People & Places

People &

Places

Marco
DeAngelo

Marco DeAngelo has been promoted to the position of field sales engineer – Great Lakes and Western Region for the Arkema High Performance Polymers Group. DeAngelo will focus mainly on Kynar^® PVDF and Kynar Flex^® PVDF, but will also assist and support sales development in Arkema’s Rilsan^® polyamides, Pebax^® elastomers and Kepstan^® PEKK business.

DeAngelo will be based near Chicago, IL, USA and will cover a region spanning 16 states including Alaska, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Nebraska, Oregon, South Dakota, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming. He will report to Gary Dennis, North American sales manager – Fluoropolymers.

DeAngelo received his degree in chemical engineering from Pennsylvania State University in 2020 and has previously worked as a sales and marketing engineer while also working on technical studies in Arkema’s King of Prussia, PA, USA laboratories.

Ken
Porz

Cast Nylons announced that Ken Porz is now manager of the inside sales and sales operations teams. Porz has spent 11 years as an inside sales territory manager at Cast Nylons and has a deep knowledge of the company’s customers, products and processes. He will be responsible for driving day-to-day sales, hiring and training new inside sales territory managers and sales operations team members.

Benjie
Massara

AAG announced the promotion of Benjie Massara to North American WARDJet sales manager. Massara has held numerous positions in his 10 years with WARDJet, the most recent of which was product manager for WARDJet products. Before that, he was the business development manager and has held several other marketing and sales roles. Massara assumed his new role on October 1, 2021. With his knowledge of WARDJet products and his previous experience, he is expected to be an asset to the sales team and customers as well.

Michael Cruz Colleen Dispenza
Adam Lindquist Brandon Simon

Professional Plastics recently announced several new members of their team.

As an inside sales representative at Professional Plastics, Michael Cruz will provide service, product information and pricing support to customers in the Buffalo, NY, USA market. His main objective is maintaining, growing and establishing new leads to maximize company revenue. He will also deliver terms of sale while documenting each customer interaction to maximize productivity. Cruz joins the sales team motivated to do his best and strive for excellence. His experience in law enforcement instilled strong core values that will serve him well in his new role.

Colleen Dispenza joined Professional Plastics as a purchasing administrator to help optimize the company’s purchasing operations. She is responsible for reviewing, researching and taking actions to resolve open purchase orders. Dispenza has extensive purchasing experience, including 15 years as an associate buyer specializing in global procurement and materials management at a leading industrial gases and engineering company. Her knowledge of purchase order requirements and processes are an ideal fit for her position.

The Professional Plastics branch in Rockford, IL, USA welcomed Adam Lindquist as an inside sales representative. His efforts will focus on selling raw materials and fabricated parts to manufacturers, as well as providing outstanding service to increase revenue and gross profit. Prior to joining the Professional Plastics sales team, Lindquist developed his customer-facing skillset in the retail banking field for nearly seven years. His experience provided him with strong customer service and people skills he can apply to his new role.

Brandon Simon joined the Professional Plastics sales team in San Jose, CA, USA as an inside sales representative. He will work with customers to maintain relationships and grow business opportunities, while also providing support by calculating quotes, maintaining orders and sourcing materials. Simon has built an impressive background in customer service, sales and management in a variety of industries including fitness, technology and automotive sales. He’s excited to join the Professional Plastics family and be a great representative for the company’s San Jose branch.

Arkema unveiled a new positioning and visual identity with the ambition of leveraging its innovation and expertise in materials science to help build a sustainable world. The challenges of sustainable development have become inevitable, leading to an accelerated demand for new innovative, high-performance materials. Thanks to its technological expertise in materials science, the quality and commitment of its employees and the strength of its culture and values, Arkema intends to play a central role in the development of solutions that address the planet’s key challenges. To achieve this ambition, Arkema aims to become a 100 percent specialty materials player by 2024. The Group’s strategy and positioning is based on three complementary segments with high growth potential: Adhesive Solutions, Advanced Materials and Coating Solutions.

In 2021, the Group accelerated its transformation, leading to some key achievements. Major milestones were reached in development projects for batteries and electric mobility, in bio-based and recyclable materials and through targeted acquisitions in adhesives, such as the recent planned acquisition of Ashland’s performance adhesives.

“Our expertise in materials science is based on a vision of progress that we want to share and promote extensively. Thanks to our committed and passionate teams, rich in diversity and united around an ambitious, value-creative project, we are confident in our ability to develop promising technical solutions to support this wave of change in favor of a more sustainable planet, and thus contribute at our level to shape a better world,” stated Thierry Le Hénaff, President and CEO of Arkema.

This transformation from a chemical player to a champion of Specialty Materials means a change of identity and a new communication strategy. The company’s new logo, with its modernized, curved letters, expresses a dual transition. The color gradient, from blue to green, and the evolution of the “K” to the “MA” of “materials” highlight the Group’s new core business of innovative, high-performance materials for a sustainable world. To support the new logo, a new visual territory was developed, featuring “the actual materials” and displaying positive real-life applications of these specialty materials — in industry, in competitive sports and in the daily lives of people everywhere. This identity and territory will in engaging and disruptive print and digital campaigns.

Braskem is celebrating the 60th anniversary of its Neal production facility in Kenova, WV, USA. With the Neal plant founded in 1961, the facility operates across 100 acres and makes 70 different grades of polypropylene (PP) that go into products supporting critical industries such as healthcare, automotive, food packaging and more.

“We are excited to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Neal. This is a significant milestone, and it wouldn’t be possible without the commitment and resilience of our entire Neal team. This extraordinary team has always put safety first while ensuring we can continue to supply our clients even in the most challenging times. During the initial days of COVID-19 and in the height of the pandemic’s uncertainty, the Neal production team lived at the production site for 28 days during March and April 2020 to ensure we could continue to supply the raw material needed to make critical personal protective equipment (PPE) to keep people safe during COVID. Congratulations to all our Neal team members, I couldn’t be prouder of our team,” stated Mark Nikolich, CEO, Braskem America.

Braskem acquired the site through its acquisition of Sunoco Chemicals in 2010. Since that time, Braskem has continually reinvested in the site, helping extend its successful track record for plant safety, reliability, efficiency and environmental protection. Neal is the first polymer plant in the United States to use Spheripol PP production technology, a technology that is now one of the most widely used PP production processes worldwide. In 1988, this was a US$40 million-dollar investment in the site. In 2020, Braskem invested more than US$50 million dollars for a new electrical infrastructure project and turnaround to improve and maintain the plant.

Laurence Kerrigan, plant manager at Braskem’s Neal facility, commented, “I am humbled to be part of such a great team here at Neal. Successfully reaching 60 years of production is no small feat, and I am truly proud to lead this team into the future. We are also grateful to our local community for allowing us to be part of the Kenova community for the last 60 years. We look forward to many more years here.”

Braskem has also been a strategic partner for the local community. The company has invested more than US$150,000 in the local community. Most recently, Braskem donated US$30,000 to help Ceredo-Kenova War Memorial Community Center enable facility modernization and infrastructure improvements and donated US$25,000 to the newest fleet addition for the Kenova Volunteer Fire Department. The company’s support of the Project Lead the Way (PLTW) program at Spring Valley High School helps the next generation of student leaders explore future careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM). Additional community support from the Neal Plant includes participation in the Eric Sparks Memorial Golf Tournament and support of the American Red Cross by hosting 16 blood drives since January 30, 2014, collecting 519 total units of blood.

four men posing for a picture together while holding golf clubs

Pictured from left to right: Tanner Larson, Polymershapes; Craig Miller, Plastic Solutions, Inc.; Robert Cunningham, Plastic Solutions, Inc.; and Adam Mellen, SIMONA AMERICA Group.

After more than a year since the previous gathering, the charity was honored to have hosted the 31st annual Greg Berry Atlanta Plastics Charity Golf Tournament (APCGT). Nearly 100 golfers were thrilled to be with industry peers once again and experience a great turnout for the charity that, through donations, continues to give back to the community.

To kick-off the event, a welcome reception was held at the Château Inn the evening prior to the tournament at the Château Élan Woodlands course. The reception was a valuable opportunity for friendly networking. As every year, a competitive putting contest was held, and the proceeds were donated to the charity fund. A special thank you to the SIMONA AMERICA Group for sponsoring the welcome reception.

The tournament was arranged as a scramble, with the opportunity to participate in special contests at several holes, including closest to the pin and various longest drives. A special thank you to SEKISUI – SPI, for sponsoring the Hole-in-One contest.

A warm thank you to Piedmont Plastics Inc., for sponsoring breakfast and to Plaskolite Inc., for sponsoring lunch.

Great appreciation is given to the following 2021 sponsors: 3A Composites USA, Inc.; ASTARI AMERICAS, Inc.; Calsak Plastics; CartierWilson LLC; Cast Nylons Ltd.; Ensinger Inc.; Inteplast Group; KBA Inc.; Laird Plastics; Mitsubishi Chemical Advanced Materials; Palram Americas, Inc.; Piedmont Plastics; Polymer Industries; Primex Plastics Corporation; Roechling Industrial North America; ROEHM America LLC; SIMONA AMERICA Group; Trinseo; and Vycom.

As this tournament is the charity’s largest fundraiser, the proceeds are going to help fulfill the mission and purpose of the APCGT, which is to support individuals in need, within the plastics community, as well as local charities and the Greg Berry scholarship fund offered by the International Association of Plastics Distribution. Over the past 31 years, the Atlanta Plastics Charity has helped numerous individuals of the plastics community throughout North America. If you know of anyone in need of assistance, please contact a committee member who can assist you with the application process.

Next year’s tournament will be held on Monday, May 23, 2022. More information is available at www.atlantaplasticscharity.org.

A&C Plastics, Inc. was named one of the 100 fastest-growing companies in the Houston, TX, USA area as well as one of the top 25 Houston area women-owned businesses over the last year by the Houston Business Journal. A&C Plastics thanks their wonderful customers and employees for helping to make this happen.

Plaskolite LLC has signed an agreement to acquire the assets of Plazit-Polygal. Plaskolite will acquire Plazit-Polygal’s operations and assets in North America, South America and Europe, with the exception of Plazit-Polygal’s Russian operations. Upon close of the transaction, Plazit-Polygal’s Israel headquarters will serve as Plaskolite’s EMEA headquarters. With this acquisition, Plaskolite will expand its geographic footprint and broaden its offering with new multi-wall sheet production capabilities. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and customary closing conditions and is expected to close in December 2021.

“This transformative acquisition will significantly expand Plaskolite’s global reach and strengthen the high-quality offering we provide our customers,” said Plaskolite President and CEO Ryan Schroeder. “For more than 70 years, Plaskolite has led our industry focused on customer service, product quality and innovation. The addition of Plazit-Polygal’s talented team and dynamic production capabilities will help us extend our leadership position as we serve a growing base of customers. I am delighted to welcome Amir and everyone at Plazit-Polygal to the Plaskolite family.”

“Plaskolite is the ideal long-term partner to support our business through its next phase of growth and expansion,” said Amir Abramovich, Group CEO of Plazit-Polygal. “Our companies share a strong commitment to product excellence, customer satisfaction and a culture built on collaboration. I am confident that together we will be even better able to serve our customers with the highest quality plastic sheet products and innovations.”

“We are thrilled to welcome Plazit-Polygal as a partner to Plaskolite as we expand our business-building efforts to Israel and the other geographies served by the combined company,” said Tony Pritzker, chairman and chief executive officer of Pritzker Private Capital. “When my father, Donald Pritzker, founded Hyatt Hotels, he grew a chain of six hotels into one of the world’s largest hotel operators. All of us at Pritzker Private Capital continue to honor the Pritzker legacy by partnering with growth-focused companies to build strong businesses for the long term.”

Thomas Chadwick, principal at Pritzker Private Capital, added, “This strategic acquisition represents a compelling opportunity for Plaskolite to accelerate its long-term growth, expand into new markets and further enhance its innovation. We are pleased to continue our partnership with Plaskolite as the company strengthens its position as a global leader in the manufacturing of engineering thermoplastic products.”

Alro Plastics has moved into a new 70,000 square-foot facility located at 4670 60th SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49512 USA. This larger location has expanded inventory and processing services. Grand Rapids can cut plastic sheet up to 6 inches thick x 14 feet wide x 14 feet long and rod up to 14 inches in diameter. Other plastics processing services include extrusion welding, flame polishing, heat bending, gluing and bonding. The facility includes two new additional Onsrud CNC Routers to meet customers per print machining needs. Cut-to-size plastics and next-day delivery is available to customers in Grand Rapids.

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