing world, that is.

In operation for 35 years, Pioneer Plastics works in a 100,000-ft² facility, most of which is less than ten years old. It custom molds plastic products such as display cases for sports and collectibles, cups and plates, as well as a variety of aftermarket parts used to maintain and repair equipment such as food processing machinery, airplane engines and more. To fulfill the short-run orders for these parts, Pioneer has nearly 3000 service molds, and a very healthy niche market.

Collins Engineering is the toolmaking side of Pioneer Plastics in North Dixon, KY.

Pioneer has 23 injection molding systems ranging from 110 tons to 990 tons of clamp force, as well as a thermoforming machine. Apart from the production floor, Pioneer also designs and builds production tools in house, a corner of the manufacturing world the kids should find very interesting. (The kid in me does.)

One sixth-grader who spoke with a 14 News reporter found it more than interesting. Asha Nalley said, “I’m a good puzzle solver. Like I can do things really fast like that and factory stuff is kind of like that. You have to be able to put things together and find missing pieces, and that’s why I kinda wanted to do it.”

Seeing plastics manufacturing live and in person makes a difference. It can show someone a place where they can fit, a place they most probably knew nothing about before coming to visit. Well done, Pioneer Plastics.

SPI: The Plastics Industry Trade Association is leading a coalition of North American plastics associations in the launch of a line of branded clothing made from recycled plastic that will work as uniforms, business gifts, gear for meetings, trade shows and other events.

The brand name is resinGEAR and the other plastics associations joining SPI in this effort are the Canadian Plastics Industry Association (CPIA), the Plastic Pipe Institute (PPI) and the Western Plastics Association (WPA). Part of the proceeds from sale of the clothing and other gear will go back to the associations to help support their sustainability programs.

SPI President and CEO William R. Carteaux said, “Since we expanded our organization’s mission to include the promotion of zero waste strategies, SPI has been seeking innovative ways to show we ‘walk the walk.’” He added that resinGEAR, along with SPI’s other sustainability and recycling initiatives, visibly shows the North American plastics industry’s dedication to keeping its products out of landfills, as well as pushing sustainable manufacturing. The resinGEAR program will generate funding for future SPI sustainability initiatives.

The colorful (to say the least) resinGEAR items you see with this post are a small sample of the executive, promotional, uniform, and sports gear in the line, which includes many more shirts, plus jackets, hats, tote bags, and more. Most of the items are available in more colors than what you see on this page, including white, gray, black, and navy blue.

The clothing and other resinGEAR items can be customized and branded with the buyer’s logo and company name, and the variety of choices means everyone connected with a company, from top managers to production staff to customers can visually demonstrate the company’s sustainability commitment. The website describes the recycled content in more detail.

All the resinGEAR merchandise is made in the USA or Canada, and not only is the clothing made from recycled plastic, but it also is itself recyclable.

If you attended one of SPI’s meetings this spring you saw samples of resinGEAR, most likely the shirts pictured on this page. I have one in that brilliant orange color and I like it. It’s comfortable and a great way to make a statement in favor of recycling plastic, and as the line from Mel Brooks’ film The Producers puts it, if you got it, flaunt it.

The American Chemistry Council (ACC) has created a new coalition website to increase awareness of the many negative impacts that will result if a proposed ban of polystyrene (PS) foam foodservice products in New York City is enacted. The ACC says the site, which is called “Put a Lid On It NYC”, is aimed at encouraging city leaders to explore the opportunities for and advantages of recycling the PS foam items, rather than legislating a ban and having to enforce it.

The city’s mayor, Michael Bloomberg, proposed the ban and it’s expected that the New York City Council will begin considering it soon. Momentum is already growing against the ban among restaurant owners and various industry organizations, and the information on the website will help business owners, as well as consumers, recognize the impacts and use them to make the case against the ban to their local elected officials.

Accordingly, the website’s first pull-down tab is “Get the Facts.” Click it and a compact listing of issues appears, with sections on recycling, environmental impacts, economic impacts, and the impacts specifically on businesses. To take just one area, contrary to what many read on the Internet and repeat, PS foam is being recycled right now, and it has been for decades. It’s not being done in New York City, but the Big Apple also not have commercial recycling available for paper-based foodservice items either.

The website makes clear that there already is a market for recycled PS foam in the tri-state (NJ/NY/CT) area, with an established recycling business in operation across the Hudson River in North Brunswick, NJ. The environmental and economic advantages of PS foam versus coated paperboard are similarly compelling.

One business owner, Elizabeth Sandigo of Grand Bakery in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, said, “ A ban is not the answer. I use these products because they work and because they are economical. The alternatives cost more, which will hurt my bottom line and my ability to create jobs. The City needs to stop adding to the burden of doing business here in the name of ineffective proposals that do nothing to address the issues they are meant to solve.”

The website’s other resources include news updates and recent announcements, downloadable research reports, information about communities already recycling polystyrene foam foodservice items, and how-to information for those wanting to contact their City Council member. And there’s more. Check it out for yourself at www.putalidonitnyc.com and you’ll be much better informed about PS foam recycling in general, as well as the particular situation in New York City.