Articles

• Plastic pioneers honored during NPE
  The Plastics Hall of Fame has changed sponsors and venues since 1972, but one constant has been the ability to recognize pioneers from the vanguard of a relatively young industry. Now administered by The Plastics Academy (Leominster, MA), the hall will add eight inductees during the Society of the Plastics Industry’s (SPI; Washington, DC) NPE 2006 (June 19-23, Chicago). The honorees range from a top processor, to leaders in materials R&D, to researchers at a prestigious institute and university, to blowmolding and injection molding machine pioneers, and finally a 20th-century management icon that got his start at GE Plastics.


• Tips for evaluating machinery
  NPE is like manna from heaven, maybe too much manna from heaven, for those in the market for machinery. There is a lot to look at. These tips are intended to help you review machinery effectively, and apply to all types of machines.


• Sizing up materials at NPE
  Material suppliers’ booths, for the most part, are filled with parts and applications showcasing the benefits of the companies’ brands. This can help you to locate the material you need for your specific applications. Beyond that, however, what techniques can you use to evaluate the material offerings at NPE? Here are a few pointers gleaned from cagey veterans...


• Chicago is nothing, if not sporting
  A sports-crazed town, Chicago is home to some of America’s most venerable professional teams: the Bears (NFL/football); Bulls (NBA/basketball); Blackhawks (NHL/ice hockey); Cubs (MLB/baseball); and White Sox (MLB/baseball). While the Bears, Bulls, and Blackhawks reflect on championship glories past during their summer offseasons (and wistfully hope to repeat them), the Cubs and White Sox will be in the thick of Major League Baseball’s 2006 season during NPE. There are Cubs and White Sox games in Chicago during all of NPE 2006’s run, and taking in a ballgame in Chicago is a great way to enhance your visit and get a feel for the city’s pulse.


• NPE a hotspot, in more ways than one
  Going to NPE doesn’t have to mean letting your e-mails pile up for a week, or zero or limited access to the web. With the proliferation of Wi-Fi (wireless fidelity) hotspots, properly equipped PDAs or laptops can get online at a variety of locations throughout McCormick Place, its adjoining hotel, as well as a number of parks, libraries, restaurants, and Chicago-area businesses.


• The price of flight to Chicago
  If you’re even thinking about attending NPE 2006, a good start is to get to Chicago. We’re keeping tabs on airfares for you. This list shows the cost (U.S. dollars) of a round-trip ticket from several major cities to Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, as of mid-March (don’t forget that you can fly into Midway Airport as well). Our source is travelocity.com. Dates include a Saturday night stay in the Windy City. Check back here each month and we’ll keep updating the numbers for you.