Extrusion International 2-2022

25 Extrusion International 2/2022 First-Ever Female Duo Leads PLASTICS Marketing Efforts for NPE2024 „ The year was 2015, and the Plastics Industry Association was coming off one of the most successful trade shows in its history – the 2015 edition of its triennial NPE: The Plastics Show. NPE2015, held in Orlando, Florida in May, drew over 65,000 visitors, an almost 20% increase over its 2012 atten- dance. In December of that year, when the association met to begin discussions and planning for NPE2018, two women were added to the Sales & Marketing Committee. While that fact did not get much attention at the time, it is making news today. That’s because those two women, An- nina Donaldson and Tammy Straw, are now not only the Chair and Vice Chair of the NPE2024 Sales &Marketing Com- mittee – they are also the fi rst-ever female duo to lead any NPE committee in the show’s 75-year history. In a recent interview, Donaldson, of Maxi-Blast Inc. of South Bend, Indiana, and Straw, the Marketing & Business Devel- opment Manager for ENTEK Manufacturing of Lebanon, Oregon, talked about their roles and their goals; goals which include building enthusiasm and ultimately, attendance for NPE2024, which will be the fi rst NPE show in 6 years. NPE2021 was cancelled due to concerns about the spread of COVID 19. Both Donaldson and Straw have substantial plastics industry experience. Donaldson was named Vice President of Florida Operations for Maxi-Blast, Inc. in January 2006, when her father, com- pany founder Robert Donaldson, decided to pursue retire- ment. Now President of Florida Operations for Maxi-Blast, she works with her brother, other family members and em- ployees in St. Petersburg, Florida where she focuses on man- aging the company and its Engineered Thermoplastics line of blast media for plastics and rubber cleaning processes. “I grew up in the plastics industry,” Donaldson said. “After graduate school and testing out other jobs, my father asked me to interview for a full-time job working alongside him and eventually taking over. I of fi cially joined the company in 2006.” Straw started at ENTEK in 1999with no idea that shewould be beginning a long and successful career in the plastics industry. “I was looking for a short-term job at the time, which has turned into a great career of 22 years and counting in plas- tics,” she said. Straw heads up marketing and business de- velopment for ENTEK Manufacturing, a leading manufac- turer of twin-screw extruders, aftermarket spare parts and turnkey extrusion manufacturing plants. Goals for NPE2024 As Chair and Vice Chair of the NPE2024 Sales & Marketing Committee, Donaldson and Straw are charged with leading the efforts to generate excitement and ultimately, atten- dance for the event. They oversee a committee that has a to- tal of 13 members from a variety of large and small compa- nies representing processors, equipment manufacturers and materials suppliers. The committee manages a large and di- verse set of marketing projects, from advertising, public re- lations and social media campaigns to outreach campaigns designed to attract both show exhibitors and attendees. Coming off the fi rst-ever NPE show cancellation in 2021 pro- vides a unique set of challenges for the NPE2024 committees. Donaldson, who was Vice Chair of the NPE2021 Sales & Mar- ketingCommittee, is optimistic that the next showwill be abig success. “Our industry wants and needs to get back to exhib- iting and attending at NPE and other in-person shows,” she said. “NPE has always been an important event on the global plastics industry’s calendar, and we are working hard to make May 6-10, 2024 in Orlando the best NPE yet.” https://npe.org/ www.next-step.com New Line in Italy for Specialty, Technical Rubber Customers „ Orion Engineered Carbons, a specialty chemical company, began commercial sales in Italy from the fi rst new reactor for carbon black production to be commissioned in the European Union in over 40 years. Thenew25-kilotonlineatthefacilityinRavenna,inthenorthern region of Emilia-Romagna, produces both specialty and techni- cal rubber carbon blacks, primarily for the Europeanmarket. “The new line offers customers seeking long-term solutions a unique strategic opportunity to alignwith a dependable plant that has been operating for more than 60 years in Europe,” Orion CEO Corning Painter said. Additional investments at the plant include a new co-genera- tion facility to convert waste heat into electricity, generating up to 120 MWh of electricity per year. Seventy percent of the electricity is supplied to the national grid, serving about 30,000 households. Orion is a net exporter of electricity in Europe and worldwide. Orion Engineered Carbons orioncarbons.com AnninaDonaldson Tammy Straw