Bloomberg is reporting that MGA Entertainment Inc., the parent company of rotational molder Little Tikes Co., is considering an initial public offering.

The story quotes MGA CEO Isaac Larian, saying "'The toy market is going to grow very well, and the outlook is fantastic."

Toy companies are reporting strong results. A few weeks ago, Lego A/S said its 2009 profit rose 63 percent, and sales were up 22.4 percent, compared to 2008.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has been honored again for its "Chemical Fallout" series, including coverage of bisphenol A safety.

Meg Kissinger and Susanne Rust will receive $10,000 and the Roy W. Howard Award for public service reporting. In a news release announcing the award, the foundation said the Journal Sentinel investigation has "spanned three years and forced federal regulators to reverse opinions and eventually declare bisphenol A ... dangerous to fetuses, infants and children."

This is a repeat win for the duo. Last year, Scripps Howard gave them the Edward J. Meeman award for environmental reporting.

Rust and Kissinger also were finalists for the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting for the series.

As I've pointed out in the past, it's worth keeping track of which plastics-related stories win big journalism awards. Those issues tend to stay in the public and legislative spotlight for a long time.

The Journal Sentinel has devoted a lot of reporting firepower to BPA safety, over a long period of time. The effort has drawn attention to an issue that had been simmering on the regulatory back-burner for more than a decade.

I compare this to the Los Angeles Times "Altered Oceans" project, which won a Pulitzer Prize in 2007. Before that, few people had heard about the marine debris problem.

Since then, the plastics industry has had to spend a lot of time dealing with plastic bag bans and taxes, and growth and competition from biodegradable materials.

I was surprised to see The New York Times report today about "hooping": excercising with a Hula-Hoop. Then I saw the photo of Marisa Tomei.

Tomei is featured prominently in the story, "Hooping Already Has Its Own Jane Fonda," which is about the "growing trend" of using Hula-Hoops as exercise equipment. (There's a Web site, and fitness videos, so it must be a trend. I wonder if there will be a Hooping magazine?)

There's also a photo of an instructor teaching a morning hooping class on the beach in Santa Monica, Calif.

I don't know anyone who hoops, but I imagine it is great exercise. If I had a Hula-Hoop in my office, I'm sure I'd find an excuse to use it a couple of times a day. It could also come in handy for playing ring toss.

Anyway, I'm sure the celebrity endorsement is invaluable, and hooping clubs will soon be popping up all over the place.

There's a lesson here for all the folks who read the Plastics Blog. If you want to get some attention for your proprietary products, just find a photogenic Academy Award winner to endorse them, put together a Web site, and give The New York Times a call... see, marketing is simple!

Last night Plastics News announced the winner of its 2009 Processor of the Year award -- custom injection molder GW Plastics Inc. Here's a fun behind-the-scenes look at our process.

Bill Bregar, our senior reporter who coordinates the project, collects all the POY entries throughout the year, and he eventually visits all the finalists. (Watch for his profile of GW in the March 15 issue of Plastics News.)

But before Bill makes those visits, he gets help from other PN staffers. In a typical year, Bill gives a team of reporters a couple of companies each, and they do background checks on those firms.

This involves talking with company officials, customers, suppliers and industry experts, and looking at OSHA, EPA and other public records.

It's a big project, and one of the things that we've laughed about over the years is that Frank Esposito, PN's other senior reporter, never seemed to research an eventual POY winner.

Maybe it was just luck of the draw. But year after year, Frank's companies never made the final cut. We were beginning to think that giving Frank a company to research was the kiss of death.

Well, I'm pleased to report that the jinx is over. Frank did the first round of research on GW Plastics for this year's award, and the company still managed to win.

Thanks for letting me share this insider story today, highlighting the work that our staff does to make this award possible. Meanwhile, check this link for for more information on our Processor of the Year award. And if you want a look at what makes GW special, check out the videos about all four finalists, which were posted on our multimedia page today.

After a natural disaster, some of the first products that relief workers seek are plastic tarps and bottled water. Igloo Products Corp. doesn't make either one of those -- but the company still managed to find a role in the earthquake relief effort in Haiti.

The Katy, Texas-based company partnered with Dialysis at Sea Cruises, donating several 120-quart coolers to aid in the delivery and storage of heat-sensitive medical supplies.

Igloo, which makes plastic coolers, donated large-capacity ice chests to help ship 11 tons of medical supplies that were provided by Dialysis at Sea, including dialysis machines.

"Many people will need the help of dialysis since most signs of problems to kidneys do not start to show up until 2-3 weeks after an accident has occurred" explained Steve Debroux, president of Dialysis at Sea Cruises. "The Igloo coolers are vital to delivering the temperature-sensitive supplies."

Jim Roberts, president and CEO of Igloo Corp., said the company was "extremely proud to lend a hand during this time of need in Haiti."

Chemical catalysts rarely make big news, but today's an exception. In a paper published in Macromolecules, a journal of the American Chemical Society, researchers at IBM and Stanford University said they have discovered a new way to make plastics that can be continuously recycled by substituting organic catalysts for the metal oxide or metal hydroxide catalysts most often used to make the plastics.

The news is generating headlines, in part because the Associated Press and other wire services jumped on it this morning.

The New York Times Green Inc. blog has a good report on the study, quoting Chandrasekhar Narayan, from IBM's Almaden Research Center in San Jose, Calif.

Narayan says the catalysts are cheap, and can make polymers that are durable, recyclable, and biodegradable.

"It's really a new class of polymers," he told the Times. "I think it's going to revolutionize synthetic chemistry."

Watch PlasticsNews.com for more information about the technology.

Here's a story I've been watching for (and I assume some Plastics Blog readers have been too): Archer Daniels Midland Co. has started production at its starch-based polymer plant in Clinton, Iowa, according to a report in the Clinton Herald.

Jason Nevel's story says that after four years of construction, the plant may begin shipping commercial goods next month. The newspaper quotes plant manager John Morrison, who said test runs have been conducted since December, and the plant will be in full operation this summer.

At full capacity, the plant will produce 50,000 tons of Mirel-brand polymer annually, using ADM's wet corn mill as a feedstock.

"To be part of a new plant that's first-of-its-kind in the world is really a lifetime opportunity for most of us," said Kevin Moore, ADM bio-products general manager.

The plant will make Mirel for Telles, a joint venture between Metabolix and ADM.

Dow Chemical Co. is continuing to support relief efforts in Haiti, which is recovering from a major earthquake on Jan. 12. The Midland, Mich.-based company announced today that it supported a relief mission that took surgeons, medical supplies and clothing to those in need on March 6-7.

Dow "collaborated with several Boston-area hospitals and like-minded companies to bring more than $750,000 in donated medical equipment to those in need -- specifically an anesthesia machine and other specialized surgical equipment -- via a relief flight that took place this weekend from the U.S. to Haiti."

The company said the effort was "one of the single, largest private sector relief efforts" since the Jan. 12 earthquake.

On its return flight to the U.S., the airplane transported more than 40 orphans who have been cleared for adoption by the U.S. State Department.

Since the January quake, Dow has donated $500,000 to the Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund, as well as an additional $250,000 through an employee matching gift program to support The United Nations World Food Programme. In addition, nearly 2,000 Dow employees personally contributed more than $320,000 of their own funds to Haiti relief efforts.

Dow also announced that it has agreed to donate $100,000 to Hogar De Cristo, a relief organization in Santiago, Chile, to support relief efforts to those affected by the 8.8-magnitude earthquake that southern Chile on Feb. 27. Another $100,000 is being set aside for future rebuilding as the needs are fully assessed. Dow also is sending provisions from Santiago to Talcahuano to assist 70 employees located near the city.

Tupperware Corp. may have a reputation as being a bit old fashioned -- remember Tupperware parties? But the PBS Nightly Business Report did a story on the Orlando, Fla.-based housewares company that emphasizes Tupperware's emphasis on new products, and its success in global markets.

Jeff Yastine, correspondent for Nightly Business Report, noted that Tupperware "doesn't even try" to compete with cheap food storage containers that consumers can buy at Wal-Mart. Instead, Tupperware invests in research, design and product development, to come up with innovative products.

Chairman and CEO Rick Goings added: "We made this very important decision, oh goodness it had to be 15 years ago, that we weren't going to make commodity products. So technology had to play a part."

He cited an example -- a cheese container that's a big seller in France. The top has a semi-permeable membrane, "very much like Goretex," that allows the container to release moisture.

On the financial side, Goings said Tupperware plans to boost its dividend -- a move sure to be popular with investors.

"You have got these baby boomers who've been so terribly disappointed over this last decade of what's happened in the equity market. We think they're going to be looking for income, fixed income, from companies like us. And if our stock appreciates, then that's just double good for them. So that's the road we're going down," Goings said.

Plastic Components Inc., a Germantown, Wis., custom injection molder, is among eight companies that was recently honored with a 2009 Wisconsin Manufacturer of the Year
Award.

PCI received a special award for its "Commitment to Community and Employees."

The awards "recognize Wisconsin companies that demonstrate a commitment to business excellence, which has a positive impact on the company and the state, making Wisconsin a better place to live, work and play."

The program is co-sponsored by accounting firm Baker Tilly, law firm Michael Best & Friedrich LLP, and Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, the state's largest business association.

Congratulations to the company, which also won Plastics News' 2008 Processor of the Year award.