Kickstart: The supply saga stretches on

The other morning, I woke before dawn and checked my email (as we do in the 21st century) to discover that my master's swim training was canceled for the day. An expected chlorine shipment hadn't arrived on time, and the pool was closed.

Obviously getting to sleep in a little longer is nice, but it occurred to me that this may be one more instance of how struggles within supply chains are filtering down from factories to everyday life.

Want to build a deck? Plan on spending big on lumber, waiting for supply or shifting to composite decking. (One local lumber yard is advertising that Trex decking is now cheaper than wood.)

Thinking about new appliances? Check back in a year. Buying a car? Good luck finding one, even used.

Erin Pustay Beaven from our sister paper Rubber & Plastics News writes that supply chain shortages are now being considered a matter of national security, especially for medical equipment.

A new report from consulting group Sikich LLP and IndustryWeek found that 93 percent of survey respondents said they had experienced some sort of supply chain interruption. As a result, 45 percent said they were diversifying their supply base, with 9 percent moving production back to or near the U.S.

"You will see a number of investments to be more resilient when it comes to microchips, when it comes to batteries, when it comes to biomanufacturing," Francois-Philippe Champagne, Canada's minister of innovation, science and industry, said during an event sponsored by Michelin. "'Never again' is what we are saying as a government. 'Never again will we be in the same position.'"

Foaming agent maker Bergen International Inc. says it has hit a milestone: 100 percent of its employees in both its headquarters in East Rutherford, N.J., and its manufacturing plant in Elgin, Ill., have been fully vaccinated for COVID-19.

"With our entire staff having opted in to receiving the vaccine, our employees can be assured that we have taken every effort to maintain a safe workplace and to help stop the spread of the coronavirus in our communities," Chief Financial Officer Richard Long said in a news release. "In addition, our customers can be assured that we will continue to provide them with the high-quality [foaming agents] they expect from us."

The voluntary program offered a one-time cash bonus and employees were given time off for their vaccination. Future hires will also be able to get the payment, including those who are already vaccinated or those who still need to get their doses. The incentive will be paid 90 days after they are hired.

It's time for fashion to get circular.

I'm not talking about hoop skirts, but rather a move by Italian zipper manufacturer Nyguard to begin using bio-based nylon in its components so clothing can be more easily recycled.

"Recycling materials is generally difficult when different materials are firmly bonded together," said Gabriele Mosso, CEO of Nyguard. "That's as true for composite packaging as it is in this case for pants with zippers. Different types of synthetic textiles and accessories are difficult to properly separate."

Nyguard and its suppliers turned to Evonik's Vestamid Terra, a nylon made from castor beans. Mosso says Nyguard is the only maker of bio-based plastic zippers, and its customers are beginning to seek out the products.

"A few years ago, companies were interested in sustainable zippers but not yet willing to pay for them," he said. However, since 2020, demand has been rising significantly, vindicating his decision to focus fully on bio-based plastics.

Karen Laird from our sister paper Sustainable Plastics has more on the project.