Plastics News by the year: 2002

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: 2002.

January

The Federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration targets the plastics industry for additional scrutiny after recording 129 citations for amputations involving workers in one year. Sheet metal work is the second highest industry, with 113 citations.

Border towns in Texas and Mexico are seeing major growing pains in the wake of manufacturing investments in the region.

February

Kmart Corp.'s Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing has its suppliers scrambling. “There could be some vendors who go under because of this,” says an analyst.

PepsiCo bows to pressure to invest in recycled content and sets a goal of having 10 percent post-consumer recycled content in its future plastics, matching the target of top competitor Coca-Cola.

Concern over concussions among NFL players could lead to more sales for ProCap, a flexible polyurethane-based product to reduce head and brain injuries.

March

The pioneer in plastics e-commerce, PlasticsNet, is up for sale. Commerx Inc. first launched the web portal in 1995.

Plastics donated by Genova Products Inc. are used for a PVC “Sonobuoy” used to listen in on whale songs and dolphin clicks.

April

Martha Williams is struggling to retain control of StyleMaster USA Inc. when the company is forced into bankruptcy following its customer Kmart's own bankruptcy filing.

Donelly Corp. launches the HorseVue, a camera and monitor for horse trailers that snaps onto rearview mirrors. “These guys will spend $30,000, $40,000, $50,000 on a hobby horse. Another $500 for a camera to make sure they're happy is nothing.”

Sen. Jim Jeffords introduces legislation for a 10-cent national bottle bill. The — eventually rejected — deposit law would be part of a project to get PET recycling rates up to 80 percent across the U.S.

May

Magnets. How do they work? We know, of course, although the Insane Clown Posse famously didn't. For injection molders, they also would work perfectly for ultrafast tool changes as Tecnomagnete introduces high powered magnets for molds for quick mold changes.

June

 “September 11 changed the business model,” says William H. Spell of PW Eagle Inc. during a discussion about the current recession. “We can't predict as well as we used to.”

Mississippi has targeted plastics for a future growth industry, including development of the Shelby F. Thames Polymer Science Research Center at the University of Southern Mississippi.

July

Creators of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter plane are using composites throughout the jet.

Siemens AG strikes a deal to sell Mannesmann Plastics Machinery AG to buyout firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.

August

In another sign of a shakeup at Collins & Aikman Corp., the company forces Tom Evans — who oversaw its acquisition of Textron Automotive — and replaces him with manufacturing leader Jerry Mosingo. Mosingo himself will be replaced a year later by David Stockman, who heads up majority owner Heartland Industrial Partners.

Plante & Moran LLP's annual survey of processors shows troubled water ahead. As many as 20 percent of processors are operating in the red and another 60 percent are barely treading water.

Toy maker Hedstrom Corp. of Ashland, Ohio, is outsourcing nearly 50 percent of its play ball production to China, a move the company says is required for survival. The company will still end up in Chapter 11 protection, but has since recovered and is considering bringing production back to the U.S.

October

DaimlerChrysler AG says it has developed a way to take paint shops out the picture, debuting its paint film technology on the Dodge Neon. The process uses thermoforming and in-mold film application in injection molding. While it goes into limited production, the process never fully succeeds.

General Motors' PVC-free interiors pledge is coming up against reality as competitive replacement materials struggle to replace it on production and expense values. “We're aggressively pursuing PVC-free interiors as a policy, but we're not living in a cave,” a GM engineer says.

Flood waters from the Aist River inundate Engel GmbH's operations in Schwertberg, Austria.

ThuderStix, made with PE foam and film, are making a big noise in stadiums across the U.S.

November

Slowing sales in electronics forces molder Trend Technologies Inc. into Chapter 11.

December

Members of the Detroit Section of the Society of Plastics Engineers donate 30,000 toy buses to the U.S. Marine Corps' Toys for Tots drive. The toy donations have become an annual tradition for the group with a variety of groups receiving buses and trucks.