Kickstart: Hate them or love them, Crocs remain top seller

What comes to your mind when someone brings up the shoe brand Crocs? Comfortable, casual shoes? A fashion travesty? A style endorsed by a favorite celebrity?

Almost certainly, you're familiar with the name and the look of the brightly colored foam clog made by the Colorado company.

"We believe that [recognition] really enables us to create more meaningful consumer communications," Crocs Inc. Chief Marketing Officer Heidi Cooley told our sister paper Advertising Age. "In countries all over the world, you can show [consumers] our iconic shoe and the consumer says, 'Those are Crocs.'"

Sales for the Crocs brand hit a record $732.2 million for the quarter that ended in June, up 14.3 percent vs. the same period in 2021.

But even with those numbers, Crocs corporate officials are being conservative, saying that it now expects total annual sales to rise up to 17 percent for 2022, rather than the earlier forecast of 20 percent, due to inflation and "weakening consumer sentiment in the U.S."

Crocs will still get some cash for marketing, of course, with an emphasis on social media as well as in virtual versions via the video game Minecraft and the digital NFT art platform.

When it saw a need to draw more young people into manufacturing, thermoset molder and materials maker Mar-Bal Inc. reached out to its local vocational training school, Auburn Career Center, and set about helping it create the program it thought the community needed.

The Certified Production Technical Program launched at three Ohio school districts in Lake and Geauga counties. (PN's Frank Esposito writes about the program in his newest blog.)

Mar-Bal also has brought Auburn students into its operations as interns, including Matthew Oravecz, who worked at Mar-Bal in 2021 through the program.

"The CPT certification has helped me understand a lot of the terminology used in the workforce prior to starting. It has also given me a head start at understanding mechanical, electrical and hydraulic systems," Oravecz said in a news release from Mar-Bal.

Business and school cooperation is key to developing programs that "benefit [not only] the individual but also our entire region," school officials said.

A California decorative vinyl wrap manufacturer is getting greener.

Arlon Graphics LLC is using Westlake Vinnolit GreenVin PVC in its graphic films and wraps. GreenVin is made using energy only from renewable sources, Arlon and Westlake said in a news release. The energy selection means a carbon dioxide reduction of about 25 percent compared to conventional Vinnolite.

"We continue to explore innovative ways to incorporate sustainable materials into our offerings and to reduce our carbon footprint. GreenVin allows us to do this all while maintaining the performance and quality our customers have come to expect from Arlon," said Adam Bratter, vice president of global product for Arlon.