Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Sustainable Plastics
  • Rubber News
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Processor News
    • Suppliers
    • More News
    • Digital Edition
    • End Markets
    • Special Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Videos
    • Podcasts
    • Injection Molding
    • Blow Molding
    • Film & Sheet
    • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
    • Rotomolding
    • Thermoforming
    • Recycling
    • Machinery
    • Materials
    • Molds/Tooling
    • Product news
    • Design
    • K Show
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Sustainability
    • Public Policy
    • Material Insights Videos
    • Numbers that Matter
    • Automotive
    • Packaging
    • Medical
    • Consumer Products
    • Construction
    • Notable Leaders in Sustainability
    • Processor of the Year
    • Best Places to Work
    • Women Breaking the Mold
    • Rising Stars
    • Diversity
    • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
  • Opinion
    • The Plastics Blog
    • Kickstart
    • One Good Resin
    • Pellets and Politics
    • All Things Data
    • Viewpoint
    • From Pillar to Post
    • Perspective
    • Mailbag
    • Fake Plastic Trees
  • Shop Floor
    • Blending
    • Compounding
    • Drying
    • Injection Molding
    • Purging
    • Robotics
    • Size Reduction
    • Structural Foam
    • Tooling
    • Training
  • Events
    • Plastics News Events
    • Industry Events
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Livestreams/Webinars
    • Editorial Livestreams
    • Ask the Expert
    • Plastics News Events Library
    • Plastics News Executive Forum
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Plastics Caps + Closures: A Global Online Event
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
    • Bioplastics Live
    • Numbers that Matter Live
    • PFAS Live
    • Plastics in Politics Live
    • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Polymer Points Live
    • Sustainable Plastics Live
    • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
    • Plastics in Healthcare Library
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
  • Rankings & Data
    • Injection Molders
    • Blow Molders
    • Film Sheet
    • Thermoformers
    • Pipe Profile Tubing
    • Rotomolders
    • Mold/Toolmakers
    • LSR Processors
    • Recyclers
    • Compounders - List
    • Association - List
    • Plastic Lumber - List
    • All
  • Directory
  • Resin Prices
    • Resin Prices Overview
    • Commodity Thermoplastics
    • High Temperature Thermoplastics
    • Engineering Thermoplastics
    • Recycled Plastics
    • Thermosets
    • Europe - Virgin
    • Europe - Recycled
    • Europe - Feedstock
  • Custom
    • Sponsored Content
    • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
    • Conair Sponsored Content
    • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
    • ENGEL Sponsored Content
    • White Papers
    • Classifieds
    • Place an Ad
    • Sign up for Early Classified
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. News
February 10, 2021 09:33 AM

2021 Rising Stars: Adam Larkin

Jordan Vitick
Special Projects Editor
Plastics News Staff
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print
    Adam Larkin

    Adam Larkin, 34

    Senior Manager, Program Management, Celanese Engineered Materials

    Adam Larkin graduated from Pennsylvania State University with a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering with polymer engineering option and from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University with a master's degree and doctoral degree in chemical engineering.

    He first joined the plastics industry as a research engineer at Celanese of Florence, Ky., in the Technology and Innovation Leadership program. "I was interested in plastics because my high school AP Chemistry teacher indicated it was a good field of study. He told me to 'go walk down the grocery store or construction store aisles and see how much of it is made of plastic.' After I did that, my friend and I would spend hours in the aisles looking at plastics and recycling codes before we went away for undergraduate studies," said Larkin, now the senior manager, program management.

    Larkin said his career has progressed rapidly from research engineer to commercial roles, team leadership and new business development. He said he takes every opportunity to expand his network and knowledge base "through project work and newly defined roles in the organization."

    "My career is still beginning, however, as an application development engineer and leader, our team has had many successful projects, from drinking water to defense and space-related designs with our resins," Larkin said. "My greatest achievement to date is leading a group or team to rally around a project with a positive economic and human ROI. I have two specific instances but will not comment until they have reached full commercialization."

    Larkin said his current challenge in new business development is balancing the needs of Celanese's existing portfolio and base business while also exploring new and upcoming markets.

    "In a resource-constrained environment, this means we need to identify how to maximize impact with the products we have while leveraging the remaining resources to focus on new products and disruptive technologies," he said. "Additionally, in a technology-disruptive world, we have to contribute resources to exploring new ideas and approaches to problem-solving in plastics. Ultimately, this is how you build the new base business that we will be counting on in years to come."

    Larkin has been awarded the Commercial Newcomer Award in 2017 by Celanese and Macromolecular Interfaces with Life Sciences Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship, funded by the National Science Foundation, 2009-12 at Virginia Tech.

    Larkin is a member of the Association of Rotational Molders, American Institute of Chemical Engineers and Society of Plastics Engineers. He enjoys the outdoors: hunting, fishing, golfing, camping and long-distance running.

    Q: Who is your mentor or someone you look up to?

    Larkin: My grandfather, Robert Guy Larkin. He taught me, through his actions, to get up and work hard every day. He told me all the time "work hard but go to college so you can work smart." I took that to heart and became one of the first in my family to get a college degree. I broke the five-generation tradition of being a carpenter, but I am glad they still left me with enough know-how to fix my house when something breaks.

    Q: If you were CEO of a company, what would you do first?

    Larkin: Listen. Before you can transform and inspire positive change, you must know the pressures on the business, your colleagues and your customers. Once you have a good understanding on the challenges and opportunities, you are in an educated position to begin working with your colleagues to transform the business.

    Q: What about the plastics industry surprises you?

    Larkin: The amount of opportunity that exists to convert or design in plastics never shrinks. Every global megatrend can be linked back to work we do in plastics, from sustainability to aging population. There are very few industries that can have a wide-ranging scope and impact.

    Q: What is your philosophy related to plastics and sustainability? What steps have you taken to improve plastics' sustainability, either in work, your community or personal life?

    Larkin: I like to think of the molecular brand our materials have. Where do you want your molecular brand to end up at the end of its serviceable life? Landfill, on the side of the road, or recycled into something with additional utility.

    As a result, I have worked on projects to implement recyclable content and generate new products with desirable properties that have more bio-based content or are biodegradable. As we position products, we can educate on the full life cycle of these materials and collect industry trends and knowledge to make sure we are developing the right product mix to address our sustainability objectives.

    Q: What advice would you give to a person considering a career in the plastics industry?

    Larkin: If you are going to build a career in plastics, try to get a look at it from many different perspectives. From the technical, manufacturing, commercial and customer support angles, consider how what you work on will be touched, held, used by the various end consumers and participants along the value chain. If this is interesting and spurs your thoughts, then this is the place to be! Also, find several good mentors and learn as much as they will tell you!

    RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
    Play Mart expanding in Kentucky, adding jobs
    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Do you have an opinion about this story? Do you have some thoughts you'd like to share with our readers? Plastics News would love to hear from you. Email your letter to Editor at [email protected]

    Most Popular
    1
    Ohio PET jar maker closes, auctioning off equipment
    2
    An 8,000-ton dream for Milacron, 20/20 Custom Molded Plastics
    3
    Nova declares force majeure for PE resin at second Ontario site
    4
    Preventing pellet pollution focus of expanded Operation Clean Sweep, congressional push
    5
    PS resin prices continue their climb
    SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE NEWSLETTERS
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    Find more newsletters at plasticsnews.com/newsletters.

    You can unsubscribe at any time through links in these emails. For more information, see our Privacy Policy.

    Get our newsletters

    Staying current is easy with Plastics News delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge.

    Subscribe today

    Subscribe to Plastics News

    Subscribe now
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram

    Plastics News covers the business of the global plastics industry. We report news, gather data and deliver timely information that provides our readers with a competitive advantage.

    Contact Us

    1155 Gratiot Avenue
    Detroit MI 48207-2997

    Customer Service:
    877-320-1723

    Resources
    • About
    • Staff
    • Editorial Calendar
    • Media Kit
    • Data Store
    • Digital Edition
    • Custom Content
    • People
    • Contact
    • Careers
    • Sitemap
    Related Crain Publications
    • Sustainable Plastics
    • Rubber News
    • Tire Business
    • Urethanes Technology
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Processor News
        • Injection Molding
        • Blow Molding
        • Film & Sheet
        • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
        • Rotomolding
        • Thermoforming
        • Recycling
      • Suppliers
        • Machinery
        • Materials
        • Molds/Tooling
        • Product news
        • Design
      • More News
        • K Show
        • Mergers & Acquisitions
        • Sustainability
        • Public Policy
        • Material Insights Videos
        • Numbers that Matter
      • Digital Edition
      • End Markets
        • Automotive
        • Packaging
        • Medical
        • Consumer Products
        • Construction
      • Special Reports
        • Notable Leaders in Sustainability
        • Processor of the Year
        • Best Places to Work
        • Women Breaking the Mold
        • Rising Stars
        • Diversity
        • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
      • Newsletters
      • Videos
      • Podcasts
    • Opinion
      • The Plastics Blog
      • Kickstart
      • One Good Resin
      • Pellets and Politics
      • All Things Data
      • Viewpoint
      • From Pillar to Post
      • Perspective
      • Mailbag
      • Fake Plastic Trees
    • Shop Floor
      • Blending
      • Compounding
      • Drying
      • Injection Molding
      • Purging
      • Robotics
      • Size Reduction
      • Structural Foam
      • Tooling
      • Training
    • Events
      • Plastics News Events
        • Plastics News Executive Forum
        • Injection Molding & Design Expo
        • Plastics Caps + Closures: A Global Online Event
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
      • Industry Events
      • Injection Molding & Design Expo
      • Livestreams/Webinars
      • Editorial Livestreams
        • Bioplastics Live
        • Numbers that Matter Live
        • PFAS Live
        • Plastics in Politics Live
        • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
        • Polymer Points Live
        • Sustainable Plastics Live
      • Ask the Expert
      • Plastics News Events Library
        • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
        • Plastics in Healthcare Library
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
    • Rankings & Data
      • Injection Molders
      • Blow Molders
      • Film Sheet
      • Thermoformers
      • Pipe Profile Tubing
      • Rotomolders
      • Mold/Toolmakers
      • LSR Processors
      • Recyclers
      • Compounders - List
      • Association - List
      • Plastic Lumber - List
      • All
    • Directory
    • Resin Prices
      • Resin Prices Overview
      • Commodity Thermoplastics
      • High Temperature Thermoplastics
      • Engineering Thermoplastics
      • Recycled Plastics
      • Thermosets
      • Europe - Virgin
      • Europe - Recycled
      • Europe - Feedstock
    • Custom
      • Sponsored Content
      • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
      • Conair Sponsored Content
      • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
      • ENGEL Sponsored Content
      • White Papers
      • Classifieds
        • Place an Ad
        • Sign up for Early Classified