MCHENRY, ILL. (Oct. 9, 1 p.m. ET) — The Plastics Pioneers Association has named four new members: Wendy Hoenig, Roger Kipp, David Nolan and Steve Sopher.
Wendy Hoenig, who worked for 25 years at Dow Chemical Co. in thermoplastics, thermosets and elastomers, in positions ranging from technical service, new business development, project management and research and development management. She holds 15 U.S. patents.
Hoenig retired from Dow in 2010 and joined with her husband, Steve, to form H&H Business Development LLC, a Houston consulting group that helps develop startup companies in plastics, packaging and other markets, specializing in technology due diligence for venture capital and private equity firms.
Roger Kipp, a 47-year plastics veteran who is vice president of marketing and engineering at McClarin Plastics Inc., a thermoforming company in Hanover, Pa.
Kipp has received numerous awards from the Society of Plastics Engineers, including Thermoformer of the Year in 2010 and the 2003 Lifetime Achievement Award, from the SPE Thermoforming Division. He also earned SPE’s Outstanding Achievement Award in 2002.
Kipp played an active role in establishing a thermoforming curriculum at the Pennsylvania College of Technology in Williamsport, Pa.
David Nolan, who has focused on state-of-the art injection molding for his 26-year plastics career. He spent 16 years at Gillette Co. in Boston, first as processing engineer and then as engineering manager. Nolan was closely involved in the launch of Gillette’s razors, such as the Mach II and the Fusion.
After leaving Gillette, Nolan went to work for Foboha GmbH, the German mold maker specializing in multi-component molding.
Steve Sopher, who became an engineering intern at Raytheon Co., where he worked on composite resin transfer molding processes and did design and process engineering to its radome and missile design group.
Since 1994, Sopher has worked for JSP International in Butler, Pa. He is currently technical director, in charge of material selection, design, development and performance testing for JSP’s line of expanded polyolefin foam products. In 2003, Sopher’s group, along with JSP’s Automotive Development group and General Motors Co.’s Midsize Design Group, were honored by SPE for their 10 years of using expanded polypropylene as an energy absorption material for bumpers.
