Kickstart: Couldn't we all use a hug?

Weighted blankets have had plenty of buzz in social media, but for students dealing with anxiety, autism and other conditions, they're more than a trendy item. They can be a lifeline in school where they help kids to keep calm.

Materials and sheet supplier Spartech Corp. has donated enough resin pellets to fill 1,800 weighted blankets for special school district (SSD) classrooms in the St. Louis area as part of Project Hug.

"This program ... allows us to donate these plastic pellets where they can make a positive difference, keeps them out of landfills and complements our commitment to sustainability and the environment," Spartech CEO John Inks said in a news release. "We are dedicated to giving back to the communities in which we live and work and we are always looking for opportunities to support worthy causes."

We all know that there are connections in the plastics industry beyond the expected links in supply chains. And we all know that the changes impacting one company may hit other firms.

For California-based blow molder Lighthouse Packaging LLC, that has meant that bankruptcies in Canada and Europe trickled down to its plans to buy a new spin trimmer.

Plastics News' Catherine Kavanaugh has the complicated story of Corona-based Lighthouse, which placed an order for a trimmer from W. Amsler Equipment Inc. of Canada in July 2021. Lighthouse made two different payments for the nearly $14,000 piece of equipment, with the second check sent in October with an expectation the trimmer would be on its way.

But Amsler was in the process of shutting down. It had been locked out of a facility in Vaughan, Ontario, where it rented space from Niigon Machines Ltd., an injection molding machinery maker that had suddenly gone out of business.

At the same time, Amsler's parent company, Benpac Holding AG in Europe, was restructuring and Lighthouse was left with money spent for a machine it didn't get.

"It's just extremely frustrating," Lighthouse President Ernie Hernandez told Catherine.

Lighthouse has since ordered a new spin trimmer from a different supplier and been promised its money will be returned by early March. Check out the story for more details.

So you've been dreaming about buying a Porsche and finally put down the money to buy one from your local dealer in the U.S. That's great!

What's not so great? If it was one of a reported 4,000 luxury cars on board the cargo ship Felicity Alice bound for Rhode Island that caught fire Feb. 16 in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

The presence of lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicles on board has complicated any plans for putting it out. While lithium-ion batteries have been involved in some high-profile fires, it's not known what started the blaze.

All 22 crew members abandoned ship and tug boats were on their way to try and pull the ship back to port, but they aren't expected to catch up with the Felicity Alice until the middle of this week.