Plastics Pioneers Association names four new members

MCHENRY, ILL. — The Plastics Pioneers Association has elected four new members: John Beaumont, Joseph Bennett, James Johnson and Dennis Meade.

PPA has about 200 members, who must have at least 25 years of experience in plastics. The organization preserves plastics industry history and promotes its future by awarding scholarships to students seeking a career in the industry and supporting other educational programs.

The new inductees are:

• John Beaumont, a pioneer in advancing injection molding technology — and promoting educational opportunities in plastics — for more than 40 years.

Beaumont earned his bachelor's degree in plastics technology in 1976, and his master's degree in plastics engineering in 1994, both from University of Massachusetts at Lowell. Early in his career, he was involved in research engineering, project engineering, and technical management for companies such as General Tire and Rubber Co., Rowland, Ciba Vision Corp., and Moldflow Corp.

For 25 years, Beaumont has been professor and program chair for the Penn State Erie plastics program, where he was one of the three founding faculty members. He is also the president of his own company, Beaumont Technologies Inc., which has developed technologies that have helped raise the process of injection molding from art to science.

Beaumont has been actively involved with the Society of the Plastics Engineers for most of his professional career. He has written five books about injection molding technology, contributed chapters to four other books, and has written dozens of technical articles for trade publications and journals. He is the holder of seven patents, with two more pending.

• Joseph Bennett, has had a 50-plus year career in tooling, first as a mold maker with Western Electric in 1967, then as a tooling engineer for Decorative Components. In 1970, he co-founded custom injection molder United Southern Industries Inc. in Forest City, N.C. He ultimately became president and CEO of USI, and when the company was sold to Wilbert Plastics in 2011, it had grown to more than $30 million in annual sales and employed more than 200 people.

Bennett first joined SPE in 1966, and is currently an honored service member emeritus, a distinction he received in 1997. Over his career, he has held various positions for SPE's Injection Molding division, including serving on the group's board of directors for more than 10 years.

Throughout his career, Bennett has been committed to continuing education. He served as education chair for SPE. In 1988, he accepted a challenge to match a $100,000 donation to establish the Richard Goolsby Foundation for promoting plastics education. Three years later he had raised $200,000. He established a curriculum for plastics programs at Isothermal Community College in Forest City, N.C., and contributed to two local scholarships to help students pursue careers in plastics.

• James Johnson's plastics career has spanned six decades. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Massachusetts in 1960, then shortly thereafter joined Rexall Chemical Co. as technical service engineer. After a seven-year stint at Rexall, Johnson began what would become a 46-year-career in the extrusion machinery business. He joined Johnson Plastics Machinery (no relation) in 1968 as vice president of sales and marketing. That same year, he earned his master's in chemical engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology.

In 1980, Johnson joined Reifenhauser Van Dorn as vice president of sales. From 1986 through 1994 he was the business manager of sheet products for Davis-Standard. Then in 1994, Johnson moved over to the flat-die side of the business when he joined Extrusion Die Industries as vice president of sales.

From 2004 to 2014, Johnson was senior vice president of sales for Processing Technologies International LLC, a leading supplier of sheet extrusion systems.

Johnson has been a long-time member of SPE, and has presented papers at numerous Antecs and regional conferences. In 2007, the Extrusion division of SPE presented him with the Jack Barney Award for his contributions to sheet extrusion. In 1988, he received the President's Award from Crompton & Knowles Corp., which then was the parent company of Davis-Standard.

• Dennis Meade, a color specialist, entered the plastics and chemicals business in 1971. A chemistry major at Kent State University, Meade began his career as operations manager for Lancer Chemical from 1971 through 1977. Thereafter he began to focus more on the color industry: from 1980 to 1988 he was technical director for Leglo Color. Then, after running Ferro Corp.'s Huron, Ohio, plant as general manager in 1989, Meade founded and was president of Phoenix Color and Compounding Inc. in Sandusky, Ohio.

In 2000, after Accel Corp. bought Phoenix, Meade stayed on as vice president of technology. In 2009, he joined Techmer PM as specialty products manager. Currently, Meade is business development manager for Chroma Corp.

Meade has been a member of SPE since 1971. He served two terms as president of SPE's Ohio Fireland's section, where he also chaired the education committee. He has also been chair of the education committee for the Detroit section of SPE; served as a board member for 12 years on the SPE Color and Appearance division; and since 1978 has been a member of the Detroit Color Council.

Throughout his career Meade has been very active in promoting education in plastics and color. He is a founding committee member and current member of the advisory board of Terra State Community College's two-year associate's degree in plastics color-matching.

He is also a founding committee member of the plastics manufacturing certificate and associate's degree program at Schoolcraft College.