Behind the scenes of our Processor of the Year

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.