PPA Members In The News

As he looks forward to retirement, PLASTICS executive and industry veteran Steve Petrakis takes pride in the people he's mentored in the industry.

Bob Jackson, founder of Jackson Machinery is a veteran in the blow molding machinery industry. His plastics career began in 1968 at Peninsular Machinery Co. in Detroit, with stints at Davis-Standard Sterling, and Haysson Manufacturing. That experience led Bob to founding his own company in 1986. Check out Bob’s interesting career history in the PMM interview:

Maureen Steinwall hardly needs an introduction, as her career in the plastics industry began when at age 30 she told her father, the founder and owner of Steinwall Inc., “a girl’s place is in a manufacturing plant.” As we in the Plastics Pioneers Association (PPA) know, Maureen has been a guiding force not only in expanding Steinwall Inc.’s business, but…

Congratulations to three of our esteemed members of the Plastics Pioneers Association for their membership into the Plastics Hall of Fame. A total of 10 new members to the Plastics Hall of Fame will be inducted into the Plastics Hall of Fame on May 16 at NPE2021 in Orlando, FL. Three of the 10 chosen new members are members of…

Aline Alroy is Vice President of Sales for High-Technology Corp. She was greatly influenced by her father, a scientist and inventor who developed the screen changer, a device that took off in the industry. He was responsible for Aline to ultimately get a career in plastics equipment. Read Aline’s full profile Q&A with Plastics Machinery Magazine from December 2020.

Courtney Asztalos is an accomplished artist in various processes—photography, sound, installation, video, drawing, artist books, and collage. She is also the curator for the Plastics Collection at Syracuse University Library which is sponsored by the PPA.

Alexander (Sandy) Guthrie grew up in a family business that was a pioneer in plastic extrusion. His father founded Sterling Extruder Corp. in 1959 where Guthrie worked summers, joining the business full time in 1978.

Stan Glover's early fascination with the world beyond his hometown in the Finger Lakes region of New York led him on a path that is benefiting plastics machinery and processors in ways they do not realize.

Many of the members of the Plastics Pioneers Association continue to have careers in the plastics industry and contribute to the success of others. Kenneth E. Pawlak, inducted into the Plastics Pioneers Association in 2016, was featured in the September 2020 Plastics Machinery Magazine in the article “Parts designer Pawlak gets results.” Pawlak’s expertise in plastic product design and development…

Rodney (Rod) Roth, one of the founders of R&D Plastics LLC (Hillsboro, OR), passed away on March 25th at the age of 77 after a long battle with cancer. He passed away at his home with his wife, Kim Alford, and close friend and business partner Sal Gonzalez by his side. Rod was a guest speaker at the Plastics Pioneers…