Kickstart: The situation is 'just wonky'

No one said coming back from COVID-19 shutdowns would be easy.

The auto industry has had the most high-profile restarting process, possibly because it was one of the highest-profile — and largest — industries to almost fully shut down (with the exception of some production of masks, shields and ventilators by automakers and suppliers).

Consider Ford Motor Co.'s assembly plant in Chicago, which opened for production May 18, then had to shut down and clean when workers tested positive, then reopened only to have to shut down production again because of a shortage of items from a supplier where a worker had a positive test for COVID-19.

Our sister publication Automotive News spoke with autoworkers about relearning how to make cars safely, but I think my favorite description of this whole reopening process — and the future of auto sales — comes from Edgar Faler, senior industry analyst at the Center for Automotive Research who spoke to PN's Sarah Kominek about the numbers he's seeing as "just wonky."

"Just wonky" may, in fact, be my favorite phrase to describe 2020.

While businesses try to set up safe work environments, the Coventry Township Fire Department, near Akron, Ohio, would also like to remind people to pick their new safety equipment wisely.

With acrylic and other clear plastic sheets in high demand and difficult to obtain, some shops and offices are turning to films such as plastic shower curtains, Lt. Brian Cyphert noted both on Facebook and the Akron Beacon Journal. It seems like a simple, low-cost solution.

"What they're thinking about right now is they're trying to keep patrons and employees safe from COVID-19," Cyphert said.

But shower curtains aren't allowed in most business fire codes for a reason, he said, and set fire to a curtain in a social media post.

Use 6-foot spacing, the department said, or if you must use flexible film barriers, make sure to buy one that is treated to resist flames.

This spring, the Society of Plastics Engineers showed that it is possible to move a big conference online and in the process open it up to a wide audience. In SPE's case, it was the annual Antec conference, which had been scheduled for San Antonio, but in moving to a digital format spread across multiple weeks, it drew 3,300 attendees.

Now the Manufacturers Association for Plastics Processors is also taking the digital road for its Benchmarking and Best Practices Conference, originally slated for Oct. 20-22 in Indianapolis.

MAPP Conference Director Letha Keslar noted that while the event typically draws more than 600 attendees, the audience is expected to triple thanks to being available to people who normally cannot travel to the event.

The virtual conference will run Oct. 19-23.