WASHINGTON (Jan. 8, 12:45 p.m. ET) — The Society of the Plastics Industry Inc. has hired Kendra Martin to lead the trade association’s new Brand Owners Council.

Washington-based SPI started the council last year with an aim of recruiting more original equipment manufacturer members.

The council had been headed by Jacqueline Dalzell, the former publisher of Plastics Technology magazine, in her role as director of industry affairs.

With Martin taking over on the brand owners’ group, Dalzell will now head SPI’s Equipment Council.

Gene Sanders, SPI’s senior vice president of trade shows and conferences. had previously overseen the Equipment Council. He now will focus all of his attention on the NPE trade shows.

Martin has more than 20 years of trade association experience, including 16 years at the American Petroleum Institute.

“Kendra is uniquely talented and had considerable success in growing new groups from the ground up at API,” said SPI President and CEO Bill Carteaux, in a news release. “Her first-hand knowledge of our industry's energy and feedstock issues will be an additional help to us as well.”

SPI has four councils. In addition to equipment and brand owners, the others represent materials suppliers and processors.

SPI also announced Jan. 8 that, as part of its previously announced focus on pursuing “zero waste” initiatives, it is working on a recycling/recovery project that includes a working group that pulls members from all four of its councils.

SPI’s Post Commercial Study will provide statistics annually that companies can use to compare their operations to best practices throughout the industry.

SPI plans to introduce the tools in February.