Kickstart: Not that kind of black swan

If you're like me, you've been hearing a lot of references to black swans lately.

And maybe like me you thought: "I'm sure they're not referring to that Natalie Portman ballet movie." Or maybe, unlike me, you've kept up with business writing in the past 20 years or so.

To sum up, while the phrase "black swan event" has been around on some level for centuries to refer to a very unusual occurrence, it was popularized in the book "The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable" by Nassim Nicholas Taleb in 2007.

A black swan, Taleb wrote, is something that is highly unpredictable, carries a massive impact and after the fact we explain it in a way that makes it appear less random than it was.

Black swans aren't always bad, he says. A black swan could range from World War I and the 9/11 impacts to the rise of the internet and even the Harry Potter franchise.

Want to hear more? Here's a link to a presentation by Taleb in 2012. Or for a shorter take, try this 20-minute take by The Swedish Investor's YouTube.

With a global issue like COVID-19, plastics industries worldwide are getting involved.

Stephen Downer, Plastics News' correspondent in Mexico City, checked in with the leaders of Anipac — the Asociación Nacional de Industrias del Plástico — which says it is prepared and ready to help the health sector and government.

"The plastics industry is ready to help the authorities and health sector," Aldimir Torres Arenas said in a news release late March 18, "because our materials and products are crucial in the fight against the spread of coronavirus."

Mexico manufactures 140,000 metric tons of products for the medical sector a year, according to Torres. By late March 17, Mexico's government had reported 82 cases of COVID-19 in the country.

Torres also emphasized the importance of plastic bags in such a health emergency. They had a major role to play, he said, because it was essential that material used by and for the sick and discarded be separated from other waste.

Checking back in with one of the European molders that was hit early on by the virus as it spread through northern Italy.

Sarah Kominek first mentioned MTA SpA in a Feb. 24 update on plasticsnews.com.

MTA, an injection molder of connectors and other electronic parts for the auto industry, announced it was forced to close its main production center in Codogno, 37 miles southeast of Milan, on Feb. 24 to follow regulations put in place by the Italian Minister of Health.

Luca Ciferri, editor of our sister publication Automotive News Europe, writes that Umberto Falchetti, the son of MTA's founder who then led the company from the mid-1970s to 2005, died of COVID-19 on March 6.

While 86 years old, Falchetti was still active, his daughter, Maria Vittoria, told Ciferri.

"Umberto developed a slight fever on Friday, Feb. 28, but no one thought it was anything serious," Ciferri wrote. "Maria Vittoria had breakfast with him on the morning of March 4. That afternoon the fever worsened, so Umberto was taken to the hospital. He died two days later."

"In memory of ... Umberto Falchetti, remembering his generous impulses and sure to fulfill his wish, MTA donated 200,000 euros among the hospitals of Codogno, Cremona and Piacenza and the Red Cross of Rolo with the aim of giving them a little help to cope with the needs and difficulties that the coronavirus emergency has provoked and is still provoking in recent weeks," MTA posted on its website March 18. "We hope that everything will end quickly and we renew our due thanks to those who, with a spirit of sacrifice, absolute and selfless dedication, are working for the good of others even at the risk of their lives."

MTA lowered its company flag to half staff following Falchetti's death, but reports it is now focused on recovering.