PPA Members In The News

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…

The Plastics Pioneers Association (PPA) is proud to announce that Charles (Charlie) Sears has been posthumously inducted into the Plastics Hall of Fame. Charlie became a member of the PPA in 2015, honored for his long career in the plastics industry including numerous management positions for Polymer Machinery, Automated Assemblies and AEC/Nelmor. Charlie and his wife Esther founded Dri-Air Industries,…

Plastic Molding Technology is building value through sustainable practices. Going green is good business for plastic injection molding, and our commitment to sustainability is supported by an integrated approach across all areas of our El Paso operations.

This presentation was given by Bekum at the PPA General Membership meeting in Minnesota. A related story is shown in the July 24th Plastics News posting.

Plastics industry veteran Rick Shaffer has restarted his consulting firm InterTech Rx LC in Chandler, Ariz. Shaffer was most recently managing director of the western region of Westfall Technik Inc., a Las Vegas-based holding company that bought many plastics companies. Shaffer resigned that position in March. His background also includes executive positions at injection press supplier Netstal Machinery Inc. and…

The average age of workers on the floor at Bekum America Corp.'s manufacturing facility has gone down. The German maker of extrusion blow molding machinery credits the workforce age drop — from 55 in 2014 to 42 today — to its apprenticeship program, a four-year, 8,000-hour structured training strategy launched in 1994. The program is registered with the U.S. Department…

Written by Don Rosato The 20th century will be remembered 500 years from now as the century when humans began the exploration of space. The Apollo 11 space mission launched from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, USA July 16, 1969, with the first humans, U.S. astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, to walk on the moon July 20, 1969, and…

By Clare Goldsberry While in Albuquerque for the Spring 2019 PPA meeting, a local TV news segment focused on the problem of people stealing the large, brass historical markers around the city and selling them for cash at recycling facilities. At a cost of about $1,000 per market, the city can no longer afford to replace these markers with brass…

By Clare Goldsberry Keeping the history of plastics and the plastics industry alive for future generations is an important mission for the Plastics Pioneers Association. It is so true that you can’t truly know where you are or why unless you understand where you came from, and that’s just as applicable to the plastics industry. Glenn Beall does an excellent…