No pipe dream: Springfield Plastics raises funds for cancer program

Some people Race for the Cure. Others Bowl for the Cure or Tri for a Cure — swim, bike and run — to raise money to support cancer research, treatment and patients. In central Illinois, they Drain for the Cure every year with donation matches up to $30,000 from Auburn, Ill.-based pipe extruder Springfield Plastics Inc.

Founded in 1978, SPI has 85 employees and produces high density polyethylene pipe for the agricultural, residential, commercial and highway markets. The company promotes itself as the only U.S. manufacturer certified to use only 100 percent virgin resin.

Shareholder-owned and family-operated, SPI recently presented a $112,000 check to the Simmons Cancer Institute, also in Springfield, to help those fighting and studying the disease.

In all, the pipe maker has raised more than $500,000 since 2014 for the facility at Southern Illinois University (SIU) Carbondale. Some of the money comes from a supporting high school event called Game for a Cure and merchandise sales. A new initiative geared toward farmers called Grain for a Cure also brought in $12,000.

However, the bulk of donations come simply by SPI officials asking the community for their support every October, which is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, according to SPI Vice President Jennifer Furkin.

"We send a flyer and letter at the beginning of the campaign, then a postcard reminder, and people mail in checks. It's very heart-warming," Furkin said in a phone interview, pointing to widespread support from students, businesses and the community.

Donated checks are made directly to the Simmons SIU Foundation. There are no administrative costs.

"One hundred percent of the donations go to the foundation. No overhead dollars are involved," Furkin said, describing part of the appeal.

The effort began eight years ago when Furkin's late cousin, Lori Baker Jones, was diagnosed with an incurable form of breast cancer — stage 4 triple-negative breast cancer — at age 34.

"At first, we as family were in the battle and we were ready to make that big contribution," Furkin said. "Then, it caught on with customer and vendor support and then the community and our employees and shareholders. Unfortunately, cancer is so widespread, every single person has a story about why they are ready to support the cause."

Some of the money raised has gone to improve patient access to treatment. For example, the cancer center used Drain for the Cure donations to relocate a second-story area for infusions to a wing by the entry.

"People going to their infusions used to go upstairs and around the corner to the left to find their check-in point. Now they access it right through the front door," Furkin said. "The money makes life easier for people going through this every day."

One of SPI's customers, Dale Himstedt of D&H Drainage, organized the effort called Grain for the Cure. He solicited grain donations from farmers, telling them that he would pick them up from the field and that no amount was too small.

Himstedt then took the grain to a local elevator to be sold in the donors' names.

"The first customer I introduced the idea to explained that he had battled cancer in high school and was ready to help," Himstedt said. "His generosity shocked and energized me. Many elevators and other ag businesses decided to help, too."

Central Illinois farmers grow corn and soybeans. Furkin said 2021 was a good year for farmers there in terms of crops, commodity prices and weather. October is always a busy post-harvest period when drainage work is done, or as D&H Drainage marketing says, "Making good land better." Still, Himstedt made himself available for grain donations, posting online that the need for cancer research never stops.

Drainage tile systems consist of corrugated pipe with tiny holes that are installed about 3 feet underground. The systems are used to lower the water table of poorly drained lands to promote deep and vigorous root growth.

There's a growing trend to use recycled HDPE to address price pressure and material availability and promote sustainability, but Furkin said SPI made the decision to stay with virgin resin on behalf of its customers and the farmers.

"In our experience, the recycled product doesn't perform as well as virgin resin in terms of the structural integrity of the drainage pipe," Furkin said. "This is an expensive investment for farmers to make. They need that peace of mind to know what is installed is sound enough to last for generations. It's not something they should revisit, or their sons or daughters."

Drainage tile systems cost about $1,000 an acre before material costs climbed starting in 2020 because of supply issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and several major weather events.

"Hopefully in 2022 things will get back to normal," Furkin said.

SPI Engineering Manager Doug Baker, an advocate for using virgin resin, was recognized recently by ASTM International, one of the largest standards developing organizations, for his participation on the committee that works with plastic piping system standards.

Baker, who has been an ASTM member for 15 years, received the ASTM F17 Special Service Award. The F17 committee was founded in 1973 and currently has 520 members, including engineers, scientists, producers and end users. The committee meets twice a year to publish part of the Annual Book of ASTM Standards referenced for many plumbing and building codes. The F17 committee has spent a lot of time debating the topic of using recycled materials in pipe production.

In a statement, Baker said: "Springfield Plastics has always been a strong advocate for using virgin resin and believes the research and testing verify that using virgin resin far outperforms recycled materials in the quality of the finished pipe products. As standards were developed to include recycled materials in piping products, we saw it as our mission to make sure the standards were stringent enough to ensure that the end user was receiving an acceptable product for their dollar. This meant in some instances that I was the lone voice voting against some of the more relaxed requirements pushing to make sure each standard had adequate testing and requirements to ensure the quality of the finished product."

Baker is a member of five subcommittees and is vice chair of the land drainage subcommittee.