Kickstart: Strong class for the Plastics Hall of Fame

The plastics industry has lost some outstanding leaders in past few years. The proof is in the 2019 class of the Plastics Hall of Fame (the Plastics Academy inducts posthumous members in non-NPE years).

We have short profiles of the six new members, written by Bill Bregar, our senior reporter and resident plastics historian.

Bill also wrote a very personal blog that touches on the subject that we’ll post later today. It reflects on a conversation that Bill and I had with one of the new members, Dennis Tully, just about a year ago.

Meanwhile, here’s a reminder for anyone wondering why some other deserving people aren’t in the Hall of Fame yet: Nominate them!

The coronavirus outbreak is a reminder of the disadvantage of dealing with a global economy, including international supply chains.

We’ve got a Page 1 story in today’s print issue, “Coronavirus forcing suppliers to react as outbreak spreads.”

Pierre Boulet, CEO of French automotive supplier Novares Group SA, told our Audrey LaForest that his company had closed its two production plants and one technical center in Wuhan, and notified customers that it was declaring force majeure.

We've also been updating the story online, day to day, depending on when news breaks. Keep an eye on plasticsnews.com for the latest information.

Freelance writer Jessica Stillman wrote a story for Inc. magazine’s website with the eye-catching headline “Ikea, Lego, and Coca-Cola are all discovering how hard it is to replace plastic.”

The premise isn’t a surprise plastics industry readers, who know why plastics have replaced traditional materials on so many applications. But this story doesn’t compare plastic to paper, glass and metal. Stillman is focusing on efforts to replace traditional plastics with plant-based polymers.

No doubt performance is a hurdle, but it’s not nearly as significant as cost. Conventional plastics are cheaper.