President’sMessage

he textbook definition of a convention is: A gathering of individuals to discuss a certain topic or participate in activities related to a shared interest or field. Conventions are often held to bring business or industry professionals together to discuss important issues or topics in their fields. That might be accurate, but it sounds pretty boring to me! The IAPD convention is so much more. It’s an exciting time where industry professionals meet with their peers who have also become their friends and discuss all that is going on in the plastics industry. Let me try to tell you what the convention means to me.

I can still remember the first IAPD convention I had the pleasure of attending. It was in Toronto, ON, Canada and to a southern girl who had never left Alabama, much less the United States, just the idea of going to Toronto was exciting. We arrived in Canada and were swept away to the car to take us to the hotel and convention center. Upon arriving at the hotel, we noticed a group of picketers. What were they doing? They were picketing against the Americans who were coming to Canada! Beyond that, I had no idea. The only thing that stuck with me that day was that I was an American, and I was in Canada. They were picketing against me! We went upstairs to our rooms and quickly unpacked and left for the opening party. Imagine my surprise to find it was located in a castle!

he 66th Annual IAPD Convention and connecX is right around the corner. We can’t wait to see you at the JW Marriott in Tampa, FL, USA on September 12-15. If you haven’t been to the convention in the past few years, we hope that you take advantage of all the ways that you can connect with current and potential business partners. This is the one time of year that the leaders throughout the performance plastics industry will be in one place, and they are there to meet and connect. IAPD is pleased to offer some new and different ways to connect this year.

If you arrive on Monday, September 12, head to the lobby bar for a no-host happy hour. It’s the unofficial meeting spot for IAPD members looking for other IAPD members. Say hello to people you might not have seen for a few years, enjoy the surroundings and make plans for dinner at one of the many restaurants within walking distance.

Articles reporting on plastic products are prepared from information furnished by members of the IAPD and non-member magazine advertisers. The information provided is deemed reliable but is not verified. It should not be assumed that the publisher has reviewed or tested any of the products. For more information, contact companies by visiting their websites.

Air-Pro^® compressed air piping system warranty

Since 1992, the piping system has been made from specially formulated polyethylene (PE) resin, which has antioxidant properties that can withstand the demanding application of compressed air. Air-Pro’s thermoplastic material is also resistant to compressor lubricants and atmospheric corrosion from chemicals or marine environments. Full warranty details are available at www.asahi-america.com.

Dempsey oversaw the project to its completion in early 2021. The greenhouse, measuring 36′ wide by 42′ long, was last remodeled in 1987. It sits in Berkeley’s Botanical Garden, a 34-acre space filled with more than 12,000 different plant species and serves as a museum for visitors to enjoy the numerous plants growing inside.

EnvironmentalCorner

f you are like me, the days can be long, but the years are REALLY short. I have a reminder each year to let me know when we purchased our building; the anniversary has just passed and I was surprised to realize that it’s been 11 years! When we purchased it, the building had been vacant for many years and required us to replace just about everything but the structure. We worked hard with our project manager to install energy efficient materials and equipment…but that was 11 years ago. It hit me hard that we need to reassess the plant and its energy consumption, especially in an environment where energy costs continue to rise.

Technology has changed leaps and bounds since then and the equipment we have is no longer as efficient as we think. For example, in the last 10 years, LED lighting went from producing 50 lumens per watt to 100 lumens per watt and in the next few years, it is projected that they will produce 200 lumens per watt! All IAPD members, distributors, manufacturers, recyclers and sales representatives use lighting to some extent. Just think of the energy savings that we as an organization could save if we were all on the most efficient lighting schemes for our spaces.

SpecialFocus

n November 15, 2021, President Biden signed into law the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) — a once-in-a-generation investment in our nation’s infrastructure, competitiveness and communities. This bill is a historic opportunity to rebuild America’s roads, bridges and rails; expand access to clean drinking water; ensure that every American has access to high-speed internet; to tackle the climate crisis and advance environmental justice, while investing in communities — urban and rural — that have too often been left behind.

Key to the IIJA is the inclusion of provisions to expand domestic preference procurement policies. The IIJA directs the application of “Buy America” domestic preference policies to federal financial assistance programs for infrastructure. This provision is designed to provide financial assistance programs for infrastructure not currently subject to these laws, as well as to those that are currently subject to Buy America laws that may be limited in scope to specific materials or products. The new statutory direction is not limited to the funds appropriated or authorized in the IIJA; rather, it directs the application of Buy America requirements to federally funded infrastructure programs and ensures that federal financial assistance programs for infrastructure require the use of materials produced in the United States, increase the requirement for American-made content and strengthen the waiver process associated with Buy American provisions.

he international shipping trade is under intense pressure to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). With current levels of CO2 production at about 1 billion metric tons per year, the maritime industry has a larger carbon footprint than the entire Federal Republic of Germany. In response, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has set an ambitious goal: a 50 percent reduction in total marine industry GHG contributions by the year 2050.

Within that overall framework, shipbuilders and their suppliers are free to experiment with a wide variety of strategies for reducing fossil fuel consumption. Energy efficiency is the order of the day, as engineers and technicians strive to lower costs and meet industry targets. In this light, the HVAC systems of passenger vessels have come under increased scrutiny.

SpecialFocus

ince 2009, towns around Lake Geneva, Switzerland have used the lake to create thermal networks to supply heating and cooling for local buildings. The technology works by exploiting the static temperatures at the lower depths of the lake with a heat pump on land to supply heating more efficiently during winters and cooling during summers. The technology can reduce energy usage for heating and cooling by up to 50 percent, providing an environmentally friendly alternative to traditional techniques.

Project GeniLac was one of the first projects to use the lake’s unique properties, connecting the United Nations district buildings to the system. In 2016, a nearby municipality took a similar approach in La-Tour-de-Peilz to heat more than 400 homes. By 2018, leaders expanded the GeniLac system to support the Geneva city center and seven other municipalities, serving approximately 50 buildings.

In 2021, Centre Patronal sought to build a new employer center in Lausanne to cool and heat the building with the same hydrothermal technology.

“We are excited to welcome the Plastics Plus team to the Piedmont family,” said Tyler Booth, president of Piedmont Plastics. “Expanding our presence in Western Canada will allow us to strategically grow our footprint in the region, while strengthening our relationships with our valued customers.”

PATRONS — $5,000-$5,999

PlasticsWatch

Receivables over 30 days were 1.6 percent, down from 2.1 percent the previous month and down from 1.9 percent in the same period in 2021. Charge-offs were 0.12 percent, up from 0.05 percent the previous month and down from 0.30 percent in the year-earlier period. Credit approvals totaled 76.8 percent, down from 77.4 percent in April. Total headcount for equipment finance companies was down 3.0 percent year-over-year. Separately, the Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation’s Monthly Confidence Index (MCI-EFI) in June is 50.9, an increase from 49.6 in May.