Kickstart: 'Combative' and 'committed' at Dow

During his 11 years as CEO of what was then Dow Chemical Co., Paul Oreffice oversaw a global shift by Dow to embrace thermoplastics and consumer products. He also pushed back against government regulations and environmental concerns, including referring to dioxin as merely causing "a rash."

His death Dec. 26, 2024, at his home in Paradise Valley, Ariz., at age 97 led to a mixture of overviews of his life, from a headline in The New York Times calling him "combative" to honors from the Parkinson's Foundation to a remembrance of him as finding time to help others from the stepson of another former Dow executive.

Oreffice, who was born in Italy and spent much of his childhood there, joined Dow as a sales trainee in 1953. He began leading the Dow USA business in 1975, was named president and CEO of Dow Chemical in 1978 and added the title of chairman in 1986. He stepped down as CEO and president in 1987 but continued as chairman until 1992.

On its website, Dow notes Oreffice's role in diversifying Dow's holdings, quoting him as asking in 1978: "What does Dow have to do to be a great company in the year 2000?"

But the Times also details his many run-ins with environmental groups and federal regulators, including denying access to corporate property in Midland, Mich., to the Environmental Protection Agency.

"Paul Oreffice was a force," Bill Schuetter, a former Congressman and the stepson of one time Dow CEO Carl Gerstacker, told the Midland Daily News. "He was totally committed to Midland as a leader at Dow Chemical."

Are you a leader in recycling? What about your company? The Association of Plastic Recyclers would be interested in learning more about you.

APR has launched the new Recycling Leadership Awards to "celebrate the achievements of individuals and organizations who have made great strides in improving plastics recyclability."

Nominations are open until Jan. 31 for outstanding leadership, recycling technology innovation, package design innovation and post-consumer recycled-content utilization.

"We're continually inspired by incredible innovations across the plastics value chain to drive recyclability," Steve Alexander, APR president and CEO, said in a news release.

The awards were timed for the 30th anniversary of the APR Design Guide. The awards will be presented at the Plastics Recycling Conference in National Harbor, Md., in March.

You can nominate yourself or others at www.plasticsrecycling.org.

Private equity company Speyside Equity Advisers is getting back into plastics after five years, buying Quebec-based injection molder GSC Technologies Inc., a maker of totes, garbage cans, furniture, shelving and tables.

The Ann Arbor, Mich.-based Speyside says GSC has some upcoming product launches that has it "bullish" on the company.

"I was just super excited about the deal and really excited about the management team and the company, and we're looking forward to investing into it and growing it," Eric Wiklendt, managing director at Speyside, told Plastics News' Jim Johnson.

Speyside previously owned specialty blow molder Western Industries Plastic Products LLC from 2017 to 2019.