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
    • Resin pricing news
    • Videos
    • 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
    • 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
    • K Show Livestream
    • Plastics News Events
    • Industry Events
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Livestreams/Webinars
    • Editorial Livestreams
    • Ask the Expert
    • Plastics News Events Library
    • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Plastics News Executive Forum
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Plastics News Caps & Closures
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
    • Plastics in Automotive
    • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Polymer Points Live
    • Numbers that Matter Live
    • Plastics in Politics 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
    • Commodity TPs
    • High Temp TPs
    • ETPs
    • Thermosets
    • Recycled Plastics
    • Historic Commodity Thermoplastics
    • Historic High Temp Thermoplastics
    • Historic Engineering Thermoplastics
    • Historic Thermosets
    • Historic Recycled Plastics
  • 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 28, 2022 08:14 AM

Rising Stars 2022: Elvis Cudjoe

Jordan Vitick
Special Projects Editor
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print
    Elvis Cudjoe

    Elvis Cudjoe

    Elvis Cudjoe, 32

    Senior Research and Development Engineer, Avient Corp.

     

    After graduating from Hiram College with a bachelor's degree in chemistry and from Case Western Reserve University with a doctorate in macromolecular science and engineering, Elvis Cudjoe joined Avon Lake, Ohio-based Avient Corp.

    "I was interested in the industry as I had spent five years in graduate school studying polymers, and after several article publications as well as patents, I was unfulfilled with what I was doing as I couldn't see the immediate impact," said the senior research and development engineer from Accra, Ghana. "Joining a plastic company in the industry seemed to be the next step as being involved in innovation and bringing ideas to life for the everyday consumer was going to be fulfilling."

    Cudjoe said the packaging market is of "significant interest" due to developments in sustainability.

    "Over the years, the packaging segment has been identified as a big contributor to environmental pollution," he said. "The response and commitment from a lot of companies, Avient included, has been positive. Being involved and participating in creating new technologies that address these problems not only makes this market segment interesting but also fulfills the need for a change in current practices."

    His greatest professional achievement so far has been leading a project past a major hurdle.

    "The project required the use of a hazardous material and, being a part of a company where safety is a significant part of our identity, we needed to make sure we could handle this material safely and effectively while utilizing it in our manufacturing process," Cudjoe said. "Myself and a few associates had to think outside the box to create a mechanism that would allow as to handle the material prior to and during manufacturing.

    "This process required working with different subject matter experts in a timely fashion to get to the end goal. This solution not only ensured we were able to work on this project but it has provided the groundwork for scaling up this solution and the significant success of the technology for our customers and company."

    Cudjoe is involved in the Society of Plastics Engineers, American Chemical Society and the local chapter of United Way.

    "In the industry, I participate in conferences and trade shows organized by SPE in order to stay well informed about the industry. In the community, I actively participate in our United Way outreach activities to support and provide for the less fortunate in our local communities," he said. "In addition, I personally, along with other scientists, visit local middle and high schools to teach them about plastics. We engage with them through hands-on experiments, which tend to be quite exciting, informative and educational."

    Q: What about the plastics industry surprises you?

    Cudjoe: The rate at which change occurs in the plastic industry surprises me. Consumer demand tends to drive these changes. As such, we have to be flexible to meet those demands as they happen. For example, the pandemic had an effect on consumer behavior when it came to consumable items off the shelf. Consumers were purchasing food and storing them longer than usual, hence we had to pivot as an industry to ensure that our technologies that helped preserve food in plastic containers were good enough to give the needed extended shelf life. It really proved the importance and power of plastics.

    Q: What should the plastics industry do to expand its efforts in diversity and inclusion?

    Cudjoe: By initiating and creating the environment to have the difficult conversation around race, gender, age, etc. In addition to having those conversations, we need to actively put measures such as continued education, equal opportunities, etc., in place to ensure that it's not just a conversation but rather a conversation backed with action. The key thing is to make sure D&I does not become a buzzword without action. A lot of industries are starting to have a conversation around it, however, actions will always speak louder than words or conversations.

    Q: What is the best advice you have ever received?

    Cudjoe: Time is precious so make sure whatever you spend it on, it's rewarding and impactful as you will never be able to recover it.

    RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
    After years of challenges, can secondary sortation take off?
    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
    Plan to extend chemical recycling in Illinois hits roadblock
    2
    Biden sets US goal to replace 90% of plastics with biomaterials
    3
    Redline's ‘outrageous cultural behaviors' retain top employees
    4
    Industry sees Biden bioplastics goal as serious signal
    5
    Trinseo: Equipment failure blamed for latex emulsion leak
    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.

    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
        • Processor of the Year
        • Best Places to Work
        • Women Breaking the Mold
        • Rising Stars
        • Diversity
        • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
      • Newsletters
      • Resin pricing news
      • Videos
    • 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
      • K Show Livestream
      • Plastics News Events
        • Plastics News Executive Forum
        • Injection Molding & Design Expo
        • Plastics News Caps & Closures
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
        • Plastics in Automotive
      • Industry Events
      • Injection Molding & Design Expo
      • Livestreams/Webinars
        • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
      • Editorial Livestreams
        • Polymer Points Live
        • Numbers that Matter Live
        • Plastics in Politics 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
      • Processor of the Year submissions
    • 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
      • Commodity TPs
        • Historic Commodity Thermoplastics
      • High Temp TPs
        • Historic High Temp Thermoplastics
      • ETPs
        • Historic Engineering Thermoplastics
      • Thermosets
        • Historic Thermosets
      • Recycled Plastics
        • Historic Recycled Plastics
    • 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