Kickstart: A lack of education

A key research university for bioplastics and sustainable polymers in Europe is about to shut down. The University of Hull in the United Kingdom says it will close its chemistry school because student numbers were "so low that these courses are no longer financially or educationally sustainable."

The decision comes even as more than 4,800 people signed a petition asking the university to reconsider.

Hull, in Northeast England, is a key manufacturing sector and the chemistry department is home to research groups focusing on eliminating plastic pollution and building a circular economy for plastics, our sister paper Sustainable Plastics writes. The British Plastics Federation pushed the university to reconsider earlier this year, but it was not successful.

"The chemistry department at the University of Hull has been involved in solving issues among which plastic pollution and provides countless graduates to the local, national and international chemistry sector," BPF said.

Everyone gets training when they start a new job. A Cleveland group thinks you should also put in some serious study time when you're getting ready to step away from that job too, especially when the job you're leaving is that of a business owner.

Manufacturing Works is a network of more than 300 companies — most of them small manufacturers — that has started a one-year training program called Ownership Transition that helps entrepreneurs prepare for what happens next.

Business owners pay $2,600 for the yearlong training program, writes Dan Shingler from our sister paper Crain's Cleveland Business. During each session, participants can share their own best practices and also speak with experienced business brokers, accountants, lawyers, wealth managers and others familiar with the sale of small manufacturing companies.

Everyone involved with the program signs a nondisclosure agreement, so business owners don't have to worry that their appearance at a session will launch a companywide rumor.

Even if they're not planning an immediate sale of their company, participants can learn more about their options and how best to set the business up for its future. That's important not just to get the best return on an investment but also ensure a future for the workforce and community.

Marcia Ciryak, Manufacturing Works' director of business transition, notes that some owners leave money on the table because they don't understand how much their firms can offer to new investors.

Thermoforming toolmaker Marbach Group wants to help people in Ukraine stay warm this winter. It is donating 10,000 euros ($10,500) to Help — Hilfe zur Selbstilfe e.V., an organization whose Winter Aid project works to ensure communities have a heat supply, families have warm homes and that damaged shelters are repaired quickly.

Because Help is also on a list of agencies approved by German leaders, Marbach's donation will receive extra federal matching funds.

"This means that the amount of our donation is multiplied by eight. That means that a donation of 10,000 euros generates aid funds of 80,000 euros," Peter Marbach said in a news release.