It’s the middle of July here in Washington, D.C. and the temperature has been over 100 °F much too much for my liking of late. Thankfully plastics continue to play a critical role in keeping things cool both indoors and out.

From a housing standpoint, plastic building products promote the efficient use of energy and other resources. For example, walls that use structural insulated panels made with expanded polystyrene (EPS) can help homeowners save hundreds of dollars annually on heating and cooling bills. EPS starts out as a plastic pellet and ends up as nearly 95 percent air which is a very effective insulator. Another example is polycarbonate which can be used in windows. In addition to being lightweight and shatter-resistant, polycarbonate has low thermal conductivity, which can help to reduce heating and cooling costs. And what about plastic house wrap technology? Plastic house wrap technology reduces the infiltration of outside air and helps to drastically reduce the energy required to heat or cool the home. So with these technologies (and, of course, air conditioners and fans  — which have plenty of plastic parts) one can keep cool indoors.

When outdoors, what you wear can make a difference. I’m partial to the clothing that uses wicking technologyto keep you cool. Traditional cotton clothing tends to soak up and retain sweat, making the wearer unable to cool themselves off properly and making the garment heavier. Wicking technology utilizes fabrics that move sweat away from the skin to the outer surface of the fabric, where it evaporates. Many of these fabrics are made out of polyester fibers and often can be recycled through program’s such as the Common Threads Recycling Program.

Getting in the water is, of course, a favorite way to keep cool in the summer. Most bathing suits are made from plastic materials such as polyester, nylon and Lycra (or Spandex). Of course, we have blogged here before about the uproar in competitive swimming circles concerning new high tech suits made from polyurethane.

In addition, many above ground pools and most inflatable wading pools are made from some combination of PVC (which has excellent resistance to damage via abrasion, impact and sunlight), polypropylene and polyester mesh. Backyard pools also depend on flexible, durable and easy-to-clean vinyl liners to keep their inner surfaces smooth on feet and protected from sunlight, abrasion and water-treatment chemicals. Swimming pools with vinyl and polypropylene covers bring safety and peace of mind to pool owners with very small children. Even diving boards are usually covered with polyurethane epoxy resin paint that creates a non-skid surface to prevent dangerous slips.

So whether you are indoors or out, plastics play an important role in making these hot days more bearable.

Photo courtesy of Infrogmation of New Orleans

Bill Hall, who chairs the environmental law practice at Winston & Strawn, presented a range of measures to employ in order to discourage product de-selection, and reminded attendees of the famous phrase of his former basketball coach, the late great Jim Valvano: “Don’t give up, don’t ever give up.” Hall played basketball under Valvano at Bucknell Univesrsity, prior to Valvano winning the NCAA national championship as the coach of North Carolina State University in a highly memorable last-second upset victory in 1983.

Later in the day, members of the ACC Phthalate Ester Panel exposed several anti-phthalate studies and news reports as myths using a glaring spotlight of reality in the form of government  statistics and common sense conclusions drawn by a variety of independent experts. The panel members also provided a regulatory and legislative update as well as a report on recent media trends.

Bill Carroll spoke to attendees about a few things, including his work as a member of California’s Green Chemistry Initiative Science Advisory Panel. The Green Chemistry program is a highly complex, some might say “convoluted,” process to remove or reduce chemicals deemed hazardous from products sold in California. Carroll, vice president, industry issues for Occidental Chemical Corporation, an an adjunct professor of chemistry at Indiana University, also engaged conference attendees in a discussion about the future of the flexible vinyl industry, asking, “Where will we be in 10 years? Where do we go from here?” The ensuing conversation swung from the need for greater innovation, to the need to be less risk-averse when it comes to investing  financial resources in compelling opportunities, and the possibility of the federal government setting policies that make the United States a friendlier place to do manufacturuing business.

But in addition to sessions on how to deal with negative external challenges, attendees also heard from speakers who brought expertise to the table that would help them do their jobs better and improve their vinyl products. Jim Roberts of BYK-Gardner, for example, spoke about how to best measure color, gloss (the amount of light reflected off a surface), haze, clarity and other physical properties of vinyl and its products. This is particularly important in today’s manufacturing world where one part of a product may be made in the United States as others are being made at other plants around the world. When they come together, they need to be exactly alike. Luckily, as I learned, there are lab and production line tools like the “Micro-Gloss” and “Spectro-Guide.”

Toward the end of the day, industry lion and Lord of the Rings enthusiast Dean Finney, retired from Eastman Chemical Company and now almost set to retire from Rivendell Consultants, paraphrased the Tolkien character Aragorn in addressing his embattled flexible vinyl colleagues: “Success does not belong to one man but to all. Let us together rebuild this world that we may share in the days of peace.”

And there’s some breaking news already! I had the opportunity to sit in on the SPI Flexible Vinyl Products Committee’s  Executive Committee Meeting this morning and a very exciting development came about concerning NPE2012. But more on that below…

This week’s conference is hosted by SPI’s Flexible Vinyl Products Committee (FVPC), part of the association’s Material Suppliers Council. The FVPC works for the benefit of all companies within the flexible vinyl industry regardless of end market application – and, because of the material’s many advantages, that is an enormous amount of applications!  Because flexible vinyl is inexpensive, durable, safe, easily processed and recyclable, it is appealing to product manufacturers and ideally suited to myriad uses.  From construction (such as flooring and roofing) to life-saving medical products (such as blood/intravenous fluid bags, cardiac catheters, endotracheal tubing) to packaging (food wrap, container lids) to wire and cable and a vast variety of automotive uses, flexible vinyl makes modern life better.

Topics to be presented and discussed here in Virginia over the next two days include the latest research on new materials, optimizing product quality using new lab tools, global updates concerning the resin and plasticizer markets, and presentations concerning product de-selection issues and the ways in which science and statistics are used (and sometimes abused) by the media. Rebecca Obniski, a chemistry and music double-major at the College of William and Mary will present a paper on “New Metal-Based Smoke Suppressants and Fire Retardants for Flexible PVC.”  Veteran industry insider William Carroll, vice president for industry issues, Occidental Chemical Company, will reflect on his experiences in the plastics industry and his perspective on the future.  A number of  SPI staff experts will be on hand to deliver the latest news on the legislative front, REACH and Walmart’s retailer sustainability initiatives.

Speaking of news, this morning the FVPC Executive Committee preliminarily signed off on having a pavilion devoted to flexible vinyl products at NPE2012 in Orlando. Similar to successful specialty pavilions staged at NPE2009 that were devoted to fluoropolymers, thermoformers and TPE elastomers,  an “FVP World” pavilion would provide the flexible vinyl products community with a platform to discuss advancements in technology, educate participants and highlight member companies and organizations in a unified and organized format.  “FVP World” would be part of  NPE Technology Central in the Orange County Convention Center’s South Hall.  At this morning’s meeting, SPI President Bill Carteaux brought up this idea to FVPC leadership, saying, “We invite flexible vinyl products companies to host FVP World at NPE2012, and provide this opportunity to your members, suppliers and their customers to see and hear what’s new in flexible vinyl.” Needless to say, the FVPC Executive Committee liked the idea! Stay tuned for more details.

A few weeks ago, I attended a meeting in which a presenter discussed our nation’s need to strive for a more sustainable future. Arguing that sustainability is not a new concept, the presenter showed an image of a glass bottle house located in the Calico Ghost Town, and noted that we need to recapture the ingenuity of the past in order to essentially save the world.

According to this web site devoted to bottle houses, it is unclear whether the Calico Bottle House was created in Calico, brought there from another ghost town, or is actually just a modern reproduction. But it is generally understood that short of building materials, early mining camp settlers made their shelters out of whatever they could — including discarded bottles from the town’s saloon. 

Although I would argue that the ingenuity of the past was often more of an exercise in survival rather than sustainability, I still appreciated the speaker’s illustration and would make the case that we are already replicating those triumphs. Whether it is transforming a plastic bag into low-maintenance fencing, a plastic soda bottle into the 111 Navy Chair, or any of the recycled plastic products we’ve spotlighted on this blog, our society continues to recycle and re-purpose items that would otherwise end up in the landfill.

In fact, a recent article describes what I consider the next generation of the glass bottle house, the EcoArk. Commissioned by the Far Eastern Group for the 2010 Taipei International Expo, this 278’ X 131’ X 85’ structure is constructed of roughly 1.8 million recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles. Using the Polli-Brick, a recycled polymer architecture brick developed by Hymini, these interlocking bricks are supposedly strong enough to withstand storms or earthquakes and yet so easy to disassemble, that the EcoArk is expected to be reassembled elsewhere after the Expo.  Can you see it at NPE2012?

Yet beyond its strength and interesting honeycomb look, the Polli-Brick is  designed to offer exquisite thermal and sound insulation, and its translucent design will not only allow natural light to filter through the material, but also offer the consumer the ability to use the brick for creative lighting. Oh, and did I mention the cost? Arthur Huang, the engineer behind the EcoArk, estimated that his building  is one-third less expensive than if it had been constructed using conventional methods.

While I highly doubt that architects will embrace the Polli-Brick, at least in the near term, I do believe that it is one impressive step towards developing a more sustainable nation.

The National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) is the program established in fiscal year 2001 to coordinate Federal nanotechnology research and development here in the U.S.  Today the NNI consists of the individual and cooperative nanotechnology-related activities of 25 federal agencies with a range of research and regulatory roles and responsibilities. The NNI as a program does not fund research; however, it informs and influences the Federal budget and planning processes through its member agencies.

In terms of nanotechnology funding, the total investment by NNI member agencies for 2011 is nearly $1.8 billion for nanotechnology R&D. According to the recently issued report entitled NNI Supplement to the President’s 2011 Budget, the document highlights Nanotechnology Signature Initiatives to accelerate nanotechnology development in support of the President’s priorities and innovation strategy. NNI member agencies identified areas for these initiatives ripe for significant advances through close and targeted program-level interagency collaboration.

You may be wondering “how I can provide my input as to what the NNI and the related agencies plan next in regards to nanotechnology?” I highly encourage you to attend the NNI’s Strategic Planning Stakeholder Workshop which will be held July 13-14 in Arlington, Va.  The goals of this event are to:

1. Bring together those who are new to nanoscale science, engineering and technology as well as those familiar with the NNI; 
2. Obtain stakeholder input regarding the goals and objectives of an updated NNI Strategic Plan; and 
3. Gather suggestions to the U.S. Government interagency task force that is drafting the new plan. Let your voice be heard!

In addition, in order to help members keep up-to-date on the various activities of the NNI and other nanotechnology organizations around the globe, I recommend that they become part of SPI’s Nanotechnology Group. The group’s mission is to provide a forum for nanotechnology resin and additive suppliers, processors and equipment suppliers within SPI to address nanotechnology issues, activities and opportunities related to the plastics industry. Also to learn more about nanotechnology and the plastics industry you can listen to SPI’s recent “Business of Nanotechnology: Nanotechnology 101” webinar. 

Nanotechnology is an exciting and evolutionary area. In my opinion, big changes continue to occur in the small world of nanotechnology.

Among the many problems faced by today’s pilots, Bird Aircraft Strike Hazard (known among aviation professionals as BASH) ranks high on the list. The issue received a heavy dose of attention after the “Miracle on the Hudson” emergency jetliner landing in January 2009.  

The Federal Aviation Administration estimates the problem costs U.S. aviation 600 million dollars annually and has resulted in more than 200 worldwide deaths since 1988. In the United Kingdom, the Central Science Laboratory estimates that, worldwide, the cost of birdstrikes to airlines is around US $1.2 billion annually. Reported cases of bird-strike quadrupled in the U.S. between 1990 and 2008, according to the FAA.

A June 16th Wall Street Journal article covered the bird strike problem, and the continued challenges – well, actually failures - of control methods ranging from scarecrows and air horns to loud digital recordings of  birds’ danger calls played over speakers. 

Centering on newer, more advanced solutions, the article profiles robotic birds of prey that are dispatched by radio control to keep real flocks of  birds clear of airport runways. Like so many model aircraft enjoyed by hobbyists, plastics-intensive construction (usually nylon, fiberglass, polystyrene or PVC) factors heavily given that plastics’ lightweight characteristics and strength make an ideal fit for these applications. 

Bird Raptor Internacional SL, a company based in Spain,  is currently contracted to protect several South American airports with its Kevlar (a polymer five times stronger than steel) and foam robot. The remotely piloted Falco flies thanks to a retractable propeller in its nose and soars menacingly to scare off feathered pests. GreenX, a newer company based in the Netherlands, currently offers robotic bald eagles, falcons and hawks with flapping wings — an advantage, the company claims, because flapping wings inspire more terror in potential prey.  

There’s fantastic innovation taking place in addressing society’s problems –  and once again, plastics provide a crucial element of making the product a reality. That’s good news, since not every flier can count on a Chesley Sullenberger at the helm.

The human imagination is always dreaming up new ways of improving society.  Often, the most popular methods of improvement are the ones that can be applied directly to the individual himself. Take the 1970s television series, “The Six Million Dollar Man” (1974), for example, where an ordinary person is genetically repaired and engineered to be superhuman.  The well-known phrase remembered by the show’s fans is, “We can rebuild him; we have the technology.” More recently, the two popular Iron Man movies feature the rich, self-centered Tony Stark, who uses his techy body suit to fight the forces of evil. 

We may not have any true “Robocops” or “Iron Men” in society today, but we do have technology that helps people survive and thrive beyond their own bodies’ limitations. And this is where plastics come in.
 
Plastics have contributed to health benefits for more than 40 years. From life-giving blood bags and the plastic tubing and valves that support them to intravenous containers, dialysis equipment, blood glucose monitors, syringes, examination gloves, inhalation masks, artificial limbs and implants – plastics such as vinyl or polyurethane give or extend life!

Medical instruments such as the catheter can be used to free up blockage in an artery or blood vessel.  With heart disease as the leading cause of death in America, as reported by the CDC, catheters remain an important hospital tool and life-saver for many. 
 
CNET news recently reported on the “total artificial heart” that 43-year old Charles Okeke is fortunate to have after his body rejected a heart transplant. The Food and Drug Administration has approved the SynCardia backpack device that Okeke wears (weighing only 13 pounds) as the first portable technology to support the entire artificial heart.  Plastics’ anti-corrosive properties make this technology possible. According to the manufacturer’s directions for use, the artificial heart  “consists [of] two artificial ventricles, each made of a semi-rigid polyurethane housing with four flexible polyurethane diaphragms separating the blood chamber from the air chamber.”  Other plastics used in the heart’s manufacture are nylon, polyester, polyethylene and polyvinyl chloride (PVC).

Another groundbreaking development in medicine: The Journal of the American Chemical Society reports that  plastic particles have been custom made to fight troublesome antigens.  As reported, these particles fight antigens, including “everything from disease-causing viruses and bacteria to the troublesome proteins that cause allergic reactions to plant pollen, house dust, certain foods, poison ivy, bee stings and other substances.”  These tiny pieces of plastic are 1/50,000th the width of a human hair, and mimic the function of antibodies in latching onto antigens.  Thus far, the test has only been successful in animals.  Infected animals injected with the plastic particles survived at a much higher rate than animals not injected. 
 
So while plastics may not be currently used to make super humans, plastics are being put to use to fight the super villains of society we cannot see, viruses and bacteria.

By all accounts, 2009 was an abysmal year for our national economy – and the plastics industry followed suit.  According to data collected by the SPI Committee on Equipment Statistics (CES), sales of primary plastics machinery, auxiliary equipment, and components suffered tremendously – though NPE2009 provided a welcome boost in the third quarter.  Overall new orders decreased by over a third of what they were in 2008 and were less than half of the total numbers in 2007!  Plastics parts production also hit a wall, and capacity utilization dropped to its lowest levels in years.  As with the rest of the economy, things were grim but started to improve late in the year as the fourth quarter showed signs of improvement.

As alarming as these numbers are, it appears that the worst is passed us according to Bill Wood of Mountaintop Economics & Research, who provided analysis for the CES program.  As part of the continuing SPI Business of Plastics webinar series, Mr. Wood will give a one-hour presentation on Tuesday, June 22 at 11:00 am EST exclusively for SPI members to discuss his 2010 forecast and let you know what signs your business should be looking for as proof of the turnaround.

By attending the webinar, you will find that through the first four months of 2010 the data is encouraging.   All industry segments can expect to grow 15-30% this year when compared with 2009.  Capacity utilization has leapt to 76% and total plastics parts production is also on the rise.  Major end-markets – including both residential and commercial construction – are also gaining momentum.  Though 2010 is certain to look lean compared to just a few years ago, the market has reached the bottom and on its way to recovery.

Don’t miss this opportunity to gain insight and take the first steps towards a profitable 2010! Register today!

SPI offers the following post by a member of our staff in observance of Memorial Day — a day set aside to honor those men and women who died in the service of their country, protecting and preserving the freedoms we enjoy.

In 1973 I was a junior at Juniata College in Pennsylvania. The Vietnam draft lottery rolled up and, like all my friends, I went to the local radio station – WHUN – to read the telex, carefully watching the scrolling birthday assignments. I did not win.  My number was pretty low. This meant that in a year or so,  I could be “in country”  — and that did not mean in the United States. 

I waited for the letter that would let me know where I should report for my preliminary physical. Some older acquaintances had gone to war and died, some were back in pieces, or perhaps worse, with post shock — what we now call post-traumatic stress disorder.  Emotionally it was a time of high anxiety — something like waiting and hoping to hear that your high school girlfriend was just late and not pregnant. But worse.

And then, suddenly, it was over.  The draft was gone. Poof.  I was released.

As I finished college, (mostly) finished graduate school, found a career and a life, I put all of this behind me.  Well, not so much.

Today I work with these men who are just a little older than me.  I’ve met dozens who served “in country”  and did extraordinary and horrifying things. Despite the shattering experiences, many still walk among us. Guys named Frank, Mike, Joe and Tom — they are a bit worse for wear, but wry and real. 

They did things we cannot comprehend. War is different now: satellites, unmanned drones, robots and distance weapons quite often take the harsh immediacy provided by our eyeballs out of the equation. Not for them.  They were up close and personal. You don’t want to know.

I have tried to say this to each one of them: I am grateful. I am honored to know you and deeply thank you for your service for us all. Sometimes I tell them that I feel guilty.

In today’s current economic climate, companies are looking for ways to save money. But I bet not everyone has heard about the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Save Energy Now program. The goal of DOE’s program is to help American businesses, factories and manufacturing facilities save energy. A key part of the program is that DOE conducts an energy assessment to help manufacturing facilities identify immediate ways to save energy and money. Oh, and did I mention that DOE does this at no cost to the company?

The assessments focus primarily on energy-intensive systems such as pumps, fans, processing heating, steam and compressed air. The program offers several energy assessment options:

• For large plants: The nation’s largest, most energy-intensive plants can apply to receive a three-day system assessment. These on-site assessments are led by DOE’s Energy Experts who use DOE’s software tools and technical information to target a specific system area. Assessments also provide hands-on learning that can help a company’s staff gain knowledge to multiply the benefits of the assessment.
• For small and medium-sized plants: DOE’s university-based Industrial Assessment Centers (IAC) conduct one-day assessments at smaller plants. Teams of highly trained IAC faculty and engineering students apply the same DOE software tools and technical resources to identify key savings opportunities throughout your plant.
• For all plants: Contacting the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Information Center is the a great option for any plant, large or small, if you are ready to boost energy savings and improve productivity. Whether or not you receive an assessment, here you will find expert technical assistance and guidance on how to make the most of the Save Energy Now portfolio of resources.

The Save Energy Now energy assessments have helped U.S. manufacturing facilities save an average of $2 million, or 8% of their total energy costs which is pretty impressive. Companies have saved real money with this program, and you can too!  I encourage companies to look into this opportunity by registering  for our upcoming webinar!