Kickstart: Fishing for supply solutions

The U.S. subsidiary of an Italian auto supplier is battling the supply shortage on multiple fronts.

In a Washington Post story, reporter David J. Lynch tells how Sogefi SpA's plant in Prichard, W.Va., has had to deal with resin shortages for its in-house injection molding, a shortfall in computer microchips, missing springs for key parts, a shortage of cardboard for shipping and even running out of rolls of 30-pound fishing line it uses to hold together the paper inside filters.

"[Plant Purchasing Manager Todd] Gregory tried everywhere he could think of to find more of the shimmering filament, including retail outlets," Lynch wrote, noting that the company even purchased what it could find at retail fishing shops, even though those spools are about 400 yards of material, rather than 8,000 yards.

"We cleared out Cabela, Bass Pro — even Amazon," Gregory said.

The story doesn't have any suggestions things are improving soon, but at least the material shortages are getting wider attention.

We're at an interesting stage in the pandemic. With vaccinations underway, it's easier to begin planning for travel — whether for work or business — but what's possibly in your own community may not apply in the next state, never mind another country.

Every plan, it seems, is contingent on something you can't control. That makes it harder to organize events, especially international ones.

In just one example, machinery maker Arburg has been forced to cancel its Technology Days, which had been set for June 7-12 in Lossburg, Germany.

Arburg had worked to make the event safer, spreading it over six days rather than four to allow for more social distancing. But current conditions on the ground changed things.

"Up until the final moment, we were hoping, and were genuinely working flat out, to enable these Technology Days to take place in the form, at long last, of a physical trade fair," Juliane Hehl, a managing partner for Arburg, said.

Auxiliary equipment maker US Extruders has a superhero mascot. (He's Captain Extruder. You can even read a comic book about him as he battles the Process Monster.)

But not all heroes wear capes. As the Rhode Island company noted on social media, one of its employees was recently named the 2020 Firefighter of the Year from Dunn's Corners Fire Department.

"Dylan went to 303 calls during a pandemic," US Extruders wrote on Facebook. "He goes above and beyond what is requested and is always willing to help. Thank you for working so hard and for being a valued member of our team and our community."

He's not the only plastics worker out there who also puts in time to help his community, of course. If you know some, feel free to drop some information about them my way. Let's spread the good word on what people are doing.