PlastChicks

PlastChicks Lynzie Nebel and Mercedes Landazuri host Dr. Shilpa Manjure, Global Technical Leader at Northern Technologies International Corporation/Natur-Tec and SPE's Bioplastics and Renewable Technologies Division Chair. They discussed how her interest in plastics and biopolymers developed, the global approach to find solutions for plastics pollution, the definition of bio-based and compostable materials, developing an empathetic leadership style that helps bring the best out of everyone, sustainable alternatives, developing bio-based and compostable materials that can run on current plastics manufacturing lines, the mission of SPE's Bioplastics and Renewable Technologies Division, and igniting the spark of interest in the next generation of students to explore the difference they can make in the world in STEM fields and manufacturing. Watch the PlastChicks podcast on the SPE YouTube Channel.PlastChicks is sponsored by SPE-Inspiring Plastics Professionals. Look for new episodes on the first Friday of every month.

PlastChicks Lynzie Nebel and Mercedes Landazuri host Dr. Jennifer Hoffman, Director of Project Management for Eurofins | EAG Laboratories. They discuss her journey in materials science, her role as a "technical therapist," determining the best approach to address varying client needs, most common issues in plastics, deformulation/reverse engineering of materials, helping companies make smart business decisions based on scientific data, trends in plastics, sustainable materials, favorite tools, her role with SPE-Inspiring Plastics Professionals, student mentorship and activities, and advice to new scientists entering the field.Watch the PlastChicks podcast on the SPE YouTube Channel.PlastChicks is sponsored by SPE-Inspiring Plastics Professionals. Look for new episodes the first Friday of every month.

PlastChicks Lynzie Nebel and Mercedes Landazuri host April Brown, Applications Engineer at Moldex3D. They discuss her professional journey to a plastics industry career, injection molding simulation projects, reducing manufacturing cost and optimizing processes while reducing waste and considering sustainability, being more inventive and efficient in the workplace, creating a sustainable future for everyone in the plastics industry, using AI to compile years of simulation data to help optimize a new part design, using simulation to predict defects before production and reduce necessary trials and tooling modifications, Moldex3D's Moldiverse cloud ecosystem, and future predictions for simulation and AI in plastics manufacturing. Watch the PlastChicks podcast on the SPE YouTube Channel.PlastChicks is sponsored by SPE-Inspiring Plastics Professionals. Look for new episodes the first Friday of every month.

PlastChicks Lynzie Nebel and Mercedes Landazuri host Dr. Andy Francis, Vice President of Marketing at Q-Lab Corporation. They discuss the big forces of plastics weathering, the arch nemeses of plastics, the difficulty of service life prediction, techniques and equipment for testing the effects of weathering on plastics, common misconceptions about plastics durability, plastics failure methods due to weathering, and the future of materials testing.Watch the PlastChicks podcast on the SPE YouTube Channel.PlastChicks is sponsored by SPE-Inspiring Plastics Professionals. Look for new episodes the first Friday of every month.

PlastChicks Lynzie Nebel and Mercedes Landazuri host the Kenders, siblings with careers in plastics: Laura Kender, Polymer Process Engineer at Corning Life Sciences; Elizabeth Kender, Senior Product Developer at New Balance; and Stephen Kender, Senior Design Engineer at UPPAbaby. They discuss how their interest in plastics developed, their teamwork in college, their career journey in plastics, networking, injection molding, sustainability, the future of plastics, and designing for plastics strength, lightweighting and performance.Watch the PlastChicks podcast on the SPE YouTube Channel.PlastChicks is sponsored by SPE-Inspiring Plastics Professionals. Look for new episodes the first Friday of every month.

PlastChicks Lynzie Nebel and Mercedes Landazuri host Andy Kamholz, CEO, Edge Precision Manufacturing. They discuss compression molding micro features on a macro part, micropore filters, hiring strategies for success, building a thriving corporate culture, the challenges in launching a new enterprise, and upcoming plastics innovations.Watch the PlastChicks podcast on the SPE YouTube Channel.PlastChicks is sponsored by SPE-Inspiring Plastics Professionals. Look for new episodes the first Friday of every month.

PlastChicks Lynzie Nebel and Mercedes Landazuri host Lytia Watson, Vice President of Human Resources, Deceuninck North America. They discuss her educational journey, approaching impediments with curiosity, finding the best employees for your company, removing bias in hiring decisions, building collaboration skills for success, planning your personal career growth, and navigating the future and challenges of AI in the plastics industry for employers and staff.Watch the PlastChicks podcast on the SPE YouTube Channel.PlastChicks is sponsored by SPE-Inspiring Plastics Professionals. Look for new episodes the first Friday of every month.

PlastChicks Lynzie Nebel and Mercedes Landazuri host Tanisha Francis, 2024 PlastChicks Scholarship Winner, Computer Engineering Senior at Kettering University, and President of the Kettering University SPE Student Chapter. They discuss the development of her interest in the plastics industry, her desire to use hardware and software solutions to reduce waste and streamline plastics production, mentoring and coaching high school students, service projects, work with her SPE Student Chapter, and advice for students interested in the plastics industry.Watch the PlastChicks podcast on the SPE YouTube Channel.PlastChicks is sponsored by SPE-Inspiring Plastics Professionals. Look for new episodes the first Friday of every month.

Live from NPE2024! PlastChicks Lynzie Nebel and Mercedes Landazuri host Emily Bowser, Process and Tooling Engineering Manager at Biomerics. They discussed improving processes to reduce scrap, the impact of mentorship on professional growth, 3-D printing, advice for aspiring engineers, emerging trends in plastics manufacturing, and leaving a legacy for the plastics industry.Watch the PlastChicks podcast on the SPE YouTube Channel.PlastChicks is sponsored by SPE-Inspiring Plastics Professionals. Look for new episodes the first Friday of every month.

Live from NPE2024! PlastChicks Lynzie Nebel and Mercedes Landazuri host Leslie Sonne, Senior Business Development Manager at Star Thermoplastics, a Hexpol TPE company. They discussed her career journey at Star Thermoplastics, working with clients to determine the best TPE formulations to meet their needs, the variety of TPE applications and cross-market designs, and addressing challenges in recyclability and sustainability. Watch the PlastChicks podcast on the SPE YouTube Channel.PlastChicks is sponsored by SPE-Inspiring Plastics Professionals. Look for new episodes the first Friday of every month.

Live from NPE2024! PlastChicks Lynzie Nebel and Mercedes Landazuri host Bailey Robin, Co-Founder and CEO, Matium. They discuss the journey that led him to found Matium and his future plans. Matium combines sustainable market and material science perspectives to create a comprehensive, interactive, digital supply chain network infrastructure supporting the plastics market and its services in a globally competitive marketplace with an emphasis on ease of use and efficiency.Watch the PlastChicks podcast on the SPE YouTube Channel.PlastChicks is sponsored by SPE-Inspiring Plastics Professionals. Look for new episodes the first Friday of every month.

PlastChicks Lynzie Nebel and Mercedes Landazuri host Jay Shoemaker, Adjunct Assistant Professor, Western Michigan University and owner of HL&S Consulting. They discussed mold design, his work with Moldflow and iMFLUX, plastics education, mold design publications, and his participation in SPE-Inspiring Plastics Professionals.Watch the PlastChicks podcast on the SPE YouTube Channel.PlastChicks is sponsored by SPE-Inspiring Plastics Professionals. Look for new episodes the first Friday of every month.

Bonus Episode! PlastChicks Lynzie Nebel and Mercedes Landazuri host Jess Rodriguez, Sustainability Project Manager at Berry Global, Inc. They discussed her journey in the plastics industry and working with designers and customers to improve sustainability and recyclability in healthcare packaging through circular content, recycling technology, and process optimization. This episode was recorded live at NPE2024.Watch the PlastChicks podcast on the SPE YouTube Channel.PlastChicks is sponsored by SPE-Inspiring Plastics Professionals. Look for new episodes the first Friday of every month.

PlastChicks Lynzie Nebel and Mercedes Landazuri host Jake Kelly-Walley, an R&D Engineer at Matrix Polymers and PhD Student at Queen's University Belfast. They discussed UN Sustainable Development Goals, responsible consumption of materials, introducing post-consumer recycling into rotational molding processes, banana fiber, deciding which applications can use less virgin materials while maintaining performance requirements, advances in rotational molding processes, and getting students interested in rotational molding.Watch the PlastChicks podcast on the SPE YouTube Channel.PlastChicks is sponsored by SPE-Inspiring Plastics Professionals. Look for new episodes the first Friday of every month.

PlastChicks Lynzie Nebel and Mercedes Landazuri host Wendy Hoenig, CEO at H & H Business Development, 2024 inductee into the Plastics Hall of Fame, and 2018 Women Breaking the Mold award winner. They discussed Plastics Pioneers, her work at Dow, product incubation, emerging trends in the plastics industry, approaches to and importance of mentoring and being mentored, giving back to the next generation of plastics professionals, providing technology and business assessments of start-ups, advice for people transitioning to an entrepreneurial role or start-up from a corporate role, and keeping students interested and engaged in science.Watch the PlastChicks podcast on the SPE YouTube Channel.PlastChicks is sponsored by SPE-Inspiring Plastics Professionals. Look for new episodes the first Friday of every month.

PlastChicks Lynzie Nebel and Mercedes Landazuri host Dr. Ellen Lee, Technical Leader of Additive Manufacturing Research at Ford Motor Company, live from ANTEC® 2024. They discuss her journey in additive manufacturing, challenges in using additive manufacturing in the automotive sector, developing technical roadmaps, collaboration with the value chain, advice for people interested in additive manufacturing careers, and additive manufacturing design, optimization, and printing processes.Watch the PlastChicks podcast on the SPE YouTube Channel.PlastChicks is sponsored by SPE-Inspiring Plastics Professionals. Look for new episodes the first Friday of every month.

PlastChicks Lynzie Nebel and Mercedes Landazuri host Darien Dierksen, Senior Application Engineer at Procter & Gamble. They discuss her journey in the plastics industry, mentoring, challenges for women in the plastics industry, sustainable solutions at Procter & Gamble, the importance of recyling education and her road ahead in plastics.Watch the PlastChicks podcast on the SPE YouTube Channel.PlastChicks is sponsored by SPE-Inspiring Plastics Professionals. Look for new episodes the first Friday of every month.

PlastChicks Lynzie Nebel and Mercedes Landazuri host Alethea Schaeffer, VP of Sales & Engineering, USHECO. They discuss her journey in the plastics industry, thermoforming processes, the company's entrepreneurial approach to manufacturing, designing for manufacturing, approaches to problem-solving in engineering, pivoting to support pandemic supply needs and how the company stays innovative.Watch the PlastChicks podcast on the SPE YouTube Channel.PlastChicks is sponsored by SPE-Inspiring Plastics Professionals. Look for new episodes the first Friday of every month.

PlastChicks Lynzie Nebel and Mercedes Landazuri host the co-CEOs of Hoffer Plastics: Gretchen Hoffer Farb, Charlotte Hoffer Canning and Alex Hoffer. They discuss the dynamics of a family-owned injection-molding plastics business, their approach to innovation in the plastics industry, the advantages of having multiple co-CEOs, the importance of family being part of company values, and working together with customers and staff at all levels to address the needs of the customer, end consumer, and those on the production floor.Watch the PlastChicks podcast on the SPE YouTube Channel.PlastChicks is sponsored by SPE-Inspiring Plastics Professionals. Look for new episodes the first Friday of every month.

PlastChicks Lynzie Nebel and Mercedes Landazuri host Monika Stroeder, PhD, Team Leader, Circular Products R&D at NOVA Chemicals. They review her role in developing new products, her move into technical services, packaging, sustainability and finally into research and development of circular products. They discuss working together with the industry in a value chain, downgauging, mono material packaging, incorporating recycled materials, mechanical and chemical recycling, the challenges for consumers in understanding recycling and reducing the carbon footprint. They delve into the development of new high-performance resin, the future of packaging for the food industry with changes in consumer shopping preferences, advanced recycling technologies, corporate diversity and NOVA Chemicals' 30-30-30 strategy.Watch the PlastChicks podcast on the SPE YouTube Channel.PlastChicks is sponsored by SPE-Inspiring Plastics Professionals. Look for new episodes the first Friday of every month.

PlastChicks Lynzie Nebel and Mercedes Landazuri host Madison Kramer, a Plastics Engineering sophomore at Penn State Behrend and the first PlastChicks Scholarship Winner.They discuss her scholarship, her interest in plastics engineering, how Lynzie and Mercedes created the PlastChicks podcast, plastics mold design, the benefits of internships in addition to academic studies, and innovations in the plastics industry.Watch the PlastChicks podcast on the SPE YouTube Channel.PlastChicks is sponsored by SPE-Inspiring Plastics Professionals. Look for new episodes the first Friday of every month.

PlastChicks Lynzie Nebel and Mercedes Landazuri host Sarah Webber, Sustainable Packaging Engineer for Plastic Ingenuity. They discuss her sustainable plastics industry career journey, encouraging others to explore careers in plastics, the importance of involving packaging engineers early in the process when the design is frozen but not ready to launch to optimize the potential for sustainable packaging, addressing the challenges of recycling, finding end markets for recycled materials, young people entering the plastics industry in sustainability areas, using a data-driven approach to sustainable design and manufacturing, and the role of The International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) in developing sustainable processes that support verifiable claims of recycled content in a product.Watch the PlastChicks podcast on the SPE YouTube Channel.PlastChicks is sponsored by SPE-Inspiring Plastics Professionals. Look for new episodes the first Friday of every month.

PlastChicks Lynzie Nebel and Mercedes Landazuri host Mitch Rife, Engineering Manager for Additive Manufacturing, Delta TechOps. They discuss transitioning from subtractive to additive manufacturing processes; designing for 3D printing while considering injection molding requirements should production needs increase; producing 3D-printed tools, tool carriers and protectors to support aircraft mechanics; choosing materials for aerospace prototyping; use of 3D-printed parts in aircraft manufacturing; and designing wheelchair-accessible airplane seats.Watch the PlastChicks podcast on the SPE YouTube Channel.PlastChicks is sponsored by SPE-Inspiring Plastics Professionals. Look for new episodes the first Friday of every month.

PlastChicks Lynzie Nebel and Mercedes Landazuri host Kate Davenport, Co-President of Eureka Recycling, a nonprofit zero waste organization and social enterprise recycler based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They discuss the economics and opportunities in providing recycling services, including finding sustainable markets that are interested in purchasing recycled materials, considering processes to move responsibility from the municipality to the producer, the difficulty of aggregating materials into one stream, competing with virgin plastics, the volatility of recycling materials pricing, and the challenges and costs of pulling plastic bags and flexible packaging out of the recycling stream.Terminology Note: MRF (pronounced "murf") is a materials recovery facility, materials reclamation facility, materials recycling facility or multi re-use facility, which is a specialized plant that receives, separates and prepares recyclable materials for marketing to end-user manufacturers (Wikipedia).Find out more about Eureka Recycling.Watch the PlastChicks podcast on the SPE YouTube Channel.PlastChicks is sponsored by SPE-Inspiring Plastics Professionals. Look for new episodes the first Friday of every month.

PlastChicks Lynzie Nebel and Mercedes Landazuri host Nathan Rader-Edkin, Plastics Innovation and Resource Center Program Manager, Pennsylvania College of Technology, a Plastics News Rising Star for 2023, and a co-founder of a new plastics career site, PlasticsPostings.com. They discuss his plastics industry career journey, parenting, injection molding, the importance of industry experience to an academic career, and the role of the Pennsylvania College of Technology's Plastics Innovation and Resource Center.Find out more about the Pennsylvania College of Technology and the PlasticsPostings.com career site.Watch the PlastChicks podcast on the SPE YouTube Channel.PlastChicks is sponsored by SPE-Inspiring Plastics Professionals. Look for new episodes the first Friday of every month.

PlastChicks Lynzie Nebel and Mercedes Landazuri host Dr. Sherrika Sanders, Senior Technical Engineer, Manner Polymers and member of the SPE DEI Advisory Board. They discuss her career journey, being one of the Hidden Figures of Dallas, developing small molecules to authenticate fuel and consumer goods, the use of PVC in building and construction, SPE Foundation's PlastiVan program, and the importance of STEM programs in developing the next generation of scientists.Find out more about SPE Foundation's PlastiVan program, designed to excite students about opportunities in science and engineering within the plastics industry.Watch the PlastChicks podcast on the SPE YouTube channel.PlastChicks is sponsored by SPE-Inspiring Plastics Professionals. Look for new episodes the first Friday of every month.

PlastChicks Lynzie Nebel and Mercedes Landazuri host Rashed Islam, Head of Product Integrity at Lyft - Transit, Bikes, and Scooters. They discuss his journey in his product integrity career, working at Google and Lyft, the challenges of implementing recycled plastics in products, sustainable transportation design, eStation strategies, the Lyft Micromobility Lab, and testing for different environments and conditions.Essentials of Management & Leadership in Plastics is a six-month virtual program open to early to mid-level career professionals who would like to be leaders or strengthen their leadership skills in the plastics industry. No other Leadership Certificate program exists that is specifically designed for those in the plastics industry.Watch the PlastChicks podcast on the SPE YouTube channel.PlastChicks is sponsored by SPE-Inspiring Plastics Professionals. Look for new episodes the first Friday of every month.

PlastChicks Lynzie Nebel and Mercedes Landazuri host 3Dnatives guests Alexandre Martel, Co-Founder, and Filippos Voulpiotis, Chief Business Officer. They discuss the role of 3Dnatives as a reliable source of information on the latest trends of the Additive Manufacturing market, common misconceptions about additive manufacturing, the careful work that goes into producing content tailored to multiple languages and their audiences, and the synergies between SPE and 3Dnatives that led to SPE's acquisition of 3Dnatives.Essentials of Management & Leadership in Plastics is a six-month virtual program open to early to mid-level career professionals who would like to be leaders or strengthen their leadership skills in the plastics industry. No other Leadership Certificate program exists that is specifically designed for those in the plastics industry.Watch the PlastChicks podcast on the SPE YouTube channel.PlastChicks is sponsored by SPE-Inspiring Plastics Professionals. Look for new episodes the first Friday of every month.

PlastChicks Lynzie Nebel and Mercedes Landazuri host four of the 2022 SPE Foundation Scholarship winners: Rachel LeBlanc, Allen Román, Kelsey Allis, and Wyatt McGraw. The SPE Foundation is an arm of SPE that supports the development of plastics professionals by funding quality educational programs, grants, and scholarships, emphasizing science, engineering, sustainability, and manufacturing to create inclusive opportunities for students around the world. The 2023-2024 Foundation Scholarships deadline is April 1.  Learn more about SPE Foundation Scholarships.Get details on the 2023 Re|Focus Sustainability & Recycling Summit, being held May 1-4, 2023 in Minneapolis, Minnesota and save 30% on the non-member registration rate using the discount code, PlastChicks. The Summit is hosted by the Plastics Industry Association, a PlastChicks supporter.Scholarship Winners FeaturedRachel LeBlanc is in the 5th-year of her Senior/Masters program at Case Western Reserve, studying Macromolecular Science and Engineering. Her research focuses on thermoplastic polyurethanes as materials for prosthetics. After graduation, she hopes to start her career in the medical devices industry or pursue a Masters in Engineering Management. She is helping create an educational demo/video for the city of Cleveland showing the importance of reducing contamination in the recycling stream. Rachel was awarded the Thermoplastics Elastomers Technical Interest Group Scholarship, SPE Foundation Gail Bristol Scholarship, and PPA Clare Goldsberry Scholarship. Allen Román is a Ph. D. student at University of Wisconsin-Madison, studying Mechanical Engineering and working under Tim Osswald. He was awarded the Donald McCoy Chicago SPE Scholarship. He donated part of the scholarship back to the scholarship program from which he benefited as a first-generation college student.Kelsey Allis is a Senior at Western Washington University, studying Polymer Material Engineering. She has worked closely with injection molding machines and is active in SPE Student Chapter. She organized a beach clean-up with the local Surfrider chapter as SPE Student Outreach Officer. She was awarded the Recycling Division Scholarship, Western Plastics Pioneers George Epstein Scholarship, and PPA Neward Scholarship. Wyatt McGraw is a Senior at Shawnee State University, studying Plastics Engineering Technology. He has completed many internships focused on blow molding and flexible packaging. He is active in the SPE Student Chapter. He was awarded the Flexible Packaging Division Scholarship, PPA W. Muller Scholarship, and Blow Molding Division Willi Muller Scholarship.Watch the PlastChicks podcast on the SPE YouTube channel.PlastChicks is supported by Plastics Industry Association and sponsored by SPE-Inspiring Plastics Professionals. Look for new episodes the first Friday of every month.

PlastChicks Lynzie Nebel and Mercedes Landazuri with guest Ed Hall, President and CEO of Baerlocher USA, discuss Ed's career journey, the importance of ethics and diversity in the workforce, Baerlocher USA's move into sustainability and services, and the need for the plastics industry to get together to teach, learn and collaborate in their approach to finding recycling solutions.Find out more about the 2023 Re|Focus Sustainability & Recycling Summit, being held May 1-4, 2023 in Minneapolis, Minnesota and save 30% on the non-member registration rate using the discount code, PlastChicks. The Summit is hosted by the Plastics Industry Association.Watch the PlastChicks podcast on the SPE YouTube channel.PlastChicks is supported by Plastics Industry Association and sponsored by SPE-Inspiring Plastics Professionals. Look for new episodes the first Friday of every month.

PlastChicks Lynzie Nebel and Mercedes Landazuri with guest Mason Myers, Principal Implementation Consultant at Autodesk, discuss the advantages of using simulation software to make it easier to get a process up and running, saving time and money using simulations, Autodesk's Moldflow Simulation software, and automation software advances in meshing and Cloud solving.Watch the PlastChicks podcast on the SPE YouTube channel.PlastChicks is sponsored by SPE-Inspiring Plastics Professionals and is posted the first Friday of every month.

PlastChicks Lynzie Nebel and Mercedes Landazuri with guest Neil Thompson, Founder of Teach the Geek, author and podcaster of Teach the Geek to Speak, discuss helping STEM professionals develop their presentation skills to further their career development, the challenges engineers face when communicating to a non-technical audience, attributes of engaging and unengaging presentations and dealing with presentation fears.You can find out more about developing engaging presentations from Neil on his website, Teach the Geek; his podcast, Teach the Geek to Speak; his YouTube Channel, Teach the Geek; and in his book, Teach the Geek to Speak.Watch the PlastChicks podcast on the SPE YouTube channel.PlastChicks is sponsored by SPE-Inspiring Plastics Professionals and is posted the first Friday of every month.

PlastChicks Lynzie Nebel and Mercedes Landazuri with guest Dr. Katrina Knauer, Program Manager, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and CTO of the BOTTLE (Bio-Optimized Technologies to keep Thermoplastics out of Landfills and the Environment) Consortium discuss attaining your ideal job in your plastics career; Katrina's research into deconstructing plastics to get useful chemicals and building blocks out of the process -- pure and useful monomers -- without needing energy-intensive processes; and low-energy, tandem design of chemical and biological processes to convert highly contaminated mixed waste into high-value polymers used for a variety of biodegradable products.Find out more about the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NERL) and the BOTTLE™ Consortium.Watch the podcast at the SPE YouTube site.PlastChicks is sponsored by SPE-Inspiring Plastics Professionals and is posted the first Friday of every month.

PlastChicks Lynzie Nebel and Mercedes Landazuri with guest Pat Haney, Research and Development Engineer, MTD Micromolding, examine research and development in micro-medical plastics injection molding; the unique challenges of super-small molding, including differences in non-Newtonian fluid behavior, shear thinning and crystalline formation; processes for developing implant molds; designing for bioabsorbables; tooling for micromolding; finding a bridge between university research and the plastics industry; and MTD Micromolding's protyping pipeline.Watch the podcast at the SPE YouTube site. PlastChicks is sponsored by SPE-Inspiring Plastics Professionals and is posted the first Friday of every month.

PlastChicks Lynzie Nebel and Mercedes Landazuri with guest Tim Osswald, Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Co-Director of the Polymer Engineering Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, delve into plastics history, plastics developments at the University of Wisconsin, the evolution of plastics programs in universities, the sharing of ideas between industry and the educational community at ANTEC®, the benefits of participating in SPE-Inspiring Plastics Professionals, and plastics education trends.Watch the podcast at the SPE YouTube site.PlastChicks is sponsored by SPE-Inspiring Plastics Professionals and is posted the first Friday of every month.

On this episode of PlastChicks – The Voices of Resin – Lynzie Nebel and Mercedes Landazuri host Amanda Nicholson, Senior Project Engineer, The Madison Group, live at ANTEC® 2022. They discuss the importance of conducting professional moldflow analysis, establishing credibility as a young female engineer in the plastics industry, using short videos to provide pinpoint training for young engineers and different approaches to sustainability.Watch the podcast at the SPE YouTube site.PlastChicks is an SPE-sponsored podcast that is posted the first Friday of every month.

On this episode of PlastChicks – The Voices of Resin – Lynzie Nebel and Mercedes Landazuri host Amy Aussieker, Executive Director, Envision Charlotte, live at ANTEC® 2022. They discuss the circular economy, sustainability, new advances in recycling techniques developed in the Innovation Barn, and challenges in recycling plastics.Please note the audio is somewhat rough due to issues with the live recording.

On this episode of PlastChicks – The Voices of Resin – Lynzie Nebel and Mercedes Landazuri host Cara Walton, Director, Harbour Results Inc. They discuss efforts to interest Millennials and Gen Z in manufacturing, using data to make manufacturing better, the importance of diversity in solving problems better and faster, developing techniques for benchmarking in rapidly changing times and challenges in sourcing in the plastics industry. ANTEC, being held June 14-16, 2022 in Charlotte, NC, is co-located with PLASTEC(R) South. PlastChicks is sponsored by SPE-Inspiring Plastics Professionals.

On this episode of PlastChicks – The Voices of Resin – Lynzie Nebel and Mercedes Landazuri host Elisabet Sjölund, Brand Owner Management, Neste Renewable Polymers & Chemicals. They discuss helping companies find renewable solutions to reduce the use of carbons from fossil sources by reviewing production processes, considering sustainability when designing processes, reducing waste, upcycling, exploring options for materials that are challenging to recycle, considering new approaches to recycling, and determining if waste from one process can be a core product for something else, all while keeping up with the rapidly changing renewables landscape.Meet Neste in the Atlanta, Georgia Greenbiz Circularity Conference, May 18, 2022 at the 1:30 pm session, From Apparel to Packaging: Opportunities in Bioplastics and the Bioeconomy.

On this episode of PlastChicks – The Voices of Resin – Lynzie Nebel and Mercedes Landazuri host Dr. Erin Keaney, Research Scientist, Adjunct Faculty, University of Massachusetts Lowell and COO and Co-Founder of Nonspec. Nonspec is committed to providing affordable and adjustable prosthetic limb systems to all amputees. They discuss Erin's plastics research, her challenges in developing Nonspec, lessons learned when building a great team, and overcoming roadblocks as women in STEM.

On this episode of PlastChicks – The Voices of Resin – Lynzie Nebel and Mercedes Landazuri host Toi Clarke Jones, Vice President Sales & Business Development at iMFLUX. They discuss Toi's journey in the plastics industry, iMFLUX's role in helping businesses find better solutions for running plastic injection molding sites, diversity in the plastics industry and the role of the National Minority Supplier Development Council in diversifying the supply chain.

On this episode of PlastChicks – The Voices of Resin – Lynzie Nebel and Mercedes Landazuri host Evan Morton, Programs and Sustainability Coordinator and PlastiVan® Educator at the SPE Foundation. They discuss plastics usage, sustainability, plastics education, consumer behavior and STEAM.

On this episode of PlastChicks – The Voices of Resin – Lynzie Nebel and Mercedes Landazuri host David White, Founder and Lead Consultant at ExtruPharm. They discuss extrusion-based manufacturing for the pharmaceutical market.Find out more at ExtruPharm.

On this episode of PlastChicks – The Voices of Resin – Lynzie Nebel and Mercedes Landazuri host Jason Brownell, Director of Engineering at Polyfuze. They discuss labelling for the polyolefin family of plastics using fusion instead of in-mold labelling technologies.Find out more at Polyfuze.

On this episode of PlastChicks – The Voices of Resin – Lynzie Nebel and Mercedes Landazuri host Mitch Hecht, Founder and Chairman, International Recycling Group (IRG) and Chris Dow, IRG's CEO. They discuss the challenges of recycling plastics and IRG's work in developing processes for the recycling industry to take in all plastics and rapidly sort them in an automated way for use by recyclers. Find out more about International Recycling Group at https://www.internationalrecycling.com.

On this episode of PlastChicks – The Voices of Resin – Lynzie Nebel and Mercedes Landazuri host Dr. Chris DeArmitt, a plastics scientist and Founder/President of Phantom Plastics. They discuss his work providing a reference to scientific research on the environmental impact of plastics at https://plasticsparadox.com/ and in his book, The Plastics Paradox; his efforts to address plastics myths; and Phantom Plastics' service to help companies create better plastics to solve problems. 

On this episode of PlastChicks – The Voices of Resin – Lynzie Nebel and Mercedes Landazuri host Anastasia Kraft, CEO of Xena Workwear. They discuss her journey into engineering and manufacturing, and how her interest in developing workwear that allowed her to work professionally in the office and on the manufacturing work floor led her to launch her own business creating fashionable personal protective equipment for women.

On this episode of PlastChicks – The Voices of Resin – Lynzie Nebel and Mercedes Landazuri host Elena Mantagaris, VP of Plastics, Chemistry Industry Association of Canada. They discuss plastics as a backdrop of our modern lives, how it helps us achieve our sustainability goals, and how these roles need to be considered in establishing partnerships between government and industry in addressing the circular ecconmy.

On this episode of PlastChicks – The Voices of Resin – Lynzie Nebel and Mercedes Landazuri host Hugh Karraker, executive producer of the film, All Things Bakelite: The Age of Plastic, who is also the great grandson of Leo Hendrik Baekeland, the inventor of Bakelite, and John Maher, director of the film. They discuss the film, the life of Leo Hendrik Baekeland, Bakelite and its role in the development of modern plastics.Find out more about the film at the All Things Bakelite site.

On this episode of PlastChicks – The Voices of Resin - Lynzie Nebel and Mercedes Landazuri host Adam Baker, Founder and CEO of SodaPup. They discuss pet industry innovation, design, manufacturing, marketing and merchandising.

On this episode of PlastChicks – The Voices of Resin - Lynzie Nebel and Mercedes Landazuri host Heather McDougall, Visionary Entrepreneur and Educator for Planet Allies and CEO of Bogobrush. They discuss eco-empowerment, global sustainability, climate anxiety and dealing with the hype and fear around plastics to shift to things that are working.