Kickstart: SPE and an 'indelible legacy'

The Society of Plastics Engineers is providing a platform at Antec 2024 to honor one of its most influential members, Glenn Beall.

Beall, who joined SPE in 1960, has been an engineer, inventor, consultant, educator, editor, author and industry activist and "stamped an indelible legacy on the growth of plastics and SPE," the group said.

A symposium to honor Beall during Antec, March 4-7, 2024, in St. Louis, will include a keynote presentation from Beall along with speakers focused on his expertise in rotational molding, injection molding, design, additive manufacturing and thermoforming.

Beall's career began in 1958 with Abbott Laboratories where he helped the medical market transition to safer disposable devices. He was named to the Plastics Hall of Fame in 1997 and now at age 90 owns Beall Plastics Ltd., a consulting firm in Libertyville, Ill.

Corporate diversity is in the spotlight as a range of recognition programs honor companies supporting their workforce and supply chain.

Dow Inc., DuPont Co., Procter & Gamble, Eaton Corp., BlueTriton, Whirlpool, GE Appliances, Coca-Cola Co., PepsiCo Inc. and dozens of other makers and users of plastics are among more than 500 firms with a perfect 100 score in the Human Rights Campaign Foundation's Corporate Equality Index (CEI), released at the end of November.

HRC Foundation tracks efforts from corporations to support their LGBTQ+ workers. For the 2023-24 list, more than 1,300 "actively participated" in survey, with 128 of those companies taking part in the process for the first time. For comparison purposes, Fortune 500 companies overall received a ranking of 67 for the survey vs. the 545 with perfect 100s.

The index has been published since 2002.

"Data from the CEI tells the story of nearly two decades of year-over-year growth in the adoption of these critical policies and practices indicative of employers' commitment to equality," the group says.

Beyond HRC's announcement, auto supplier ABC Technologies, a Toronto-based injection molder and blow molder, was named an Excellence Award Finalist for top corporate supplier diversity from the Women Business Enterprises Canada Council along with its key supplier First Frontier Logistics.

In addition, plastic gear maker Igus GmbH's U.S. operations in Providence, R.I., was named a 2023 Top Workplace winner in Rhode Island.

In Detroit, meanwhile, a trial scheduled to begin today may determine what identifies a company's status as minority-owned.

Piston Group is a collection of auto suppliers owned by former NBA player Vinnie Johnson — including a seating sub-supplier. For nearly three years, it's been battling the Michigan Minority Supplier Development Council over its status as a minority company.

With Johnson as owner, Piston Group says it meets the requirement of being 51 percent minority-owned. But as our sister paper Crain's Detroit Business notes, the council maintains it does not because the business units are run day-to-day by white men.

The council revoked Piston Group's status in 2021. In 2022, the Michigan Court of Appeals restored it pending further court action. The Wayne County Circuit Court trial is expected to last up to 12 days.