Kickstart: Supporting employees' chance at 'our shot'

The National Association of Manufacturers is urging its members to not throw away their shot ... that COVID-19 vaccine shot, that is.

The Washington-based trade group has launched "This Is Our Shot," an effort seeking to boost vaccine acceptance.

"This project follows the NAM's nearly yearlong campaign imploring Americans to follow CDC guidelines, such as wearing a mask and social distancing," the association said in a news release promoting the campaign.

The effort includes a public service announcement, called "I Love Frank," to highlight how manufacturers and their workers can protect their family, co-workers and loved ones by getting vaccinated.

"One hundred million people have now been impacted by this horrible disease. Asking all Americans to roll up their sleeves and get vaccinated against COVID-19 is a pivotal step toward stopping this upward trend," NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons said in a news release. "Now is our opportunity as a country to end this pandemic. Our future depends on all of us rolling up our sleeves and getting armed against COVID-19."

ABC Technologies has always been one of those auto suppliers out there doing solid work, but for some reason is overlooked.

There's no reason for it to be forgotten. The Toronto-based company isn't as big as fellow Canadian supplier Magna, but few companies can compete with Magna on size. But it's bigger than Magna in plastics. It's in the Top 10 for North American injection molders and No. 15 among blow molders, according to Plastics News rankings.

And ABC has been involved in some strong programs throughout the vehicle. The Ram Box exterior storage system on the Dodge Ram pickup truck? ABC stepped into that project when another supplier backed out.

Cerberus Capital Management LP bought the company from its founders, the Schmidt family, in 2016. Now Cerberus is seeking to sell a stake in ABC through an initial public offering, PN's Sarah Kominek reports.

Does anyone in the photo up there look familiar?

Steve Ball, vice president of Eastern Plastics Co. Inc., is trying to track down more information about a photo from the late 1950s or early 1960s when his father, Hank, was a salesman with Celanese.

Hank Ball is the second man from the right. Steve Ball says the photo was probably taken during a customer call at an injection molding site, but he "would love to know who the other gentlemen in the photo are and the location of the photo."

Hank Ball worked out of Celanese's offices in New Jersey, Atlanta and Charlotte, N.C., before he started Eastern Plastics Co. Inc. and later Modern Densifying Inc.

If you can help Steve out, you can email him at [email protected].