The Polar Vortex is over — finally! Spring is in the air. Bees are buzzing. Birds are on the wing, building their nests. And the thoughts of the men and women of the plastics industry are turning to ... the Plastics News Processor of the Year Award, of course.
The award is like the lottery: You can't win if you don't play. And if you do win — or become a finalist, or grab one of our PN Excellence Awards — your company will get some major recognition.
We're now officially seeking nominations for the Processor of the Year Award, which honors a North American plastics processor for its performance, corporate responsibility and overall excellence.
You can nominate your own company, a customer or a supplier, but each candidate must be a processor: a company that forms plastic parts.
The competition is open to any company, public or private, or operating division, that have been engaged in plastic processing for at least five years. We once again will present three additional PN Excellence Awards to worthy contestants.
Deadline for entry is Sept. 21. By this date, we want to receive each company's completed submission.
It's easy to kick off the process. All you have to do is submit an entry form and a short explanation of why you think the company deserves the award. The form is available online at www.plasticsnews.com/poy. (Plastics News also will have information at our booth at several upcoming trade shows, and at our own conferences.)
After a company gets nominated, we ask each processor to develop a detailed submission. Before you get started, we recommend you read our list of frequently asked questions, at the award website, and call award coordinator Bill Bregar, a Plastics News senior reporter. He can be reached at 330-203-5991 or email [email protected]
Judged by members of Plastics News' editorial staff, the award recognizes well-rounded companies based on seven criteria: financial performance, quality, customer relations, employee relations, environmental performance, industry/public service and technological innovation.
Last year's Processor of the Year Award was Tech Molded Plastics Inc., a custom injection molder in Meadville, Pa.
PN Excellence Awards went to Protoplast Inc., a custom molder in Cobourg, Ontario, for employee relations; 20/20 Custom Molded Plastics Ltd., a structural foam molder in Holiday City, Ohio, for industry and public service; and DLH Industries Inc., an injection molder and extruder in Canton, Ohio, for customer relations.
The winners will be announced at the next Plastics News Executive Forum, Feb. 3-7 in Las Vegas.
Again this year, the Society of the Plastics Industry Inc. is sponsoring the Processor of the Year Award.