As editor of In the news business, the week between Christmas and New Year's is big on "Year-in-Review" stories, so here's ours: The Most Popular Stories from PlasticsNews.com in 2010.
My criteria -- the number of times that readers viewed any story posted on our web site during the calendar year.
No. 1: PVC pipe extruder JM Eagle hit with whistleblower lawsuit, written by senior reporter Bill Bregar in February.
We've posted several updates on this case during 2010, so if you're just catching up now make sure to check our story archives for more information.
No. 2: Dow Chemical sticks to Basics, a feature by senior reporter Frank Esposito from April. Frank outlined the Midland, Mich.-based company's strategy for its plastics operations since the 2008 collapse of a proposed commodity plastics joint venture with a Kuwaiti firm.
Again, this is a topic that we've come back to several times this year, so check the archives for the most recent updates.
No. 3: My Feb. 7 spot news story, Audi's Super Bowl commercials blast single-use plastic products. Were you surprised by the Audi A3 TDI "Green Police" ad that cast plastic products in a negative light?
I took a break from the game to write this story at 10:30 p.m. on Super Bowl Sunday, complete with a timely response from the American Chemistry Council's Plastics Division, and reaction from advertising/media critics including Advertising Age's Bob Garfield.
No. 4: Amcor to buy Ball's plastics packaging unit, by staff reporter Dan Hockensmith. Big M&A news, always a mainstay on PlasticsNews.com, and this story featured solid reaction from several analysts.
No. 5: Mexico's plastics industry taking action to crack down on resin theft. Our coverage of Mexico is strong thanks to local correspondent Steve Downer. Here he wrote about gangs of thieves who were stealing trucks loaded with resin, an estimated 1,000 metric tons of material every year.
No. 6: JM Eagle alleges kickback scheme in PVC pipe whistle-blower suit. Bill Bregar's first update of the No. 1 story from our list ... again, see the story archives for more.
No. 7: Massive Toyota recall centers on plastic friction device. Rhoda Miel, our Detroit-based staff reporter, investigated a plastics angle to Toyota's faulty accelerator pedal problem.
No. 8: Colombia's Phoenix Packaging building plant in Virginia. Hockensmith again, with news of a big move by a Bogota, Colombia-based injection molder and thermoformer into North America.
No. 9: Industry reacts to US healthcare plan. Mike Verespej, PN's staff reporter in Washington, was in a prime position to report on what President Obama's healthcare plan would mean to the plastics industry. First, obviously, he's based in D.C. and covers all the relevant trade associations. Second, Mike covers the medical sector for Plastics News, so he had sources ready with their take on how "Obamacare" would impact their end market.
No. 10: Four processors named finalists for Plastics News annual award. Our Processor of the Year award is extremely popular, and this story from January 2010 announced the finalists. (The winner ended up being GW Plastics Inc., a Vermont-based processor that has transitioned into a medical molder.)
Watch our Web site around Jan. 10 for the release of this year's finalists.
Thanks to all our loyal readers, and best wishes to everyone for a healthy and prosperous 2011.