coronavirus

Kickstart: About those convention plans …

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via Plastics News

If you run, plan to exhibit at or want to attend a trade show or convention in 2021, you’re probably wondering just how seriously you should take your travel planning at this point.

It’s complicated, obviously. No one wants to be part of a superspreader event, and everyone wants to resume business as normal. It’s important to be able to meet customers, see new equipment and renew contacts.

Read the full story here: https://www.plasticsnews.com/blog/kickstart-about-those-convention-plans

Kickstart: NPE? Already?

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via Plastics News

[M]aking major plans for the first half of 2021 may be just a little difficult to imagine right now.

But the difficulties of 2020 may be exactly the reason to invest in NPE2021, according to organizers the Plastics Industry Association.

“Given the challenges of the past six months, it is vitally important for the plastics community to come together and support each other with a positive outlook to the future,” Tony Radoszewski, president and CEO of the association, said in a news release. “NPE2021 will be the place not only to highlight key contributions in the world’s response to the coronavirus but also to see what’s coming from businesses across an industry that will transform tomorrow.”

Read the full story here: https://www.plasticsnews.com/blog/kickstart-npe-already

Domino Plastics Company will be exhibiting in the South Hall at booth S24119.
NPE 2021 – The Plastics Show

Coronavirus is causing a flurry of plastic waste. Campaigners fear it may be permanent

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via CNN

Surgical masks, gloves, protective equipment, body bags — the Covid-19 crisis has spurred a rapid expansion in the production of desperately-needed plastic products, with governments racing to boost their stockpiles and regular citizens clamoring for their share of supplies.

Such production is necessary. But all that plastic ends up somewhere — and environmental campaigners fear it is just the tip of a looming iceberg, with the pandemic causing a number of serious challenges to their efforts to reduce plastic pollution.

Read the full story here: https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/04/world/coronavirus-plastic-waste-pollution-intl/index.html

Plastics recycling entities largely deemed ‘essential’

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via Plastics Recycling Update

In the states that have issued stay-at-home orders, companies engaged in recycling processing or plastic product manufacturing are not subject to forced shutdowns.

As states over the past week prepared to enact strict stay-at-home orders to help stem the spread of the novel coronavirus, the “essential” designation became a key talking point across many business sectors.

Read the full story here: https://resource-recycling.com/plastics/2020/03/25/plastics-recycling-entities-largely-deemed-essential/

Continuing To Promote Your Manufacturing Business During An Economic Downturn

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via ThomasNet.com

Many companies worry about how their business will fare in bad economic conditions, but sometimes opportune outcomes stem from times of economic uncertainty — especially for manufacturers.

With seemingly difficult economic conditions on the horizon, there are plenty of indicators that can seem at odds with one another. Recently, the stock market had its worst week since 2008 while sourcing activity for North American suppliers on Thomasnet.com saw record-breaking numbers. Based on a Coronavirus Impact survey conducted this month, over half of the manufacturers surveyed are ‘likely to extremely likely’ to bring production and sourcing back to North America and 47% of U.S manufacturers report they are now seeking domestic sources of supply — likely the reasons for sourcing surge.

Read the full story here: https://blog.thomasnet.com/continuing-to-promote-your-manufacturing-business-during-an-economic-downturn

PLASTICS INDUSTRY “ESSENTIAL” AS FIRST LINE OF DEFENSE WITH PRODUCTS TO FIGHT CORONAVIRUS

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via Plastics Industry Association

The Plastics Industry Association (PLASTICS) President and CEO Tony Radoszewski issued a statement today requesting all local, state and federal governments to include plastic resin and plastic product manufacturers as ‘essential’ in order to stay open when Shelter in Place orders are issued.

“With more and more businesses being ordered to close during the pandemic crisis, it is critical that healthcare workers have access to plastic products. Single-use plastics can literally be the difference between life and death. Items such as IV bags and ventilator machines, which are of the utmost importance right now, have components made of single-use plastics. The single-use hospital gowns, gloves, and masks that protect our healthcare workers every day are also made of plastic. I would venture to say that every machine, piece of medical care equipment, hospital bed, examination scope and tool has a component made of plastic, most of which are molded to exacting tolerances, which is possible due to the resin and the machinery being used.”

Read the full story here: https://www.plasticsindustry.org/article/plastics-industry-essential-first-line-defense-products-fight-coronavirus    

‘A worldwide hackathon’: Hospitals turn to crowdsourcing and 3D printing amid equipment shortages

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via NBC News

3D printing, a relatively new and niche technology that can create everything from houses to tiny and complex structures from raw materials, has remained mostly on the fringes of the manufacturing and health care sectors.

But the coronavirus has suddenly made it a crucial resource. On Thursday, Slavin called on people with 3D printers to help make protective masks for hospital staff.

Read the full story here: https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/innovation/worldwide-hackathon-hospitals-turn-crowdsourcing-3d-printing-amid-equipment-shortages-n1165026

Financial fallout from coronavirus could devastate the fracking and plastics industries

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“The likelihood of them being able to meet financial targets after this is quite small,” says one financial analyst.

by Kristina Marusic via Environmental Health News

The process of extracting oil and natural gas from the Earth by drilling deep wells and injecting liquid at high pressure is expensive; many fracking companies go into a tremendous amount of debt. Due to oversupply and consistently low prices for natural gas over the last 10 years, many have yet to pay those debts back and become profitable.

“The industry had already been seeing negative cash flows and a huge debt overhang for quite a while, and we certainly don’t see that changing after this current downturn in the market,” Tom Sanzillo, director of finance for the Institute of Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) told EHN.

Read the full story here: https://www.ehn.org/coronavirus-oil-and-gas-2645520057.html