As Plastics News marks its 25th year of publication, we take a year-by-year look back at some of the events, people and curious coincidences that have shown up its its pages. Check back through the end of the year (not including holidays) to follow along. This year: 1996.
January
For the first time, Plastics News offers its readers a chance to get a copy of its processor ranking, available on a floppy disc.
Glass company Guardian Industries Corp. makes its first major move into plastics when it buys 70 percent of Automotive Molding Co., a producer of metalized exterior trim. Guardian's automotive plastics division SRG Global Inc. now ranks as the fourth largest injection molder in North America, with sales of $995 million.
February
The Composites Technology Center at Cerritos College has started a class on Internet programs specifically for workers to learn about the World Wide Web with half-day hands on workshops.
March
H.J. Heinz Co. comes under pressure when a California consumer group says its ketchup bottles are coming up lighter than the weight on the label. The company blames its multilayer PET bottles, saying improper storage may have allowed some of the moisture to leach out.
Visitors to Hoechst Celanese Corp.'s booth at Detroit's Society of Automotive Engineers show get a sample of virtual technology with special helmets that allow them to “ride” a cab through Detroit.
Think the Bacon Bowl was the first out of the bacon gate? An 8-year-old Minnesota girl, working with her father, came up with the Makin Bacon, a plastic dish for microwaving bacon.
April
TriEnda Corp.'s plastic pallets for the Postal Service are so good and last so long, the USPS postpones an order for more, since they don't need to replace them as quickly. Ninety employees are laid off.
May
Metal injection molding is beginning to move from a niche business to a more common one, but it plastics companies say it is too hard to work with compared to plastics.
June
Meet Don Featherstone, the man who sculpted the model for the original pink flamingo lawn ornament working at Union Products in 1957. The company has 250 people working, just making the flamingos. Did Featherstone ever imagine the bird would still be popular? “Of course not. No more than the chicken with a bonnet that I'm sculpting right now is gonna make it.”
July
