Kickstart: Honoring the Hall of Fame, even without NPE

Welcome to what would have been NPE2021 week!

The largest plastics trade show in North America had been scheduled for May 17-21 in Orlando, Fla., but of course the pandemic forced the Plastics Industry Association to cancel it back in January.

That was obviously not an easy decision to make, but unfortunately it was the one the association had to make. Even with masking restrictions lifting and vaccinations going into more arms, travel plans are still in limbo, especially for international visitors.

But one big celebration typically taking place during NPE — inducting new members in the Plastics Hall of Fame — has only been postponed, not canceled. It's now set for Oct. 7 in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Plastics News' Hall of Fame coverage looks a little different this year too. Web Producer Erin Sloan, Assistant Managing Editor Steve Toloken and Editor Don Loepp couldn't visit new members in person to talk about their careers. Instead, the interviews took place via video calls.

You can find profiles featuring all 10 new members on plasticsnews.com now. This link will take you to Erin's Viewpoint column, which is open access to all and also includes brief videos of each new member.

Congratulations to all of the new Hall of Fame members.

The past year has been a wild ride for polymer supplies and pricing. Between shutdowns, storms and clogged supply routes, prices for nearly everything is far higher than a year ago, and that's if you can find resin on the open market.

Luckily, Senior Reporter Frank Esposito has been tracking resin markets for years, and has a network of purchasing agents and consultants who keep him clued in.

Today at 2 p.m. Eastern, you can catch Frank and Don Loepp discussing the materials outlook in the monthly Polymer Points Live webcast.

Ford Motor Co. and fan maker Lasko Products LLC have teamed up to improve air quality with simple air filtration systems in 20,000 classrooms serving low-income neighborhoods.

The "Scrappy Filtration" kits come with a basic plastic and metal box fan, a high-efficiency filter and cardboard to house the system.

The air filter is placed inside the folded cardboard base, Ford said in a news release, with the fan placed on top. The fan operates on high for maximum filtration, discharging clean air downward as it pulls unfiltered air from above. The kit is intended to supplement an existing filtration system and is based on research from Ford and academic and government groups.

"We wanted to help underserved communities reduce the risk of airborne COVID-19 in poorly ventilated areas, and it's great to not only develop something that can meet that goal, but has the data to back it up," said Cynthia Flanigan, director, vehicle research and technology, Ford research and advanced engineering.

Ford also has a free template you can download to create your own filtration system.