Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Sustainable Plastics
  • Plastics News China
  • Rubber & Plastics News
logo-pn-color
Subscribe
  • Login
  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Processor News
    • Suppliers
    • More News
    • End Markets
    • FYI Charts
    • LSR World
    • Multimedia
    • NPE2021
    • K Show
    • Special Reports
    • Top materials of injection molders
      Recycled PET use by product category
      US PET, flexible packaging desintations
      Global fluropolymers additives market: CAGR
    • NPE exhibitors question handling of deposits for canceled trade show
      Exhibitors back NPE cancellation: ‘We couldn't take that risk'
      NPE2021 canceled as in-person event
      NPE reviews its options as pandemic prompts exhibitor to exit
    • Injection Molding
    • Blow Molding
    • Film & Sheet
    • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
    • Rotomolding
    • Thermoforming
    • Recycling
    • Machinery
    • Materials
    • Molds/Tooling
    • Product news
    • Design
    • What Keeps You Up At Night
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Sustainability
    • Public Policy
    • Material Insights Videos
    • Numbers that Matter
    • Polymer Points Live
    • Automotive
    • Packaging
    • Medical
    • Consumer Products
    • Construction
    • Videos
    • Galleries
    • Podcasts
    • CEO Issue
    • Best Places to Work
    • Processor of the Year
    • Rising Stars
    • Women Breaking the Mold
  • Opinion
    • The Plastics Blog
    • Kickstart
    • Heavy Metal
    • One Good Resin
    • BRICS and Plastics
    • All Things Data
    • Viewpoint
    • From Pillar to Post
    • Perspective
    • Mailbag
    • Perspective: Making the best of working from home
      Nypro's Gordon Lankton left the plastics industry a better place
      Recognizing Plastek Industries for all-around excellence
      Let's look forward, rather than back, to mark COVID anniversary
    • Kickstart: Plastics ready to take flight on Mars
      Kickstart: Let's hear it for leftovers
      Kickstart: Big data, big bowls and consumer packaging
      Kickstart: A vexing vaccination question
    • Heavy Metal: Coronavirus edition, plus the work of working from home
      Don't put off succession planning
      What's a good gift for your cobot? Batteries?
      Here's some big ideas to mull over the holidays
    • PE resin trends highlighted in Shell report
      Dow's Lowry honored by World Economic Forum for sustainability work
      Africa impacts new colors from Ampacet
      Plaskolite marches into madness with its own online bracket
    • Climate debate in Washington increasingly includes plastic
      There was no choice but canceling NPE still a big deal
      The business case for producer responsibility
      Think divided government stalls plastics legislation? Think again
    • Want prices? Introducing historical resin pricing, now available in a downloadable form
      A new annual ranking: Top processor gains
      Thermoformers: Would you believe a 12 percent gain?
      Just how big is thermoforming in North America?
    • Working from home: Rugrats edition
      Nypro's Gordon Lankton left the plastics industry a better place
      Let's look forward, rather than back, to mark COVID anniversary
      Virtual pitfalls derail exhibits for builders' trade show
    • PEX pipe maker Uponor donates $30,000 for Texas storm relief
      Virtual pitfalls derail exhibits for builders' trade show
      PPI puts $200 bounty on exhumed HDPE conduit
      Raise the roof: Housing starts hit a 12-year high
    • Perspective: Making the best of working from home
      Perspective: The Materials Wars: Is plastic actually better?
      Perspective: Plastics manufacturers — a surprising contribution to sustainability
      Plastics industry business owners: Listen to your future workforce
    • Mailbag: Additional fees for electric vehicles ‘unfortunate'
      Mailbag: Where's the plastics industry's response to critics?
      Mailbag: Manufacturers struggling to follow COVID-19 safety rules
      Modernizing recycling infrastructure will benefit businesses as well as the environment
  • Shop Floor
    • Blending
    • Compounding
    • Drying
    • Injection Molding
    • Purging
    • Robotics
    • Size Reduction
    • Structural Foam
    • Tooling
    • Training
    • Maintenance can ensure efficient blender operation
      Dosing: Perfect for adding color
      Blending vs dosing: What you need to know
      Going low or high: Comparing volume
    • Colors and custom compounds
      In the laboratory: Compounding solutions
      Recycling content: Resins going ‘green’
      Compounding: Glass and other fillers
    • Dryer maintenance: Don’t err with air
      Dryers: Options for a shop’s process
      Dryer installation: Going central?
      Resins: Hygroscopic or non-hygroscopic
    • Electric injection molding presses: Efficiency is key
      Hydraulic injection molding machines
      Proper maintenance can prevent downtime
      Hybrid injection molding machines
    • Purging Hot runners: Open or closed methods
      Purging extrusion machinery
      Purging extrusion blow molding machines
      Purging: Chemical, abrasive and non-abrasive
    • Controls, special applications boost production, profitability
      Robot maintenance key for smooth operation
      High-speed robots: A rapid way to increase efficiency
      Robots: Every shape and size
    • Maintenance: Key for efficiency
      Shredders: Plastic in pieces
      Safety first for size reduction
      Granulators: The right fit
    • Video: Structural foam molding
      Structural foam molding: Flexibility for processors
    • Mold inventory: How many molds does a shop have?
      Molds: Innovation
      Mold changeover: Saving time and money
      How molds work
    • Labor: Apprenticeships may provide answer
      Internships: Solving the skills gap in-house
      College training, programs
      Lean Six Sigma: Transforming business operation
  • Events
    • Plastics News Events
    • Industry Events
    • Livestreams/Webinars
    • Ask the Expert
    • Polymer Points Live
    • Reifenhäuser Technologies Livestreams
    • 2020 Caps & Closures Library
    • Plastics in Healthcare Library
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
    • Polymer Points Live - April 2021
      Polymer Points Live - February 2021
      Polymer Points Live - January 2021
      Polymer Points Live - December 2020
    • Plastics in Healthcare 2020
    • Plastics News Executive Forum
    • Plastics in Automotive
    • Plastics News Caps & Closures
    • Plastics in Healthcare
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
  • Resin Prices
    • All Resins
    • Commodity TPs
    • High Temp TPs
    • ETPs
    • Thermosets
    • Recycled Plastics
    • Historic Commodity Thermoplastics
    • Historic High Temp Thermoplastics
    • Historic Engineering Thermoplastics
    • Historic Thermosets
    • Historic Recycled Plastics
  • Rankings
    • Injection Molders
    • Blow Molders
    • Film Sheet
    • Thermoformers
    • Pipe Profile Tubing
    • Rotomolders
    • Mold/Toolmakers
    • LSR Processors
    • Recyclers
    • Compounders - List
    • Association - List
    • Plastic Lumber - List
    • All
  • Data Store
  • Directory
  • More+
    • Classifieds
    • Digital Edition
    • Newsletters
    • Sponsored Content
    • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
    • ENGEL Sponsored Content
    • White Papers
    • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Sponsored By Bandera
      Bandera US was born for the North American market
      Sponsored By Ensign Equipment
      Filling systems customized for any process or budget need
      KraussMaffei
      Sponsored By KraussMaffei
      KraussMaffei retools in US with investment from parent ownership
      Sponsored By Mitsubishi
      Innovative new technology from Mitsubishi Engineering-Plastics Corporation helps reduce emission footprints
    • KraussMaffei
      Sponsored By KraussMaffei
      KraussMaffei Retools in US with investment from Parent Ownership
    • Sponsored By ENGEL Machinery
      Tailored maintenance for injection molding machines and robots
      Sponsored By ENGEL Machinery
      Improve maintenance efficiency with e-connect.monitor
      Sponsored By ENGEL Machinery
      Maximum precision for lowest shot weights
      Sponsored By ENGEL Machinery
      Even more cost effectiveness for small precision parts
    • Shell Polymer
      Sponsored By Shell Polymers
      Food and beverage trends impacting the polymer industry
      Sponsored By Conexiom
      Use Sales Order Automation to free up time for CSRs to focus on customers, not manual entry
    • Place an Ad
    • Sign up for Early Classified
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. News
May 24, 2004 02:00 AM

New SPE chief sees prospects despite cuts

Bill Bregar
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Print

    At SPE-Antec, experts gathered in hushed rooms to hear technical papers, just like any Society of Plastics Engineers annual conference. But SPE-Antec was about more than molecules - as the group struggles to rebound from a budget crunch and a major membership slide.

    SPE has lost nearly half its members in the past decade.

    Despite the challenges, Susan Oderwald, the new executive director, said SPE remains a strong provider of ``leadership to an industry in a chaotic world.''

    Oderwald addressed the society's business lunch May 17 in her first SPE-Antec speech.

    The Brookfield, Conn.-based professional society named Oderwald to the top position May 11, the week before the annual conference in Chicago. She joined SPE in 2001 as deputy executive director.

    She replaces Michael Cappelletti, who retired as executive director at the end of 2003.

    Oderwald, 39, has a background in industry associations.

    ``I have worked with SPE over the last three years, and come to this position with my eyes open to both the challenges and opportunities that face SPE,'' she said.

    Oderwald said the plastics industry ``needs professional organizations more than ever'' as companies look to do more with fewer resources. ``SPE is positioned to provide leadership to an industry in a chaotic world - leadership that focuses on the principles of sound science and fair competition through innovation and professional development.''

    Donna Davis, the outgoing SPE president, said about 70 people applied for the executive director's job.

    Before introducing Oderwald, Davis gave a speech spelling out actions SPE leaders took last year to restructure its finances. Despite one division's newsletter last summer that said SPE has to ``take drastic budgetary action ... to avert insolvency,'' Davis said the organization is on solid footing.

    ``We're getting back to the basics as a result of having repositioned our finances,'' Davis said.

    SPE lost $488,000 in 2003, but the society is budgeting a $150,000 surplus this year to create a nest-egg cushion - a change from its past strategy of budgeting to break even.

    Meanwhile, to cut costs, SPE:

    * Laid off staff. SPE now employs 31, down from 45 a few years ago.

    * Implemented a 5 percent pay cut for staff in 2003. Oderwald said pay was restored in January.

    * Suspended for 2004 and 2005 its traditional practice of rebating a percentage of dues to its sections and divisions based on membership. The rebates are to resume in 2006.

    Money saved will be used to develop new products, especially ones to increase membership. By suspending the rebates, SPE repaid its line-of-credit loan without the need to convert it to more costly long-term debt, Davis said.

    Oderwald said SPE's membership peaked at about 38,000 in the early 1990s. There has been a steady decline since 1994, and a more dramatic falloff in the past few years, she said. SPE ended 2003 with 19,475 members; currently, the group has 20,629.

    At a news conference after her speech, Oderwald said recent declines - suffered by many trade associations - probably reflect job losses in the industry. Volunteerism also is in decline.

    SPE leaders in Chicago said they think membership has stabilized, because of a rebounding economy and growing numbers of new members around the world.

    ``Now we're starting to see that turn around,'' Oderwald said. Attendance at seminars and conferences also has rebounded since plunging in 2001 in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

    Davis agreed: ``We are, at this point, relatively stable in membership ... so that's a real positive thing for the society.'' Davis is worldwide applications associate in polymers technology at ExxonMobil Chemical Co. in Baytown, Texas.

    In a speech, SPE's new president for 2004-05, Karen Winkler, stressed increasing membership. Audience members were given buttons saying ``Take Pride. Give Back.'' She encouraged people to find a young person to mentor, bring in one new member this year or contribute to SPE by becoming a speaker, writing a technical paper or helping to develop new SPE products.

    ``There are other leading organizations out there, but SPE represents technology, and technology is the leading edge of any industry,'' said Winkler. She is commercial Six Sigma manager for the engineering plastics unit of Dow Chemical Co. in Midland, Mich.

    The two-year suspension of dues rebates rubbed some SPE loyalists the wrong way. The SPE council approved the cutbacks in a contentious January meeting. Divisions and sections can apply for some of the money if they face financial hardship, a move that softened the blow.

    ``Rebates were a difficult issue. I've never seen a more intense debate in council than we had on this issue,'' said Barbara Arnold-Feret, who represented the North Texas Section and the Product Design & Development Division.

    ``We're not happy, but everybody's saying we have to all tighten [our] belts,'' said Arnold-Feret, president of Prototyping and Rapid Tooling Service in Roanoke, Texas.

    Lance Neward, who was SPE president for 1993-94, said the regional and industry sectors of SPE had become accustomed to the rebates and would have liked more advance notice, he said.

    ``Most people didn't like the fact that the rebates would have to be suspended, but they were more concerned about the health of the society,'' said Neward.

    The Injection Molding Division - SPE's largest, with about 5,000 members - lost $22,000, according to Peter Lipp, incoming chairman. He said an earlier decision to change its printed newsletter into an online version saved money, so the lack of rebates did not hurt as much. Lipp said the division is looking at new sources of revenue this year.

    One of the smallest groups, the Rotational Molding Division, also went to an online newsletter to save money. ``It hurt. It forced us to cut expenses,'' said consultant Ken Pawlak, who was division chairman last year.

    The vote to suspend rebates, Pawlak said, ``was to help the society in this time of crisis. In that ... the membership came through.''

    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]

    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.

    logo-pn-color
    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 & Plastics News
    • Urethanes Technology
    • Plastics News China
    • European Rubber Journal
    • Tire Business
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Copyright © 1996-2021. 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
        • What Keeps You Up At Night
        • Mergers & Acquisitions
        • Sustainability
        • Public Policy
        • Material Insights Videos
        • Numbers that Matter
        • Polymer Points Live
      • End Markets
        • Automotive
        • Packaging
        • Medical
        • Consumer Products
        • Construction
      • FYI Charts
        • Current FYI
      • LSR World
      • Multimedia
        • Videos
        • Galleries
        • Podcasts
      • NPE2021
      • K Show
      • Special Reports
        • CEO Issue
        • Best Places to Work
        • Processor of the Year
        • Rising Stars
        • Women Breaking the Mold
    • Opinion
      • The Plastics Blog
      • Kickstart
      • Heavy Metal
      • One Good Resin
      • BRICS and Plastics
      • All Things Data
      • Viewpoint
      • From Pillar to Post
      • Perspective
      • Mailbag
    • Shop Floor
      • Blending
      • Compounding
      • Drying
      • Injection Molding
      • Purging
      • Robotics
      • Size Reduction
      • Structural Foam
      • Tooling
      • Training
    • Events
      • Plastics News Events
        • Plastics News Executive Forum
        • Plastics in Automotive
        • Plastics News Caps & Closures
        • Plastics in Healthcare
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
      • Industry Events
      • Livestreams/Webinars
      • Ask the Expert
      • Polymer Points Live
      • Reifenhäuser Technologies Livestreams
      • 2020 Caps & Closures Library
      • Plastics in Healthcare Library
      • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
    • Resin Prices
      • All Resins
      • Commodity TPs
        • Historic Commodity Thermoplastics
      • High Temp TPs
        • Historic High Temp Thermoplastics
      • ETPs
        • Historic Engineering Thermoplastics
      • Thermosets
        • Historic Thermosets
      • Recycled Plastics
        • Historic Recycled Plastics
    • Rankings
      • Injection Molders
      • Blow Molders
      • Film Sheet
      • Thermoformers
      • Pipe Profile Tubing
      • Rotomolders
      • Mold/Toolmakers
      • LSR Processors
      • Recyclers
      • Compounders - List
      • Association - List
      • Plastic Lumber - List
      • All
    • Data Store
    • Directory
    • More+
      • Classifieds
        • Place an Ad
        • Sign up for Early Classified
      • Digital Edition
      • Newsletters
      • Sponsored Content
      • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
      • ENGEL Sponsored Content
      • White Papers
      • Processor of the Year submissions