Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Sustainable Plastics
  • Rubber News
Subscribe
  • Login
  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Processor News
    • Suppliers
    • More News
    • Digital Edition
    • End Markets
    • Special Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Resin pricing news
    • Videos
    • Injection Molding
    • Blow Molding
    • Film & Sheet
    • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
    • Rotomolding
    • Thermoforming
    • Recycling
    • Machinery
    • Materials
    • Molds/Tooling
    • Product news
    • Design
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Sustainability
    • Public Policy
    • Material Insights Videos
    • Numbers that Matter
    • Automotive
    • Packaging
    • Medical
    • Consumer Products
    • Construction
    • CEO Issue
    • Diversity
    • Best Places to Work
      • 2022 winners
    • Processor of the Year
    • Rising Stars
    • Women Breaking the Mold
  • Opinion
    • The Plastics Blog
    • Kickstart
    • One Good Resin
    • BRICS and Plastics
    • All Things Data
    • Viewpoint
    • From Pillar to Post
    • Perspective
    • Mailbag
    • Fake Plastic Trees
  • Shop Floor
    • Blending
    • Compounding
    • Drying
    • Injection Molding
    • Purging
    • Robotics
    • Size Reduction
    • Structural Foam
    • Tooling
    • Training
  • Events
    • K Show Livestream
    • Plastics News Events
    • Industry Events
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Livestreams/Webinars
    • Editorial Livestreams
    • Ask the Expert
    • Plastics News Events Library
    • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Plastics News Executive Forum
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Plastics News Caps & Closures
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
    • Plastics in Automotive
    • Reuters Responsible Business Europe 2022
    • Reifenhäuser Technologies Livestreams
    • Polymer Points Live
    • Numbers that Matter Live
    • Plastics in Politics Live
    • Sustainable Plastics Live
    • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
    • Plastics in Healthcare Library
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
  • Resin Prices
    • All Resins
    • Commodity TPs
    • High Temp TPs
    • ETPs
    • Thermosets
    • Recycled Plastics
    • Historic Commodity Thermoplastics
    • Historic High Temp Thermoplastics
    • Historic Engineering Thermoplastics
    • Historic Thermosets
    • Historic Recycled Plastics
  • Rankings & Data
    • Injection Molders
    • Blow Molders
    • Film Sheet
    • Thermoformers
    • Pipe Profile Tubing
    • Rotomolders
    • Mold/Toolmakers
    • LSR Processors
    • Recyclers
    • Compounders - List
    • Association - List
    • Plastic Lumber - List
    • All
  • Directory
  • Custom
    • Sponsored Content
    • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
    • Conair Sponsored Content
    • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
    • ENGEL Sponsored Content
    • White Papers
    • Classifieds
    • Place an Ad
    • Sign up for Early Classified
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. News
August 21, 2018 02:00 AM

Plastikos manager Rob Cooney goes for a (very long) swim

Don Loepp
Editor
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Print
    Greg Cooney/ and Micro Mold Co. Inc./Plastikos Inc.
    Rob Cooney, manager at Plastikos Inc., completed a 24.3-mile marathon swim across Lake Erie.

    Rob Cooney was within 5 miles of completing a 24.3-mile marathon swim across Lake Erie when he ran into some rough conditions.

    Cooney was confident that he'd finish the swim. After all, he'd been preparing for this day for nine months, with daily swimming workouts starting at 5 a.m. before heading to work at Plastikos Inc., a custom injection molder in Erie, Pa.

    "We had nice weather, but I ran into some unexpected current through the middle of the lake," Cooney said. "At that point I just kind of switched off in my mind and thought, 'Just be happy, get this thing done and get out of the water before dark.'"

    Cooney, 38, made it to Freeport Beach, near Erie, about a half hour before sunset on July 19. He was greeted by a big crowd, including family, coworkers and friends.

    "It was like 8:12 p.m. It was just picture-perfect, the way that it ended. The water flattened out when we had about a half mile to go. We were getting pushed around in the last five miles or so by some heavy waves. But it seems like when the sun starts to set, the lake will lie down. So it was just a picture-perfect ending with a pretty big crowd there waiting for me," he said.

    On shore, some of his Plastikos colleagues were wearing gray T-shirts with "Team Barra Cooney" logos. The crowd was big and noisy.

    "The feeling, coming out of the water, was really hard to explain. Just to know that I did something that in the beginning, I felt pretty sure about, but not that many people have done it, and a lot have failed at it. So I was excited to get it done and get back to normal life with my family," Cooney said.

    Greg Cooney and Micro Mold Co. Inc. and Plastikos Inc.

    Cooney completed his swim at 8:12 p.m. and was greeted by family, friends and a news crew.

    Two local TV reporters were in the crowd. After Cooney had a chance to catch his breath, they interviewed him as he sat in a beach chair, surrounded by his wife, Keri, and their three children, ages 9, 7 and 2.

    "I'm not one to be out in the spotlight and invite the interviews and things of that nature. So definitely, to see that amount of people there, and as I was getting closer to shore, I could kind of hear them chanting, and the cow bells and whistles and horns were all out, it was really cool. It gave me some adrenaline when I was getting toward the end," he said.

    Cooney accomplished something that only 23 people had done before him. He swam across Lake Erie, from Long Point, Ontario, to Freeport Beach.

    Rules for the Lake Erie swim are similar to those for the better-known swim across the English Channel: Participants are not permitted to use artificial assistance of any kind, such as a wetsuit or fins. They can pause for food, but they must tread water while they eat — even the slightest touch onto an escort boat isn't allowed.

    Cooney has been swimming his whole life — competitively when he was a kid, for exercise since his college days at Penn State Behrend.

    He joined Plastikos and sister company Micro Mold Co. Inc. 16 years ago. He started as an intern in 1999, during his sophomore year at Penn State Behrend. After he graduated, he worked at another local company for a few years, then he joined Plastikos as its first full-time plastics engineer in 2002. He was promoted to manufacturing manager in 2006, and he became a part owner of Plastikos in 2009.

    He approached the swim like he handles work: He created a rigid training plan and focused on meeting goals along the way. He also had to adjust his nutrition: He had to snack constantly to get enough calories for his intense workouts. For training, he swam 720 miles in nine months, including open water swims of up to 20 miles.

    "You know when I set my sights on it and I put a plan in place to do it, I felt very confident. But at the same time, I was nervous. I never put my body through something so demanding from a physical and mental standpoint — more in training. The actual day of the swim was fun, and I didn't run into any physical or mental issues," he said. "I didn't want to let anybody down. I wanted to make it across and be successful with it."

    Greg Cooney and Micro Mold Co. Inc. and Plastikos Inc.

    Rules for the Lake Erie swim allow swimmers to pause for water and food, but they must tread water and cannot touch any support boats.

    Cooney was shooting to finish in 12 hours. For the first 14 miles, he was on pace to finish in 11 hours or less. But after fighting the current, he ended up finishing in 13 hours, 32 minutes.

    Cooney wanted to show his children that they can achieve their goals through hard work, passion and dedication. He also swam to raise funds for Parkinson Partners of Northwestern Pennsylvania, a local charity that provides help to patients with Parkinson's disease.

    Cooney's father, Dave, a retired Pepsi salesman in Erie, was diagnosed with Parkinson's 11 years ago.

    "He's definitely like me, just a real go-getter in life. When I trained on weekends, he was up at the crack of dawn and just ready to go and watch me swim, every day. So it's cool that we were able to raise just over $15,000 for the Parkinson Partners," Cooney said.

    Cooney is surprised that he has become an inspiration to coworkers, too. Some now have goals to lose weight or exercise more, motivated by Cooney's example. Usually a low-key, get-stuff-done kind of guy, he wasn't sure that most of his coworkers even knew about his plan to swim Lake Erie.

    Now he's thinking about his next goal: He's helping others who want to tackle the Long Point-to-Freeport Beach swim, and he's spending some quality time with his family.

    "Without having a strong family commitment and their encouragement, this swim would not be possible," he said.

    RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
    One killed, two injured in shooting at WeatherTech facility
    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Do you have an opinion about this story? Do you have some thoughts you'd like to share with our readers? Plastics News would love to hear from you. Email your letter to Editor at [email protected]

    Most Popular
    1
    Pandemic-prompted reshoring creates growth for medical injection molders
    2
    Lego to build $1B US molding plant
    3
    Boston Group consolidating, growing in Ohio
    4
    Atkore buys HDPE pipe maker United Poly, continuing M&A push
    5
    Numbers that Matter Live - June 2022
    SIGN UP FOR TO RECEIVE THESE EMAILS AND ENEWSLETTERS
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    Get our newsletters

    Staying current is easy with Plastics News delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge.

    Subscribe today

    Subscribe to Plastics News

    Subscribe now
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram

    Plastics News covers the business of the global plastics industry. We report news, gather data and deliver timely information that provides our readers with a competitive advantage.

    Contact Us

    1155 Gratiot Avenue
    Detroit MI 48207-2997

    Customer Service:
    877-320-1723

    Resources
    • About
    • Staff
    • Editorial Calendar
    • Media Kit
    • Data Store
    • Digital Edition
    • Custom Content
    • People
    • Contact
    • Careers
    • Sitemap
    Related Crain Publications
    • Sustainable Plastics
    • Rubber News
    • Urethanes Technology
    • European Rubber Journal
    • Tire Business
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Copyright © 1996-2022. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Processor News
        • Injection Molding
        • Blow Molding
        • Film & Sheet
        • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
        • Rotomolding
        • Thermoforming
        • Recycling
      • Suppliers
        • Machinery
        • Materials
        • Molds/Tooling
        • Product news
        • Design
      • More News
        • Mergers & Acquisitions
        • Sustainability
        • Public Policy
        • Material Insights Videos
        • Numbers that Matter
      • Digital Edition
      • End Markets
        • Automotive
        • Packaging
        • Medical
        • Consumer Products
        • Construction
      • Special Reports
        • CEO Issue
        • Diversity
        • Best Places to Work
          • 2022 winners
        • Processor of the Year
        • Rising Stars
        • Women Breaking the Mold
      • Newsletters
      • Resin pricing news
      • Videos
    • Opinion
      • The Plastics Blog
      • Kickstart
      • One Good Resin
      • BRICS and Plastics
      • All Things Data
      • Viewpoint
      • From Pillar to Post
      • Perspective
      • Mailbag
      • Fake Plastic Trees
    • Shop Floor
      • Blending
      • Compounding
      • Drying
      • Injection Molding
      • Purging
      • Robotics
      • Size Reduction
      • Structural Foam
      • Tooling
      • Training
    • Events
      • K Show Livestream
      • Plastics News Events
        • Plastics News Executive Forum
        • Injection Molding & Design Expo
        • Plastics News Caps & Closures
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
        • Plastics in Automotive
      • Industry Events
      • Injection Molding & Design Expo
      • Livestreams/Webinars
        • Reuters Responsible Business Europe 2022
        • Reifenhäuser Technologies Livestreams
      • Editorial Livestreams
        • Polymer Points Live
        • Numbers that Matter Live
        • Plastics in Politics Live
        • Sustainable Plastics Live
      • Ask the Expert
      • Plastics News Events Library
        • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
        • Plastics in Healthcare Library
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
      • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Resin Prices
      • All Resins
      • Commodity TPs
        • Historic Commodity Thermoplastics
      • High Temp TPs
        • Historic High Temp Thermoplastics
      • ETPs
        • Historic Engineering Thermoplastics
      • Thermosets
        • Historic Thermosets
      • Recycled Plastics
        • Historic Recycled Plastics
    • Rankings & Data
      • Injection Molders
      • Blow Molders
      • Film Sheet
      • Thermoformers
      • Pipe Profile Tubing
      • Rotomolders
      • Mold/Toolmakers
      • LSR Processors
      • Recyclers
      • Compounders - List
      • Association - List
      • Plastic Lumber - List
      • All
    • Directory
    • Custom
      • Sponsored Content
      • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
      • Conair Sponsored Content
      • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
      • ENGEL Sponsored Content
      • White Papers
      • Classifieds
        • Place an Ad
        • Sign up for Early Classified