Kickstart: Nailing down the fine points of PPP

Thousands of plastics companies — or at least companies who identify themselves as having some connection to the plastics industry — applied for and received funding through the federal government's Paycheck Protection Program.

Nailing down the exact number of companies may take some time, but Plastics News, like other news organizations, is starting to sift through the data released about PPP on July 6.

We're trying to sort through the details to better understand conditions at the companies we write about and determine what kind of information our readers need. But we're taking our time to try and get it right, so it may take us a few days.

For instance, in the category of companies receiving at least $150,000, there were 481 companies listing resin manufacturing as their main business. Another 637 were listed as doing custom compounding of plastics.

If you're thinking, "that sounds kind of high," you're not alone. That's exactly why we're spending time digging in to try and understand them and provide an accurate report.

As our top researcher Hollee Keller put it: "It's a lot to think about."

If you have time, it'll also help us if you can fill out a short survey about the Paycheck Protection Program at www.plasticsnews.com/PPP.

It's a big anniversary year for Polyonics Inc., a maker of custom, high-performance film, tape and label materials in Westmoreland, N.H., as it marks its 25th year in business.

The company was founded in 1995 by former CEO Jim Williams, who developed a durable topcoat for polimide labels that would withstand high heat and corrosive environments. Those products are now key to high-end electronics.

Bruce Smith, who joined a few months after Polyonics was founded, worked with Williams to get the company off the ground and establish key exposure in Asia as the electronics industry moved there in the late 1990s.

In 2015, the company was sold to its employees through an ESOP.

"We live in an unprecedented time where the political, economic, and health challenges of the world put pressure on our growth objectives. But we have the teams in place with the skills and drive to help us achieve our goals," current CEO Jim Clemente wrote in a news release.

With summer heating up — and I do mean heating, as we here in Michigan and a lot of other regions deal with very warm days — let's talk boats.

Or, more specifically, what to do with that shrink-wrap that is placed on many boats for protection during winter storage.

Recycler Brightmark LLC and the Northeast Indiana Solid Waste Management District worked together on a program to collect the wrap and convert it into fuel and wax.

An estimated 110,000 tons of shrink-wrap are used each year in the U.S., and much of it goes to landfills, Brightmark said in a news release. Its pilot program points to the potential to recycle that wrap into 21,000 barrels of renewable fuel.

The program is planned to expand to marinas in four Indiana counties next year.