Kyle Abercrombie, 30
Product Development Engineer, Pregis LLC
A self-proclaimed "problem-solver at heart and naturally curious to a fault," Kyle Abercrombie is the product development engineer at Pregis LLC in Anderson, S.C.
Abercrombie graduated from Erskine College with a bachelor's degree in chemistry with an emphasis on biochemistry. He held an internship in the technical department at ISO Poly Films, which merged with Flexsol Packaging to become ISOFlex Packaging, during his senior year and started as a manufacturing engineer.
"My first assigned task was to figure out medium COF [coefficient of friction]," he said. "I had never been in a plastics manufacturing setting or studied anything about the packaging world before and had absolutely no context on what I was doing or the scale of the rabbit hole I was about to go down.
"I must have reviewed thousands of COF data points collected from years of jobs. I plotted charts, analyzed my findings, etc., and eventually compiled a versatile manual of suggested slip loadings and resulting COFs based on structure composition and thickness. … This experience captivated me and after I realized this was just the tip of the blown film/packaging iceberg, I have been hooked ever since trying to expand my knowledge of the industry."
At ISO, Abercrombie also held positions as quality manager, technical manager, product development engineer, senior product development engineer and research associate. He joined Deerfield, Ill.-based plastic film supplier Pregis in 2021 as a project manager and became a product development engineer earlier this year.
"So far, I feel that my greatest achievement is the positive impact I left on my previous employer. I created many self-sustaining and scalable systems that are still in use today," he said. "When I left, many of my co-workers told me that I was one of the few people that helped move the company forward. Having that be my lasting impression upon leaving the company is one of the most fulfilling things I have ever experienced in my career."
Abercrombie is a member of the Flexible Packaging Association and the Society of Plastics Engineers. He was nominated for Rising Stars by Jonathan Quinn, director of market development and sustainable flexible packaging at Pregis.
"Near the beginning of my career, I remember sitting in meetings with elites in this industry, listening to them throw around jargon, resin grades, converting equipment, customers, concepts/terms, etc., and having absolutely no idea what they were talking about. … Eventually, you will have learned this new language and will be tossing names, brands and equipment around like it's nothing," Abercrombie said. "It just takes time, and your only goal should be to learn something new each day."
Q: What has been the biggest impact/challenge on your career from the coronavirus pandemic?
Abercrombie: I am a very hands-on and social person. It was routine for me to visit customer facilities to catch up on projects, run trials on their equipment, network at events like Pack Expo, etc. The pandemic crushed all those things and forced us into a world of virtual meetings, remote troubleshooting, etc., which removed a desirable personal element from my role. It's much harder to connect with people and aid over the phone or through a screen than being on-site and hands-on.
Q: What about the plastics industry surprises you?
Abercrombie: I am constantly surprised by how much I don't know and the number of new products entering the marketspace. Learning about a new use for plastic, how converting equipment is being revised and improved, new functional polymers, etc. It is such a massive industry, and it is constantly evolving.
Q: What should the plastics industry do to expand its efforts in diversity and inclusion?
Abercrombie: We need to continue presenting an open door towards our diverse community and expand our recruiting efforts further than our suppliers, customers or competitors and absorb talent and knowledge from parallel industries to challenge the status quo in our own. If we continue hiring the same people reinforcing recursive thoughts, nothing new will develop in this industry.