Kickstart: So much for retirement

Well that retirement didn't last long.

Less than a week after LyondellBasell Industries announced that CEO Bob Patel would retire at the end of 2021, Standard Industries Holdings announced the 53-year-old will begin as CEO of W.R. Grace & Co. in January.

That Aug. 31 announcement comes just days after Standard said that it would acquire Grace in a deal valued at $7 billion. Grace has two major divisions, materials and catalysts, and has 4,000 employees in 60 countries. It posted $27.8 billion in sales for its last fiscal year.

"Bob has for decades been a visionary leader in the industry, with a record of transforming businesses to achieve robust, sustainable growth," David Winter and David Millstone, co-CEOs of Standard Industries, said in a news release.

"He has proven himself to be the right person to lead Grace's exceptional team and help architect Standard's investment in the advanced materials space. He will be instrumental in taking Grace into its next chapter as we ensure a seamless transition post-close and embark on an ambitious growth strategy," they said.

Supply shortages are hitting the National Health Service in the United Kingdom, where doctors have been told to stop most blood tests until the middle of September because the NHS is at risk of running out of vials.

U.S.-based medical supplier Becton, Dickinson and Co. said it has received an exemption to deliver 9 million testing tubes to the NHS approved for use in other areas to help fill critical shortages. It is also ramping up production in the U.K. by 20 percent, the BBC reported.

Tests for nonemergency medical issues such as those to diagnose fertility, allergies and pre-diabetes are among those to be halted.

BD told the BBC that transportation bottlenecks at ports and a lack of truck drivers are part of its "continued transportation challenges."

Similar delivery issues have been cited in recent stories from the U.K. about shortages of fast-food items and cold drink cups. Tubes used in medical tests, obviously, will be a higher priority for manufacturers than chicken.

Sometimes you find a cool story while looking for something else. Put this in that category.

Holland, Mich.-based recycler Louis Padnos Iron & Metal Co. is part of a team with Eastman Chemical Co. working to recover automotive shredder residue. Stuart Padnos, who took over the company from his father, also was a sculptor, converting bits of material found in scrap yards into art pieces both for the company and donated to local communities.

His first piece was a flag pole for his own yard, but he went on to create 70 different pieces, including one for the Frederick Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park in nearby Grand Rapids, Mich.

His motto: "Scrap is beautiful and beauty is in the eye of the beholder."

Padnos also produced two books featuring his sculptures. Check out more samples here.