Kickstart: Blown away

Let's try to forget about that cold north wind that has brought a sudden, chilly early start to winter to much of the U.S., and think instead about blow ... molding.

This week's print issue of Plastics News has our annual ranking of North American blow molders. Packaging companies reign supreme again, as is expected, but Hollee Keller, our guru of data, notes in her blog looking behind the numbers in this year's ranking, that at least one company has shown up consistently through the 27 years that PN has tracked blow molders.

ABC Group of Toronto was the biggest industrial blow molding in North America in our first ranking in 1992 with $116 million in sales. This year, the company is No. 14 with an estimated $425 million in sales. While ABC Group now has different owners than in 1992, the company has retained the same name and business focus on automotive parts since that first ranking.

Hey, did you hear about the hotel chain that was getting rid of small toiletry bottles? No, not Marriott. That brand, the owner of 7,000 properties around the world announced its plan to drop small bottles this summer.

And not Holiday Inn and its owner InterContinental Hotels Group. It also announced earlier this year that it would phase out its use of small bottles by 2021.

The Nov. 12 announcement came from Hyatt Hotels Corp., which operates nearly 900 sites around the world. Hyatt also says it would phase out single-use water bottles. Like its competitors, Hyatt is pointing to sustainability for the change. Jim Johnson has more.

No, not the holidays, although that is wonderful. I'm talking about performance review season. (I should probably make it clear here that I'm using the phrase "favorite time of the year" in a sarcastic tone. Just in case you were wondering. Yeah, that was kind of sarcastic too. Sorry.)

Maybe there are people who enjoy trying to sum up their past year of accomplishments in a few lines and bullet points, but I suspect many are like me, trying to remember what it was that I was convinced I should remember back in February or July to put on my review.

At this week's Women Breaking the Mold Forum in Nashville, Kristen Birkmayer, vice president and general maager, engineering and operations for Wilbert Plastic Services had this suggestion: During the year, when something happens that you think shows your worth, write yourself a few lines in an email. Then put that email in a folder.

When review time comes around, open the folder, and your accomplishments are right there, ready to use.

For more tips and other coverage, watch Plastics News for editorial coverage from the forum later this year.