At another recent event, Milacron’s Glenn Anderson and SPI’s William R. Carteaux led a lively conversation about challenges plastics manufacturing companies face when trying to recruit the next generation of employees.

“If you had told me ten years ago that I would not have enough electrical and mechanical engineers to fill open positions, I would not have believed you,” said Anderson, Milacron’s senior vice president of global and strategic accounts.

Carteaux agreed, stating that the industry’s employment challenges need to be addressed on a regional level where educators and manufacturing employers can collaborate to encourage young people to study and strive for careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Similar discussions occur throughout the country when SPI and its members host regional dinners and plant tours. These popular events usually include a presentation by Carteaux and the hosting company’s leadership. In this instance, Milacron’s Batavia (Ohio, USA) facility opened its doors to about 40 SPI members and guests, who spent an evening walking through the company’s facility and discussing numerous issues associated with manufacturing.

Following the tour, Carteaux’s presentation featured a plastics industry economic update and an outline of SPI’s work on behalf of its members. Among the highlights was a summary of SPI’s advocacy efforts in Washington, DC, to include in its annual “legislative fly-in.” SPI’s latest fly-in attracted about 100 member company representatives, which Carteaux said “is unfortunate when you consider that the industry employs 900,000 people in this country. People need to show up for the fly-ins.”

Legislative fly-ins provide SPI members an opportunity to meet one-on-one with their representatives or senators. “As a member and constituent, your voice is strong,” Carteaux told the crowd. “When you meet one-on-one with your representative or senator—they listen.”

Carteaux closed his presentation by inviting all attendees to join SPI in Washington on Nov. 17-18 for its first Plastics Regulatory Summit. At this event, attendees will have a forum to engage with regulators who work at agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

The open house’s host, Milacron, is a global leader in the manufacture, distribution, and service of highly engineered and customized systems within the plastic technology and processing industry. It’s the only global company with a full-line product portfolio that includes hot runner systems and injection molding, blow molding, and extrusion equipment.

SPI: The Plastics Industry Trade Association works with its members around the country to host similar regional events. If your company is interested in hosting, or if you’d like to attend an upcoming tour and dinner, contact Suzanne Morgan, SPI’s senior director for government affairs and grassroots advocacy, at U.S. 202-974-52218 or smorgan@plasticsindustry.org.