Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Sustainable Plastics
  • Rubber News
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Processor News
    • Suppliers
    • More News
    • Digital Edition
    • End Markets
    • Special Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Resin pricing news
    • Videos
    • Injection Molding
    • Blow Molding
    • Film & Sheet
    • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
    • Rotomolding
    • Thermoforming
    • Recycling
    • Machinery
    • Materials
    • Molds/Tooling
    • Product news
    • Design
    • K Show
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Sustainability
    • Public Policy
    • Material Insights Videos
    • Numbers that Matter
    • Automotive
    • Packaging
    • Medical
    • Consumer Products
    • Construction
    • Processor of the Year
    • Best Places to Work
    • Women Breaking the Mold
    • Rising Stars
    • Diversity
    • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
  • Opinion
    • The Plastics Blog
    • Kickstart
    • One Good Resin
    • Pellets and Politics
    • All Things Data
    • Viewpoint
    • From Pillar to Post
    • Perspective
    • Mailbag
    • Fake Plastic Trees
  • Shop Floor
    • Blending
    • Compounding
    • Drying
    • Injection Molding
    • Purging
    • Robotics
    • Size Reduction
    • Structural Foam
    • Tooling
    • Training
  • Events
    • K Show Livestream
    • Plastics News Events
    • Industry Events
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Livestreams/Webinars
    • Editorial Livestreams
    • Ask the Expert
    • Plastics News Events Library
    • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Plastics News Executive Forum
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Plastics News Caps & Closures
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
    • Plastics in Automotive
    • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Polymer Points Live
    • Numbers that Matter Live
    • Plastics in Politics Live
    • Sustainable Plastics Live
    • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
    • Plastics in Healthcare Library
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
  • Rankings & Data
    • Injection Molders
    • Blow Molders
    • Film Sheet
    • Thermoformers
    • Pipe Profile Tubing
    • Rotomolders
    • Mold/Toolmakers
    • LSR Processors
    • Recyclers
    • Compounders - List
    • Association - List
    • Plastic Lumber - List
    • All
  • Directory
  • Resin Prices
    • Commodity TPs
    • High Temp TPs
    • ETPs
    • Thermosets
    • Recycled Plastics
    • Historic Commodity Thermoplastics
    • Historic High Temp Thermoplastics
    • Historic Engineering Thermoplastics
    • Historic Thermosets
    • Historic Recycled Plastics
  • Custom
    • Sponsored Content
    • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
    • Conair Sponsored Content
    • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
    • ENGEL Sponsored Content
    • White Papers
    • Classifieds
    • Place an Ad
    • Sign up for Early Classified
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. News
December 18, 1995 01:00 AM

TALCO PLASTICS' SHEDD, CARTER REHABILITATING

Roger Renstrom
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print

    FALLBROOK, CALIF.-A family-owned busi-ness has become an extended family dur-ing the recoveries of two company executives. Workers at Talco Plastics Inc., a major California plastics recycler, have rallied to the cause during the recuperation of post-consumer product sales manager Michael Carter from leukemia and President John Shedd from a freak accident. Carter, 27, battled leukemia for many months. Fellow employees gavegave him a warm welcome when he returned to work Sept. 5, initially part time. Members of the California Film Extruders & Converters Association applauded him at the group's Sept. 12 meeting.

    John Shedd, Talco president, continues to recover after a serious accident that crushed his upper body. Shedd convalesces at a son's home in Fallbrook, plans to attend the company Christmas party and expects to get back to his Whittier office beginning in February.

    ``We are happy to see Michael and John on the mend,'' said Norma S. Fox, executive director of CFECA in Corona del Mar, Calif. ``Both are key figures in the recycling effort here.''

    Carter remembers when he was a high school student selling shoes in California in 1988, and John Shedd came in looking for a certain type of shoe.

    ```We didn't have them, but I sold him another pair,'' Carter said in an interview in Fallbrook. ``We got to talking, he explained his business, and he asked if I wanted a job. He handed me his business card and left with the shoes that I had picked out.''

    Carter impressed Shedd.

    ``Michael is a very upbeat type of person. At the age of 19, if the guy can sell me something I didn't come in for, then he can sell refrigerators to Eskimos. I said to myself, `There is my future salesman.' ''

    Three weeks later, Carter pursued the opportunity and was hired, initially spending a year in Talco's Whittier, Calif., industrial recycling factory to learn about plastics. Soon, he moved into industrial sales and, in 1993, Shedd asked Carter to help develop the post-consumer recycling marketing department.

    In early 1994, Carter began feeling ill.

    ``I was too busy with work and an active schedule of golf, mountain biking and other activities to think that my discomfort was more than stress or the flu.''

    The doctors he saw were unable to determine a cause.

    Finally, he sought medical advice about the freckle-like red spots that spread over his entire body in a weekend. On Nov. 14, he found himself in a hospital receiving a transfusion and facing a diagnosis of acute lymphocytic leukemia. Grueling chemotherapy and full-body radiation treatments extended over 10 months, and a maintenance program will continue for two years.

    ``I'd known nothing but good things, and there was no cancer in either side of my family,'' Carter said. ``When told at 26 years old that you have a 25 percent chance of survival, that was like a carpet being pulled out from under me.''

    The leukemia was in his cerebral and spinal fluid.

    ``The key to fighting cancer is to be as aggressive as possible,'' Carter said. ``Being a young man, I got the strongest doses of therapy, and I almost died twice.

    ``Just when you think you're 10 feet tall and bulletproof, think again. After years of success, I came to find out that is not how it works. This renewed my faith in God.''

    He said he has seen ``the true colors'' of people in his life and has a special appreciation for the support and prayers that he received from customers, friends and co-workers. Talco employees spent time at his side, sponsored a Red Cross blood drive and cleaned his house. Employees also have been there for Shedd in his time of need.

    Shedd prided himself on being physically fit. Until the accident, he exercised vigorously three mornings a week.

    Everything changed July 29 with his nearly fatal accident.

    ``I happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time, and I'd rather not talk about it.''

    The accident caused extensive physical damage: a crushed torso, seven broken ribs, a pelvis broken in three places, a broken shoulder and several crushed vertebrae. Internal bleeding required massive transfusions, and his blood pressure dropped dramatically.

    Doctors performed risky operations.

    ``The whole family got together because there was one night I wasn't expected to live,'' he said.

    Shedd stayed on a respirator for the first week, remained inintensive care two weeks and was hospitalized a month.

    Shedd's four children provided constant support. His son Richard, an emergency room physician in Mammoth Lakes, Calif., came to Shedd's hospital and stayed nearby for the first week of critical treatments. Meanwhile, Shedd's extended family at Talco and friends throughout the industry ``sent cards and flowers and remembered me in their prayers.''

    His next six weeks were spent rehabilitating.

    ``It was a big deal when I could roll over on my side or get out of bed or get into a wheelchair or if I could eat a hamburger,'' Shedd said. ``I had no appetite, I couldn't move and I lost 30 pounds'' off an already lean frame. ``I needed to learn to eat again.''

    Shedd has gained back the weight and made great strides walking on an asphalt-paved country lane near citrus and avocado groves.

    ``Now, I can walk four miles each morning,'' Shedd said, ``and I can do it in 1 hour, 7 minutes. My goal is to cut off a minute each day. That's an engineer's way.''

    The doctors say he is about 85 percent back, Shedd said, ``and they give me an excellent chance at 100 percent recovery.''

    Reading from a yellow legal pad, Shedd enumerated some lessons learned: The company can survive and grow without him; God is the supreme physician; attitude is critical; and good physical condition is extremely important.

    ``I didn't have the right attitude for a while, but the family pushed me,'' he said, and ``now I can't wait to get back to the gym.''

    The recuperative period ``has been a godsend to get acquainted with my eight grandchildren. I was always too busy before.''

    Once back at the office in February, Shedd intends to refocus his priorities and devote himself to Talco's growth instead of day-to-day operations, now under the complete control of his sons. Jack has been with Talco eight years, and Bob, for five years. Both are vice presidents.

    Shedd renewed his interest in the business in October after months of being ``concerned with whether I wanted to get well.''

    Talco employs about 145 and should achieve 1995 sales of more than $15 million, Shedd said. In 1992, Talco employed 100 and had sales of $7 million.

    ``Whittier had its best year by far, and we're literally kicking out the walls,'' he said, attributing the growth ``to the way that Talco management carried on without me.''.

    Talco is investing $2 million in equipment for a second line at the North Long Beach post-consumer recycling plant. It opened in August 1994. Monthly capacity will triple from 1 million pounds to 3 million pounds. Shedd's accident, in part, delayed the project a few months.

    Also, Talco operates an El Paso, Texas, plant that collects, processes and grinds plastics and sends them to the Whittier plant to be pelletized.

    Shedd takes pride in running the firm as an extended family.

    ``I'd say 15 percent of the employees have relatives there, and we have a lot of people who regard me as a father figure. When you own your own company, you can do it exactly the way you want to. You don't have to ask the boss, and my sons have continued this policy,'' he said.

    ``I worked for someone all my life up until the last nine years. I always wanted to have my own business. I got it, and we run it our way.''

    He believes he's ``been given a second chance, and I'm going to make the best of it. I was a fair Christian before, but I'm going to get to be a much stronger Christian as a result of this.''

    RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
    Australian startup Samsara to commercialize its enzyme recycling
    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Do you have an opinion about this story? Do you have some thoughts you'd like to share with our readers? Plastics News would love to hear from you. Email your letter to Editor at [email protected]

    Most Popular
    1
    PVC feedstock in train derailment prompts evacuation in Ohio
    2
    Material Insights: Resin prices rise, nonmarket correction for PE
    3
    Illinois AG sues 14 firms over PFAS contamination
    4
    Prices on the rise for PP, PVC
    5
    This is the year the reality of plastics EPR arrives in the US
    SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE NEWSLETTERS
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    Get our newsletters

    Staying current is easy with Plastics News delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge.

    Subscribe today

    Subscribe to Plastics News

    Subscribe now
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram

    Plastics News covers the business of the global plastics industry. We report news, gather data and deliver timely information that provides our readers with a competitive advantage.

    Contact Us

    1155 Gratiot Avenue
    Detroit MI 48207-2997

    Customer Service:
    877-320-1723

    Resources
    • About
    • Staff
    • Editorial Calendar
    • Media Kit
    • Data Store
    • Digital Edition
    • Custom Content
    • People
    • Contact
    • Careers
    • Sitemap
    Related Crain Publications
    • Sustainable Plastics
    • Rubber News
    • Tire Business
    • Urethanes Technology
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Processor News
        • Injection Molding
        • Blow Molding
        • Film & Sheet
        • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
        • Rotomolding
        • Thermoforming
        • Recycling
      • Suppliers
        • Machinery
        • Materials
        • Molds/Tooling
        • Product news
        • Design
      • More News
        • K Show
        • Mergers & Acquisitions
        • Sustainability
        • Public Policy
        • Material Insights Videos
        • Numbers that Matter
      • Digital Edition
      • End Markets
        • Automotive
        • Packaging
        • Medical
        • Consumer Products
        • Construction
      • Special Reports
        • Processor of the Year
        • Best Places to Work
        • Women Breaking the Mold
        • Rising Stars
        • Diversity
        • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
      • Newsletters
      • Resin pricing news
      • Videos
    • Opinion
      • The Plastics Blog
      • Kickstart
      • One Good Resin
      • Pellets and Politics
      • All Things Data
      • Viewpoint
      • From Pillar to Post
      • Perspective
      • Mailbag
      • Fake Plastic Trees
    • Shop Floor
      • Blending
      • Compounding
      • Drying
      • Injection Molding
      • Purging
      • Robotics
      • Size Reduction
      • Structural Foam
      • Tooling
      • Training
    • Events
      • K Show Livestream
      • Plastics News Events
        • Plastics News Executive Forum
        • Injection Molding & Design Expo
        • Plastics News Caps & Closures
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
        • Plastics in Automotive
      • Industry Events
      • Injection Molding & Design Expo
      • Livestreams/Webinars
        • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
      • Editorial Livestreams
        • Polymer Points Live
        • Numbers that Matter Live
        • Plastics in Politics Live
        • Sustainable Plastics Live
      • Ask the Expert
      • Plastics News Events Library
        • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
        • Plastics in Healthcare Library
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
      • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Rankings & Data
      • Injection Molders
      • Blow Molders
      • Film Sheet
      • Thermoformers
      • Pipe Profile Tubing
      • Rotomolders
      • Mold/Toolmakers
      • LSR Processors
      • Recyclers
      • Compounders - List
      • Association - List
      • Plastic Lumber - List
      • All
    • Directory
    • Resin Prices
      • Commodity TPs
        • Historic Commodity Thermoplastics
      • High Temp TPs
        • Historic High Temp Thermoplastics
      • ETPs
        • Historic Engineering Thermoplastics
      • Thermosets
        • Historic Thermosets
      • Recycled Plastics
        • Historic Recycled Plastics
    • Custom
      • Sponsored Content
      • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
      • Conair Sponsored Content
      • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
      • ENGEL Sponsored Content
      • White Papers
      • Classifieds
        • Place an Ad
        • Sign up for Early Classified