Jones follows in his father’s footsteps joining plastics industry

Opportunities are endless in the plastics industry, which "appears to only be growing and expanding in many different directions," said Bobby Jones, sales representative at resin distributor Osterman & Co. Inc. in Atlanta.

Jones, 30, said in his Rising Stars survey that one of the most fascinating markets going forward will be biodegradable resins and recyclables.

"I have heard from many customers over the last few months that there is a need for making their products easily degradable or easily recyclable," he said. "Plastics offers many benefits from distribution, preservation of food, as well as many other end markets. However, the current overhang on the industry is the amount of end waste that ends up in the environment, and I think over the next five years the industry will make great strides in decreasing the amount of plastic waste."

He didn't start out with any kind of technical background in the industry and said he was shocked by the technology and engineering that went into producing resins — "not only the different types and specs of resins but all of the colors, additives and modifiers that could be blended in to produce such a variety of products."

Jones was born in Sacramento, Calif., and graduated from the University of South Florida with a bachelor's degree in finance. He was hired directly out of college as a sales representative at Osterman and has worked there for the last eight years.

"My father has been in the plastics industry for almost 40 years, and I have always admired him," he said. "As I was going to college, I started to take more of an interest in his career and that eventually led to me joining the plastics industry."

In 2014, he was the winner of the Osterman Outland Award, which is given to sellers for being true professionals who exemplify the Osterman business principles. He was an Outland Award recipient again in 2015.

Jones was awarded the Osterman Circle of Excellence in 2017 and 2018.

Jones said his greatest achievement happened when one of the first accounts he ever sold was a small private company whose material usage "exceeded the credit line the company we were willing to offer."

"Through working with both the business managers, credit department and the end customer … [we] were able to structure a creative deal that would allow us to service 100 percent of their business, which allowed us to steadily increase the line for years to come," he said. "Today they are now one of my largest customers and best relationships. A true team win!"

Jones said he would eventually like to be the head of a sales organization in the industry.

"However," he said, "for now, I am very happy as a sales representative, which allows me a lot of freedom and the opportunity to [manage] my own territory."