Photo by Jennifer Aitkens via Wikimedia Commons

I can’t bring myself to decorate for winter until after Thanksgiving (it’s still autumn, beautiful autumn!), but with the turkey off the table, I’m almost ready to go.  Here are a few favorite craft projects that involve – why, of course – plastic!  We talk a lot about the benefits of plastics, but the benefits don’t have to end when the intended use of a product is over. Those plastic beverage rings, tubs and bottles that you would otherwise recycle where possible can be repurposed into something beautiful and festive.

Six-pack ring snowflakes: Not sure what to do with that tall stack of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) six-pack rings from the summer, or wondering what the vendor loading the soda machine at work will do with all of them?  Make snowflakes!  Nothing says winter than a bit of snow, and whether you have any of the fluffy stuff on the ground or not, you can add your own wintry touch to the indoors any time by making six-pack ring snowflakes. There are a multitude of styles online, including instructional video or step-by-step instructions using up to 20 ring sets per flake.  And these snowflakes are ideal for indoor use where they are not exposed to direct UV light – plastic ring carriers are required to be degradable.

Ice luminaries:  A couple of polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) pails or tubs, water, rocks, freezing temperatures (or simply a freezer) are all you need to create these simple, inexpensive decorations.  Indoors (use a deep tray!) or outdoors, they are just magical.  Get creative by adding evergreens, leafy twigs or berries to the water for decoration, or using food coloring for tint.

Ornaments and garland:  A pair of scissors begins the transformation for a plastic bottle bottom to become a star-shape either hung as an individual ornament or strung as garland.

Other ideas include a high-density polyethylene (HDPE) bottle candle holder (be safe – watch those flames!) and wreath (another approach is described here).  C’mon, readers… what are your favorite reuses for plastic materials when it comes to winter and holiday decorations?

Twenty years ago, I doubt that anyone at the first SPI Western Region Moldmaker Trade Fair had any idea that the event would still be alive and well in 2010.  Now called the Mike Koebel Western Moldmaker Trade Fair (named in memory of the industry leader who founded Prestige Mold, Inc. with his wife, Donna), the size of the event has ebbed and flowed over the years to reflect the challenges  that have impacted the moldmaking industry.  Through it all, the event has even managed to raise funds  for schools and universities with moldmaking and plastics programs. 

 Tuesday, October 26 is the date for this year’s 20^thAnnual Mike Koebel Moldmaker Trade Fair, which attracts attendees from the moldmaking and molding communities throughout the West and beyond.  It continues to be an outstanding networking event and an economical way for exhibitors to showcase their wares to eager attendees and potential customers. 

 For the second year, the Trade Fair will be at the National Hot Rod Association Motorsports Museum in Pomona, California.  So in addition to visiting the various exhibitors, attendees can feast their eyes on a spectacular array of vintage and historical racing vehicles and memorabilia.    

The success of this program helps the SPI Western Moldmakers Committee continue their goal of giving back to the moldmaking community.  Over the last 13 years, they have donated nearly $80,000 to Western-based schools and universities with moldmaking and plastics programs. 

 Trade Fair registration is open now.  Attend and help us celebrate 20 years of moldmaking in the West!

A few weeks ago, I attended a meeting in which a presenter discussed our nation’s need to strive for a more sustainable future. Arguing that sustainability is not a new concept, the presenter showed an image of a glass bottle house located in the Calico Ghost Town, and noted that we need to recapture the ingenuity of the past in order to essentially save the world.

According to this web site devoted to bottle houses, it is unclear whether the Calico Bottle House was created in Calico, brought there from another ghost town, or is actually just a modern reproduction. But it is generally understood that short of building materials, early mining camp settlers made their shelters out of whatever they could — including discarded bottles from the town’s saloon. 

Although I would argue that the ingenuity of the past was often more of an exercise in survival rather than sustainability, I still appreciated the speaker’s illustration and would make the case that we are already replicating those triumphs. Whether it is transforming a plastic bag into low-maintenance fencing, a plastic soda bottle into the 111 Navy Chair, or any of the recycled plastic products we’ve spotlighted on this blog, our society continues to recycle and re-purpose items that would otherwise end up in the landfill.

In fact, a recent article describes what I consider the next generation of the glass bottle house, the EcoArk. Commissioned by the Far Eastern Group for the 2010 Taipei International Expo, this 278’ X 131’ X 85’ structure is constructed of roughly 1.8 million recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles. Using the Polli-Brick, a recycled polymer architecture brick developed by Hymini, these interlocking bricks are supposedly strong enough to withstand storms or earthquakes and yet so easy to disassemble, that the EcoArk is expected to be reassembled elsewhere after the Expo.  Can you see it at NPE2012?

Yet beyond its strength and interesting honeycomb look, the Polli-Brick is  designed to offer exquisite thermal and sound insulation, and its translucent design will not only allow natural light to filter through the material, but also offer the consumer the ability to use the brick for creative lighting. Oh, and did I mention the cost? Arthur Huang, the engineer behind the EcoArk, estimated that his building  is one-third less expensive than if it had been constructed using conventional methods.

While I highly doubt that architects will embrace the Polli-Brick, at least in the near term, I do believe that it is one impressive step towards developing a more sustainable nation.

By all accounts, 2009 was an abysmal year for our national economy – and the plastics industry followed suit.  According to data collected by the SPI Committee on Equipment Statistics (CES), sales of primary plastics machinery, auxiliary equipment, and components suffered tremendously – though NPE2009 provided a welcome boost in the third quarter.  Overall new orders decreased by over a third of what they were in 2008 and were less than half of the total numbers in 2007!  Plastics parts production also hit a wall, and capacity utilization dropped to its lowest levels in years.  As with the rest of the economy, things were grim but started to improve late in the year as the fourth quarter showed signs of improvement.

As alarming as these numbers are, it appears that the worst is passed us according to Bill Wood of Mountaintop Economics & Research, who provided analysis for the CES program.  As part of the continuing SPI Business of Plastics webinar series, Mr. Wood will give a one-hour presentation on Tuesday, June 22 at 11:00 am EST exclusively for SPI members to discuss his 2010 forecast and let you know what signs your business should be looking for as proof of the turnaround.

By attending the webinar, you will find that through the first four months of 2010 the data is encouraging.   All industry segments can expect to grow 15-30% this year when compared with 2009.  Capacity utilization has leapt to 76% and total plastics parts production is also on the rise.  Major end-markets – including both residential and commercial construction – are also gaining momentum.  Though 2010 is certain to look lean compared to just a few years ago, the market has reached the bottom and on its way to recovery.

Don’t miss this opportunity to gain insight and take the first steps towards a profitable 2010! Register today!

For once—a lottery that is a win-win for everyone! Today, at SPI headquarters in Washington, DC, a special lottery for an exhibit space “pre-draw” was held for NPE exhibitors with a 15 show history or higher.

You may be asking, “what is a pre-draw?” As you most likely know by now, NPE2012 and NPE2015 will be held in Orlando, Florida at the Orange County Convention Center. NPE2012 will be the first NPE show to be held in this venue, and with that comes an exciting new location, new opportunities and a new floor plan full of possibilities! Moving from a facility that has housed NPE since 1971 has also raised many inquiries on booth locations of industry sectors and longtime exhibitors.

The pre-draw process was developed by NPE’s committees and staff to help work through some of these very questions ahead of time—well in advance the traditional Space Draw that will take place this upcoming January 12-14, 2011, in Orlando. Exhibiting companies with a 15 show history or higher (the same companies that would have selected first in the January space draw) were offered the opportunity to participate, and 64 chose to enter the lottery.

This is not an ordinary lottery, however, since it ultimately rewards all participants! Allowing longtime SPI Member exhibitors to select their official spaces this summer will provide guidance to exhibitors on their booth selection during the January 2011 Space Draw. All other exhibitors will have the benefit of knowing—well before the Space Draw—where these longtime exhibitors are setting up their booths. This means better advanced decision-making for exhibitors and a well-organized floor plan for attendees.

Drumroll please! This morning, SPI’s Bill Carteaux, Gene Sanders and Phyllis Hortie were joined by exhibitor witness John Roberts of Gala Industries to pull these pre-draw participants from a lottery. In the coming weeks, these exhibiting companies, in order from 1-64, will work with SPI to select their booth space.  The first 10 companies are:

• Sumitomo Plastics Machinery and Demag Plastics Group
• Farrel Corporation
• Canon Communications
• SABIC
• ITW Instron Corporation + Affiliates
• Eastman Chemical Company
• DuPont
• Davis-Standard, LLC
• NFM Welding Engineers
• Gloucester Engineering Co., Inc.

And with this lottery for pre-draw booth selection, NPE2012 is off to an exciting start in a fresh venue.