Kickstart: Lifestyles of the plastics rich and famous

I spend too much time on Zillow, and most of it is looking at homes that I can't afford. It's not because I'm looking to move. My wife and I just enjoy thinking about where we'd like to eventually retire.

On that front, I got a kick out of a South Florida Business Journal story about retired plastics company owner David Frecka paying $49.1 million for a mansion in Palm Beach County, Fla.

The 16,174-square-foot home known as Villa Oceano Azul (when you pay that much for a home, it has a name) has seven bedrooms, nine bathrooms, four half-bathrooms, a six-car garage, a 50-foot dock with a boat lift, a putting green, twin pools, a summer kitchen, a balcony, a bar, an office, a fitness room, a wine cellar and a movie screening room.

Frecka, you may recall, was the founder and CEO of Next Generation Films. He retired in 2020 after his company merged with Charter NEX Films Inc. to form Charter Next Generation.

The South Florida Business Journal described that deal as a "$1.07 billion merger" and says that since he retired, Frecka founded Triple F Collection, a high-end performance vehicle business, with his sons.

I've written before about how I was surprised that tiny Ford County, Kan., was joining the growing list of communities filling lawsuits against major plastics manufacturers.

The latest twist: Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach has filed a motion to intervene in the case, making the argument that the county was usurping the AG office's authority. Kobach wants to dismiss the county's claims.

"Left-wing environmentalist attorneys have hijacked Ford County and are using the county to push a radical, anti-oil agenda," Kobach said in a news release. "If this abuse is allowed to stand, then any county in America could launch any number of attacks to cripple American energy production."

I'll borrow this last item from Joe Pryweller, our senior director for content and event content and a colleague of mine for almost 40 years.

Joe has a new LinkedIn newsletter called PN's The Link that has exclusive content focused primarily on our events, including the PN Executive Forum, Plastics Caps & Closures and the Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum. You can sign up to receive the newsletter on our LinkedIn page.

In the latest installment, Joe writes: Employee empowerment has emerged as a key industry topic, as companies look for novel ways to get more employees engaged and part of future success. Plastics News' three candidates for its 2024 Processor of the Year award — Intek Plastics LLC, Plastic Molding Manufacturing Co. and Redline Plastics LLC — all have great tales to tell on how fueling employee engagement has led to growth and success.

"It's about simplicity and allowing our workers to do what needs to be done for us to be successful," said Plastic Molding Manufacturing CEO George E. Danis on a recent plant visit.

You can hear more from these fine companies at the Executive Forum, March 10-12 in La Jolla, Calif.