Extrusion International 3-2022

33 Extrusion International 3/2022  The Plastics Industry Association (PLASTICS) Board of Directors voted to appoint Matt Seaholm to the position of Chief Executive Offcer and Glenn Anderson to the position of Chief Op- erating Offcer. “We are incredibly excited to elevate both of these gentlemen to lead this organization into the future,” said Tad McGwire, Chairman of the PLAS- TICS Board of Directors. “In making Matt our next CEO, the board is indi- cating how important advocacy and communications are for the plastics industry right now and the role we ex- pect PLASTICS to play as a voice for its member companies. Matt’s extensive experience in this space and vision for where he wants to take this organiza- tion made him a great choice to be its next leader.” Matt Seaholm has served as PLASTICS’ Vice President of Government Affairs for the past two years and prior to that was the Executive Director of the American Recyclable Plastic Bag Alli- ance at PLASTICS. He has been a public voice on behalf of the plastics industry for more than fve years, testifying be - fore more than thirty legislative bod- ies and being interviewed by more than one hundred media outlets. “I am honored to be given this oppor- tunity to lead the Plastics Industry As- sociation,” Seaholm said. “While the industry has challenges before us, I frmly believe they are outnumbered by the opportunities. The innovation in materials, the investment in tech- nology, and the overall commitment to sustainability give us countless stories to tell. The plastics industry and the people who work in it are es- sential to society and it is an absolute privilege to be a voice for them.” Glenn Anderson is currently the Vice President, Member Engagement for PLASTICS and has been in that role since April of 2020. Glenn has been an industry leader for nearly 40 years. “Glenn’s promotion to COO is a reflec - tion of his managerial experience, in- stitutional knowledge, and the broad set of responsibilities he has at PLAS- TICS,” McGwire said. “In his new role, Glenn is going to be integral to the growth of the association, the success of NPE, and a member engagement strategy that gets PLASTICS where it needs to be.” “I am humbled to be given the op- portunity to take on this exciting new role,” Anderson said. “PLASTICS is now very well positioned to both le- verage new and exciting opportuni- ties, as well as meet the diffcult chal - lenges the plastics industry faces each and every day.” Plastics Industry Association (PLASTICS) 1425 K Street NW, Suite 500, Washington, DC 20005 United States Plasticsindustry.org While the assessments were spon- sored by Apple and Google, this shared dataset enabled FRX, and ini- tially one other FR producer, to use existing chemical hazard assessments already populated in the ChemFOR- WARD platform to rapidly and cost- effectively assess their trade name products. According to Marc Lebel, President and CEO of FRX Polymers, the des- ignation further strengthens FRX Polymers’ position as the globally recognized leader in environmentally sustainable polymeric, non-haloge- nated flame retardants for a range of consumer and industrial products and applications. It also answers the ques- tion “What will be the alternative if I instruct suppliers not to use a certain flame retardant, or a class of flame retardants?” “The SAFER designation provides a simple, transparent answer to this question, based on hazard in- formation produced by methodolo- gies recognized by regulatory bodies around the world,” explained Lebel. “This is the surest way to avoid the risk of regrettable substitution.” Commenting on the ChemFORWARD program, Art Fong, Environmental Technologies Smarter Chemistry Lead at Apple explained, “We’re proactive in promoting the use of safer materi- als and chemicals. This work extends beyond our products, as we push for a global transition to materials that are safer to use and reuse.” Fong adds: “Our collaboration with ChemFOR- WARD has resulted in an easy-to-use knowledge database of authoritative chemical hazard assessments that will help product and design engineers select materials to develop the next generation of innovative electronic products, and empower our suppliers to not only meet our safety require- ments, but also to fnd alternatives that are safer, are better for the envi- ronment, and deliver the performance we need.” ChemFORWARD www.chemforward.org FRX Polymers Inc., www.frxpolymers.com Matt Seaholm, CEO GlennAnderson, COO Top Leadership Appointments Announced