In Motion
As we settle into a new year, let this first In Motion blog post of 2020 serve as a reminder that CES kicks off this week in Las Vegas. is keeping an eye out for any relevant news, technology and collaborations that pop up during the show.
In November, during the Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum, held Nov. 10-11 in Nashville, Tenn., and organized by , I was one woman among nearly 200 others. It was refreshing — and a little strange.
If only we could do a side-by-side comparison of Bill's first two years at PN compared with mine. My bet is that those YouTube videos gave me a slight advantage.
Last year, I wrote about two art students in Detroit who showed their visions of future transportation. It got me thinking about workers and worker shortages, high-tech skill sets and the lack thereof, not just in the automotive industry, but also in plastics — and, well, just about everywhere it seems.
Would I still be a journalist if I had been more exposed to the skilled trades growing up? That question popped into my head a few weeks ago during a visit to Bekum America Corp., the U.S. operation of German extrusion blow molding machinery maker Bekum Maschinenfabriken GmbH.
Plastics News is looking for the next cohort of young people who are making a difference in the plastics industry, whether that means solving today's problems or developing tomorrow's technology.
For some, the word "vegan" might bring up images of a patchouli oil-drenched, lettuce-eating yoga teacher wearing a PETA shirt and armed with a pail of red paint for the next big fur protest. But in recent years it seems the word has become more normalized. It's finding a place on restaurant menus, food packages, personal care products and — as many in the plastics industry already know — vehicle interiors.
It's crazy what a drawing utensil, blank canvas and creative mind can accomplish, but can we also talk about how strange 3D printing is?
I'd like to take a minute and call attention to luxury car brand Jaguar Land Rover for not steering away from using the P-word — cue the gasping; yes, it's plastic, everyone — in its press release for the 2020 Range Rover Evoque. The word "plastic" shows up three times in the release.
What will they think of next? I found myself thinking that after two presentations on emerging materials that are, or could potentially be, used in vehicles during the Plastics && Rubber in Automotive conference in January.