On  the January 8th episode of CNBC’s investement show Mad Money, hyperactive host Jim Cramer devoted a significant amount of time discussing the plastics industry and, in particular, SPI member company PolyOne. Watch the video above.

Once you get passed his antics with the two Barbie dolls — which, in explaining plastics’ processes and societal contributions he names as his two girlfriends “Polly” and “Ethel” (get it?) – Cramer describes the strategic and managerial changes PolyOne has made to transform the company.  Cramer calls PolyOne a “fabulous bet on America’s economic recovery”  and a ”true plastic turnaround story.”  He concludes by saying, “I know that everyone is looking for recovery plays that have not happened… I want you to look no further than PolyOne.”

Headquartered in Avon Lake, Ohio, PolyOne Corporation, with 2008 annual revenues of $2.7 billion, is a premier provider of specialized polymer materials and services.  According to Plastics News, PolyOne posted profits of nearly $44 million in the first nine months of 2009, despite sales falling 32 percent to $1.5 billion compared to the same period in 2008. The profit during this nine-month time period was four times as large as profit from the year-ago period.

Have you heard the news?  After being held in Chicago since 1971, NPE is moving to Orlando in 2012. Of course, as a regular reader of this blog you already knew that.  Are you someone who doesn’t adjust well to change or who just wishes you knew more about the Orange County Convention Center prior to NPE2012? Well, three concurrent SPI events taking place the third week of March will provide you with an opportunity to get a sneak peek at the new NPE venue: the Spring 2010 National Board Meeting, the Thermoforming Committee Conference and the Equipment Council Annual Business Conference. All are being held at Rosen Shingle Creek – mere minutes from the Convention Center.  (Members attending the Equipment or Thermoformers meetings may attend any portion of the National Board Meeting for no additional charge.)

Attendees of these meetings will have multiple opportunities to learn more about the Orange County Convention Center, the vendors who will be assisting you during NPE2012, and the hotels and restaurants of the surrounding area. 

Looking in detail at the Equipment Council Annual Business Conference, being held March 16-18, there will be an impressive lineup of guest speakers; an SPI Advocacy Update from President Bill Carteaux and Senior Vice President, Government Affairs and Public Policy Jon Kurrle; and plenty of scheduled tours/events at the Orange County Convention Center.  Register for it today!

And if you are not yet excited enough, one creative SPI staffer (wisely remaining anonymous) has penned “Orlando,” sung to the tune of Swedish pop group ABBA’s biggest selling single “Fernando.”  So, cue up this video of “Fernando,” and sing along with our NPE-inspired lyrics below:

Can you hear the hum, Orlando?
We remember mere months ago the anticipation of this
In humid August, Orlando
You were wooing us with promises of cheap Pepsi
We could hear the distant rumble
Of the arrival of tons and tons of plastics machinery

The anticipation is growing, Orlando
Every day we get closer to 2012
We are so excited, Orlando
Our show will continue to grow and thrive
And we’re not ashamed to say
The thought of so many exhibitors makes us want to buy!

There will be something on the floor that day
Another molded part give-away, Orlando
Rows and rows of machines
Some extruding, Orlando
Though we never thought the show would move,
There’s no regret
If we had to do the same again,
We would, my friend, Orlando

Now the deal is sealed, Orlando
Get ready for Expo Gene.
Can you hear the hum Orlando?
Are you ready to help us continue to go green?
We can see it in your support
How proud you are to have us through 2015.

There will be something on the floor that day
Another molded part give-away, Orlando
Rows and rows of machines
Some extruding, Orlando
Though we never thought the show would move,
There’s no regret
If we had to do the same again,
We would, my friend, Orlando

According to the National Association of Manufacturers‘ National Center for the American Workforce, there is a “broadening skills gap….taking an increasingly negative toll on America’s ability to compete in the global economy” and the challenge will be more severe as Baby Boomers in the manufacturing sector retire with no skilled employees to replace them. In fact, more than 80 percent of U.S. manufacturers report an overall shortage of qualified employees and 46 percent of small and medium manufacturers report that finding qualified employees is one of the most serious problems facing their company.

In an attempt to illuminate plastics careers to the next generation of students, a new episode of Degrees That Work, an award-winning documentary television series co-produced by Pennsylvania College of Technology (Penn College) and WVIA-TV, is devoted to our industry. With past episodes devoted to nanotechnology, welding and fabrication and advanced manufacturing, the series was developed to build awareness of careers that may not be familiar to the public but offer ample opportunities.

With an extensive amount of footage shot at NPE2009 last June, the episode follows a group of high school students who are enrolled in a technical education class as they design and create the plastic body for a remote-controlled car to be raced against other high schools at an annual Plastics Experience event at Penn College.  The program also features interviews with national plastics industry experts as well as a visit to K’NEX Brands, a large injection molder that produces popular construction toy kits among other products.

There are only five accredited plastics engineering programs in the country. Two of those – Penn College and Penn State Erie, The Behrend College – are in Pennsylvania.  Get more information about plastics and polymer technology majors at Penn College.  

In addition to Penn College professors of plastics and polymer engineering, other  experts interviewed in the documentary include SPI President Bill Carteaux; Dana Gier, Julie McKenna and Erica Ocampo of Dow Chemical Co.; Dennis Gros of Gros Executive Recruiters; Robert Grace of Plastics News; Greg Koski of plastics.com; Michael Araten of K’NEX Brands and Tim Womer of Xaloy Inc.

You can watch the 28-minute program right here (see above)!  It will actually premiere at 7:00 p.m. (EST) on February 1st on public television stations serving northcentral and northeastern Pennsylvania, and will air several more times on those stations in February. The program will also air on select other public television stations — find your station here and request the program. Educators are invited to download the episode for classroom use. 

This would be an excellent resource for an outreach activity in your company’s community.  Ask Andrea O’Neill, WVIA’s director of education, about free DVDs and  lesson planning guides.

Life-cycle assessments (LCAs) have become a hot topic in the plastics industry.  According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), a LCA…

 “…is a ‘cradle-to-grave’ approach for assessing industrial systems. “Cradle-to-grave” begins with the gathering of raw materials from the earth to create the product and ends at the point when all materials are returned to the earth… a LCA provides a comprehensive view of the environmental aspects of the product or process and a more accurate picture of the true environmental trade-offs in product and process selection.”

Several years ago, EPA’s Design for the Environment (DfE) program worked with representatives of the wire and cable industry to evaluate the environmental impacts of the current standard material formulations and alternative formulations used in insulation and jacketing for selected wire and cable products. The final LCA report was issued in 2008.

Members of SPI’s Wire and Cable Section of the Fluoropolymers Committee, many of whom were part of the EPA project, decided to build off of the DfE report.  The recently released peer-reviewed SPI report compares the life-cycle environmental impacts of fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP)-insulated plenum-rated communication wire (CMP) cable to a polyethylene (PE)-insulated rise-rated communication cable (CMR) encased in a metal conduit in plenum space. 

Ok, so what does that actually mean? From a basic building standpoint, “plenum space” typically refers to the space between the structural ceiling and dropped ceiling and is used to house communication cables for a building’s computer and telephone network.  Because plenum spaces are typically rich in oxygen, they pose a potential risk to a building in the event of a fire.  As a result, fluoropolymer resins, which have excellent durability in fire situations to meet and exceed safety codes and outstanding chemical and thermal resistance, are often used in the plenum space.  However building codes in Chicago and Las Vegas make the use of CMR in metal conduit more prevalent.  In addition, the use of CMR cable in conduit in Europe is common given the lack of built in plenum space.

This project scientifically evaluated the complete life-cycle impacts of functionally equivalent cable installation alternatives (i.e., FEP cable versus a PE-insulated cable in metal conduit) to quantify the differences between these alternatives so that so that electrical engineers, architects and building owners can make environmentally informed decisions.  The findings of the report were fascinating and provided detailed information about both options.  In order to make an educated decision when evaluating which option to use, you need to check this free report out.

Photo Credit: Boeing Image

While getting dinner ready one night last month I had the TV news on.  Among the top stories was the announced maiden test flight of Boeing’s Dreamliner 787. As a tall, frequent flyer, my first thought was, “ I hope this behemoth is configured with more passenger leg room.” I’m tired of “eating” my knees when flying.

Well no, they didn’t mention more leg room, but they did highlight the fact that this technological wonder was built with carbon fiber reinforced plastic – a very strong, durable, lightweight composite material that delivers superior performance and is energy efficient. Given that I work in the plastics industry, that bit of broadcasting genius made me feel proud.

Perfect for reducing fuel consumption, carbon fiber reinforced plastic is a favorite material of the aerospace and automotive (think – Ferrari, Corvette, Porsche) industries. But it is also used to construct reinforced bridges, sailboats, bicycles, fishing rods, tennis racquets, computers, stringed instrument bodies (think Nashville) and much more. Back in September, we blogged about it being the choice material for wind turbine rotor blades.  Even the Boy Scouts can earn a merit badge in composite materials. Who knew?!

Boeing plans to deliver the first completed Dreamliner 787 in the fourth quarter of 2010. And they have orders pending for 840 more of these winged giants. So it looks like I will have a wait before I can personally find out if my “leg-room” wish is fulfilled. In the meantime, I’ll keep my kneepads in my travel bag.