s IAPD celebrates its 70th anniversary, I want to extend my appreciation to every member company, to Susan and the entire IAPD staff for the continued support that makes this association what it is. At our annual convention in Atlanta, I shared an important message about where IAPD is headed. For those who could not join us, I want to share that message here as well.

For 70 years, this Association has evolved alongside the performance plastics industry. Our companies have changed. Our markets have changed. Technology has changed. And the way we work, learn, communicate and build business relationships has changed.

That evolution is continuing.

Consolidation is reshaping the distribution channel. Organizations are leaner. Workforce challenges continue. Technology and artificial intelligence are changing our businesses. And companies increasingly expect measurable value from the organizations in which they invest. So, as we celebrate 70 years of IAPD, we’ve also been asking an important question:

What does IAPD need to become for the next generation of the performance plastics industry?

s I begin my term as IAPD President, I want to share with all our member companies, whether you joined us in Atlanta for the 2026 IAPD Annual Convention or followed from afar, what comes next for our Association.

At our annual convention, outgoing President Jim Richards outlined IAPD’s Strategic Transformation Roadmap and where we are going.

I want to highlight three pieces of that transformation becoming real: PerformancePlastics.org, our new IAPD University microlearning curriculum and the 2027 IAPD Performance Plastics Conference.

PerformancePlastics.org

Let’s start with PerformancePlastics.org.

I want to again remind you of the important distinction between the two websites:

IAPD.org serves the Association.

PerformancePlastics.org serves and positions the industry.

he U.S. economy is expected to continue expanding in 2027, but businesses should prepare for slower growth, persistent cost pressures and increasingly divergent conditions across industrial markets.

That was the central message delivered by senior forecaster, Connor Lokar, at ITR Economics, during the featured economic keynote at the 2026 IAPD Annual Convention in Atlanta.

Drawing on economic forecasts, leading indicators and industry-specific data, Lokar outlined the opportunities, challenges and business strategies shaping 2027 and beyond.

echnology is changing how businesses operate, how employees work and how organizations prepare for the future. But successfully navigating those changes requires more than new systems, processes and tools. It requires leaders who understand how to bring people along.

That was the central message from Lisa Fey during her keynote presentation, “The Human Compass: Connection Guides What Technology Can’t,” at the 2026 IAPD Annual Convention in Atlanta.

Fey emphasized a fundamental distinction: Leaders don’t simply manage change. They lead people through it. And as the pace of technological change accelerates, the human side of leadership becomes increasingly important.

While organizations often concentrate on products, technology and operational processes, Fey emphasized that the third dimension, communication, trust, collaboration and alignment, ultimately determines how successfully the others function.

s artificial intelligence and emerging technologies reshape the workplace, business leaders face a challenge that extends well beyond adopting new tools: How do they lead their people through change while positioning their organizations for the future?

That question anchored a leadership panel at the 2026 IAPD Annual Convention in Atlanta, facilitated by Lisa Fey following her keynote, “The Human Compass: Connection Guides What Technology Can’t.”

The discussion brought together industry executives Mark Casey, Professional Plastics, Inc.; Michael Gilbert, PLASKOLITE; Rick Gough, Polymershapes; Gerry Helbig, Curbell Plastics, Inc.; Adam Mellen, SIMONA AMERICA Group; and Dino Sciullo, Ensinger, along with AI expert Sam Richter.

ith the 2026 midterm elections approaching and control of Congress at stake, the performance plastics industry faces a potentially significant shift in the federal legislative and regulatory environment.

During the 2026 IAPD Annual Convention in Atlanta, Con Lass and Gordon Taylor of OGR, IAPD’s government relations firm, provided an in-depth Washington update, examining congressional activity, IAPD’s legislative priorities and how the November elections could influence plastics policy in 2027 and beyond.

While the Trump administration has moved quickly through executive orders and regulatory actions, Congress has struggled to advance much of its legislative agenda.

rtificial intelligence is rapidly evolving beyond writing emails, summarizing documents and answering questions. New capabilities are allowing businesses to connect AI with existing systems, automate complex workflows, analyze information and develop customized tools without extensive technical expertise.

During his interactive session at the 2026 IAPD Annual Convention in Atlanta, internationally recognized AI expert Sam Richter demonstrated how performance plastics distributors, fabricators and manufacturers can put these emerging capabilities to work.

Rather than repeatedly entering detailed instructions, businesses can create specialized AI assistants trained to perform specific tasks, such as researching markets, analyzing financial information, preparing proposals or developing customer communications.

hen companies look for opportunities to improve profitability, they typically focus on purchasing, labor, pricing and manufacturing efficiencies. Yet one of the largest expenses on many distributors’ and manufacturers’ financial statements often receives far less attention: freight.

During his presentation, “The Hidden Costs in Your Supply Chain,” at the 2026 IAPD Annual Convention in Atlanta, Brad Caplan of WerkAtlas, LLC challenged attendees to examine their freight and logistics operations, where overlooked costs can significantly affect profitability.

Drawing on his experience in supply chain management and the performance plastics industry, Caplan emphasized that freight may be functioning adequately while still costing companies considerably more than necessary.

Part of the City of Dallas public art collection, HexaLumina was inspired by the form of a tree canopy. The structure rises on branching columns and features hexagonal stainless steel elements incorporating organic solar cells and specially colored, 6-millimeter Exolon UV solid polycarbonate sheets.

The transparency and color of the polycarbonate contribute to the installation’s changing patterns of light and shadow. UV protection on both sides of the sheets provides resistance to long-term environmental exposure and helps maintain color and gloss, an important consideration for a permanent outdoor installation.

The company expects to begin producing sheets on the new line in the coming weeks, with full production anticipated by the end of August. The additional capacity is part of a 155,000-square-foot facility expansion designed to increase production capabilities, reduce backlog and improve product availability for customers across North America.

The new line expands SIMONA AMERICA Industries’ polyolefin extrusion capabilities and is expected to provide greater production capacity and improved responsiveness for its sheet products.

For more information visit, www.simona-america.com

longtime supplier emails your accounts payable desk. The message is routine: updated remittance information and a new bank account. Please apply it to the next payment. The letterhead is right. The signature block matches. The email address is the one your team has used for years. So, your team updates the vendor file and pays the next invoice. A few weeks later, the real supplier calls to ask where its money is.

That money is almost certainly gone, and the scenario above illustrates one of the most common and expensive crimes affecting business-to-business companies today. It doesn’t require a hacker breaking through a firewall. It requires nothing more than a convincing email and a payment process with a weak spot. Distributors and fabricators in the performance plastics industry are particularly vulnerable, and many don’t realize how exposed a single routine payment can leave them.