Member Testimonials
 |
 |
Barbara
Arnold-Feret |
I joined
SPE for the technology and information, and I have
stayed in SPE because of the people who are a part
of the SPE organization on the local, national,
international, and technology specific side. I started
going to meetings on a regular basis when I was
working for a custom molder back in Minnesota. I
continued reaching out to expand my knowledge and
network through SPE membership when I moved my career
from the East Coast to the Midwest to the Southwest.
SPE has enriched my technical know-how and given
me a base of people to work among, wherever my career
and work demands have taken me. |
| Aldo Balatti Member since 1987  |
To simply put it in a
few sentences and to describe the amazing and great
benefits of being a member of SPE is a very hard
thing to capture. Since I entered the plastic industry
in the mid 1980’s as a young designer, I could
foresee and feel that belonging to this professional
association was a smart idea and I even paid for
those membership fees from my own pocket. Over the
years, I have never looked back on my decision of
joining as I have never considered being a member
of SPE as a yearly expense but rather a smart career
investment. Having the opportunity of presenting
at RETEC, sitting on the board of the PD3 division
and experiencing the knowledge, know-how and networking
opportunities at the ANTEC and RETEC events I have
attended over the years have been great and have
helped me tremendously in shaping my plastics consulting
career. I would advise anyone to look through the
SPE website and see for himself/herself what I was
so excited about, over 18 years ago. Make that investment
in learning and into your plastics career. |
| Ralph E. Barnes Member since 1985  |
I was right out of college &
new to the plastics industry in 1983. In 1984, after
I got my feet wet in plastics, the company President
brought me to a SPE board of directors meeting and
a regular meeting followed. I was very interested
in the meeting topic and the people I met. After
a few meetings, he nominated me as section Secretary.
I was voted in and this started my tenure in the
leadership of the Rochester Section. I would say
that being a member has nurtured contacts I have
made into relationships with many people! It has
been an important part of my plastics career, and
something I wish to build on. I can gain access
to information with my contact with SPE a lot easier
than I could without. I can also help a customer
or colleague with contacts or information. Over
the years, SPE has been very rewarding and will
continue to be in the future! |
| Robert
Barr Member since 1964 |
I have been a
member for over 40 years. In that time it was the
place to be for anyone in plastics to keep up to
date on technology. Even more important to me as
a lone eagle, operating my own business with no
peers around me, was the feeling that the plastics
engineers in SPE became my only professional "family".
I will never forget the professional companionship
the many SPE meetings, local and divisional gave
me resulting in many friendships that last to this
day. |
| Margaret
Baumann Member since 1987 |
Belonging
& participating in a technical society has
provided me numerous benefits. Among them: opportunity
to give back something to the industry chance
to learn more about areas of the industry tangential
to where I am involved opportunity to meet &
establish long-term professional relationships
advancement in knowledge & exchange of information
in my areas of expertise. |
Glenn Beall
|
In 1958, my boss signed me up as a member of SPE and told me I would participate because he said so! I had never heard of SPE, but I became an active member of the Chicago Section because George Ryan wanted me to. That is the way things were done in those days. Now, after more than 45 years, I am proud to be a Distinguished Member of the Society. George knew he was doing me a great favor, but he never said so. Regrettably, he passed on before I was mature enough to properly thank him. In retrospect, SPE membership was a golden opportunity for a novice designer buried deep in the bowels of a large company. George and SPE gave me a chance to see the larger world beyond the corporation. I have had a never-ending chance to learn plastics technology. I got acquainted with not just our suppliers, but with the whole Chicago plastics community. Later on, ANTECs, RETECs and seminars brought me into contact with the plastics industry on a national basis. In those days, I was benefiting from what the young people now call networking, and my career prospered. "Thank you, George." |
| Bert
Blanchard Member since 1989 |
SPE
gives me the resources to keep current with the
latest technology and trends in the plastics industry.
The people you meet have a common interest in working
together to allow the entire industry to succeed
and continue to grow. I always learn valuable information,
and I strengthen my business "network"
whenever I attend a local section meeting. |
| Russell Broome Member since 1992 |
I joined SPE
as a student in my third year at college just
to try and get familiar with the local industry.
I not only met a lot of great contacts, but I
became very involved with my board of directors.
Not only did I land my first professional job
at a section meeting, but I have been able to
hone my public speaking and leadership skills
through the experience as well. It is really easy
to take for granted what all is available through
the Society, especially in this digital age. I
can only hope that I can give back a portion of
what all SPE has given me. |
| Dick Cameron Member since 1965  |
I am a Plastics
Engineer who graduated from Lowell. I joined SPE
in 1965 as a Sophmore. I have always wanted to be
'involved' in my profession, so I choose the most
prominent society, SPE. In my continuing interest
to gain more knowledge, the SPE was where I have
gone. I became involved in my section's Board of
Directors in 1970 and have ever since served in
the section where I have lived. The reason is that
the SPE is the place for Plastics Professionals
to get the latest and greatest on what's happening
in our industry. It has also been where I have been
able to meet my peers in the industry and develope
a better networking group. I continue to want to
contribute to our profession by being involved.
Jump in to your local section, you'll find you receive
a lot more from it than you give. |
Scott R.
Cleveland
|
The
Society of Plastics Engineers has provided me
many opportunities throughout my educational career.
Being a member of this organization has allowed
me to keep on top of what is happening in the
highly technical and fast moving industry by providing
literature, education, and technical conferences
such as ANTEC in which I have had the opportunity
to attend and present at twice. The SPE can be
utilized by all its members, educational and professional,
as a networking and information tool to an ever
expanding industry. |
| Rudolph Deanin Member since 1962 |
SPE is the
primary organization for people in the plastics
industry to keep up with new developments, through
meetings and publications, and to network with
people throughout the industry, locally, nationally,
and internationally. It also offers multiple opportunities
for broader involvement and activity in the profession. |
| Rabeh H. Elleithy Member since 1990  |
Greetings;
I have been a member of SPE since 1990, started as a student member. Now, 17 years later, I am a professor at the university (KSU) and I am continuing to benefit from SPE. The most important benefit for me is the interaction between polymer professionals during SPE conferences and events. I have been submitting papers to ANTEC regularly for 10 years. ANTEC is a great gathering to present my research, get input from colleagues, and learn from professionals. These are some of the main benefits for me. Definitely, there are many others. Thank you, and keep up the good work. |
Frank
Fasano
|
Membership
in SPE has been a positive experience from the
time that I joined in 1963 to the present. The
chief advantage has been the ability to meet and
interact with a large number of people with similar
interests in the plastics industry. Since many
of these people are employed by competitors, I
would have no other way of meeting them. A second
advantage has been the ability to hear first hand
presentations from important technical people.
The dialogue between speaker and members of the
audience is something that you would not hear
if you were not there. Finally, membership provides
a way for you to be recognized by your colleagues.
It is a very satisfying experience to be part
of a small group that is knowledgeable in a specialized
segment of industry. |
Michael Filiatrault
|
I am a member
of SPE because I enjoy the connection with other
plastics professionals in the SPE network. It helps me in my job as an Extrusion Process Engineer at Fres-co System USA when I need expert advice or a technical solution. The education opportunities at ANTEC are a great blend of academic progress and practical application which keeps me up to date with the latest developments. The scholarships I have received from the SPE Foundation support my attendance at Villanova's professional MBA program. |
| Norm Fowler Member since 1974 |
As others have indicated, there are many tangible reasons for joining SPE. Discounts on conferences, seminars and books, as well as attending monthly Section meetings to name a few. Though these benefits are important, I found the value of volunteering with our Society a big benefit to my Xerox work environment. Volunteering was a great way to test and develop my leadership skills. For one, our volunteer environment requires more teamwork and interactive skills to effectively and efficiently get things accomplished than in a classic work environment. Our governance structure and processes lend itself to working together in teams, to listen and always looking for the "win-win" solution. In the volunteer world, we can get a great deal of practice or cycles of learning, finding what works (and what doesn't) and get immediate feedback. Making all these skill work effectively is a bit more difficult in SPE since there's not a common "corporate culture" as in the working world. But by practicing these interactive and teamwork skills in SPE, we become better leaders when we return to the corporate world. The focus in many companies is to make people better managers. I think my SPE volunteer experiences gave me the unique opportunity to enhance leadership skills in a supportive environment. It's safe to say that my SPE experiences have made me a better Xerox manager and leader. |
Barbara
Genet
|
Belonging
to SPE for the past 20 years has provided me with
numerous benefits. The most important one to me
is the opportunity to give back to the industry
that I have made my living in for all these years.
A byproduct of participating in SPE at the Section
and Society levels is that it has given me an
opportunity to meet and establish lasting friendships
with my peers in the industry. Thru the years
I have been able to learn more about or industry
as a whole. SPE has strengthened my knowledge
allowing me to educate others outside our industry.
It gives me a great sense of accomplishment and
satisfaction to be a member of such a prestigious
organization. |
| Allan Griff Member since 1956 |
The feeling
of belonging -- back in 1955, as a young engineer
just out of school, it was a new family for me,
one of adults who really did the things we were
trained to do. I remember such people as Islyn
Thomas, Harry du Bois, Chuck Winding and Bruce
Maddock -- true pioneers of the industry. Going
to the ANTECs was a real trip, in many ways. SPE
gave me a chance to write and be published, and
also to teach, giving back some of the knowledge
I had learned (17 years teaching SPE extrusion
seminars). ANTEC papers on disk allow far more
thorough coverage of new developments than otherwise
possible. But SPE is as much about people as about
technology. Now, any SPE function is a social
trip -- meeting old friends and making new ones,
and after almost 50 years, the plastics industry
is still my family. |
| Richard
Grossman Member since 1986  |
SPE
forms the network by which I communicate with
other plastics technologists. The network is educational,
it's conversational, it's marketing related, it's
job related. I can't do without it. The best part
is that the volunteer work needed for SPE to unction
strengthens the network, provides increased contacts
and promotes continuity with those entering the
industry. It's time well spent. |
Todd A. Hogan
|
When I think
about what being a part of SPE has meant to me,
two main thoughts come to mind. The first is that
I had the opportunity early on in my career to
take on leadership roles. As a young college graduate,
volunteering in SPE provided opportunities to
take on leadership responsibilities that helped
me learn how to work with others, motivate others,
and manage teams and projects. I don’t know
of many companies that would be willing to give
a young person the opportunities to learn these
skills on the job. Through these leadership opportunities,
I discovered the other thing that SPE has given
me – the opportunity to make a difference
and have an impact. When you contribute to or
lead an effort in a volunteer organization, you
can see how your work has an impact on the organization.
Perhaps the most rewarding was a program I put
together that reached out to elementary through
high school students and help stimulate interest
in science and technology and in plastics. |
| Bill
Humphrey Member since 1968 |
Membership
in SPE has given me the opportunity to network
with my peers in my profession. My volunteer time
has allowed me to "give back" to the
industry that has provided for my well-being.
I have enjoyed over 30 years in the plastics industry
and have served 27 of those years as a section
board member or executive committee member. I
thoroughly enjoy my membership in SPE! |
| Kenneth M. Jacobsen Member since 1985 |
I joined SPE right out of college
at Ferris State University in 1985. I became a member
of the Detroit Automotive Section after accepting
a position in plastics sales and lead the SPE Christmas
Party event for the Section. I was transferred to
San Francisco, CA where I once again became active
and became the President of the Golden Gate Chapter
in 1988. Being a member has expanded my contacts
that have helped me in business and building friends
that have lasted a lifetime. My membership is an
important part of my growth in my plastics career,
giving me the ability to gain additional access
to information through my contacts within SPE. Over
the years, SPE has been very rewarding for me both
professionally and personally, and will continue
to be in the future! |
| Roger F. Jones Member since 1961 |
I have been
a member of SPE for over 40 years. SPE has provided
opportunities for me to learn about the technologies
of plastics materials, processing and usage that
would be otherwise unavailable or available at
considerable difficulty and cost. SPE has also
afforded me an opportunity to meet many people
in the industry and to contribute to the improvement
in plastics technology and its application. |
Norm
Kakarala
|
My
association with SPE as a member and an active
volunteer nurtured my professional growth. The
SPE provided me many outstanding opportunities
and benefits as a speaker, moderator and organizer
of technical meetings and conferences. The professional
network at SPE is second to none as a valuable
resource for a sounding board to resolve technical
and business issues. I am glad that I joined SPE
and received excellent peer recognition and great
benefits. I enthusiastically recommend membership
with SPE for everyone involved in plastics. |
| Dr. Yash P. Khanna Member Since 1995  |
ANTEC: I have noticed a continuous quality improvement over the years, especially in the last 2 years with 2005 being the best so far. In particular, new initiatives like "New Technology Forums" and "Keynote Speakers" add a lot of value. For people like myself who have been in the plastic industry for years, these new initiatives provide incentives to continue attendance and keep learning. Congratulations to SPE management in being so proactive. |
| Melvin
Kohan Member since 1961 |
The
SPE is a major source of information with respect
to all facets of the plastics industry - materials,
processing, testing, applications, assortment
of publishers, and related efforts constitute
an especially valuable part of SPE. |
| Vaman G. Kulkarni Member since 1989 |
I first attended ANTEC in 1989 in
New York, where I presented a paper. However, I
walked away from the conference with a lot more
than what I presented. Since then, I have been a
member of SPE. My association with SPE has nurtured
my professional growth in many ways - Opportunities
to associate with plastics professionals from industry
and academia, development of leadership skills through
volunteering in division and section activities
and access to shear wealth of technical knowledge
available through ANTEC and RETECS. I would encourage
everyone involved in plastics to become a member
of SPE. It is definitely a winning combination. |
| Sadhan
C. Jana Member since 1998 |
The organization
truly reflects my interests in research and education.
I am involved in polymer education for almost 10
years and in polymer research for almost 15 years.
I do not find these many like-minded researchers
in any other organization. Participation of industrial
researchers at ANTEC and TOPCON symposiums provides
scope for networking and exchange of new ideas. |
| Rahul Misra Member since 2004 |
I am a graduate
student, and SPE membership has provided me enormous
benefits in terms of interacting and exchanging
views with graduate students from other institutions--and
with senior academicians and industrial researchers.
At meetings like ANTEC, SPE membership gives me
a platform to present my research and discuss it
with others working in the same area. I believe
that SPE membership is a “must” for
everyone associated with the world of polymers. |
Sam McCord
|
I joined SPE
in 1984. It has been one of the best decisions
I have made for business as well as personal.
It has afforded me some of the best OJT type of
training in areas of leadership, management and
networking that is priceless. It has allowed me
the opportunity to meet industry specialists that
I would not have met in my normal business routine.
I have also learned from some of the best professionals
in the business and I truly appreciate every opportunity
to network with some of the finest people in the
plastics industry. |
| Dr. Domasius
Nwabunma Member since 2000 |
SPE is a unique
organization, providing a forum for the industrial
and acadamic professional to interact technically,
socially, and also do business. This has been my
strongest motivation for joining SPE in 2000. The
other benefit about SPE is that it is adaptive to
the changes in the polymer field and education.
These have been reflected in the running of SPE
as an organization and in the yearly ANTEC conference. |
Scottt L.
Peters
|
When
I first joined SPE some 14 years ago, I wasn't
sure what to expect. I was a regional sales engineer
for a German mold base company and had been recently
relocated to the Greater Akron marketplace. I
saw membership at that time as a great way to
make contact with potential customers. Well some
14 years later, with almost a decade on the Mold
Making & Mold Design division board of directors
- I can say that my membership is something much
more valuable. I have built personal and professional
relationships that bring great reward. For the
past six years, members of our board have met
at ANTEC and shared meals and time together. We
freely exchange ideas and hopes for the future
of our industry. I have come to rely on the members
of our division for technical guidance and insights.
I don't believe that my career would have had
as great rewards had it not been for my membership
in this Society. |
| Antonio Sergio Pouzada Member since 1995 |
Recognized worldwide, SPE is an association
for professionals working in the fields of plastics
engineering and mould engineering. Through conferences
and other SPE initiatives, SPE members routinely
receive detailed information designed to assist
them in their professional development. Qualified
members of SPE peer-review academic contributions
to SPE publications and conferences.
I am a member of the Department of Polymer Engineering at the University of Minho in Portugal - a department that I helped establish in 1977. I have served as a professor of plastics design, an organizer of graduate and undergraduate courses in Portugal and other countries, and coordinator of several academic and industry R&D projects. I serve the plastics industry, and SPE serves me. |
Thomas E.
Powers
|
I
have been an SPE member for almost 35 years and
never regretted a day. It has provided me with
networking opportunities that has enhanced my
ability to be a successful member of the plastics
community. I feel everyone involved in Plastics
should join SPE and give back something to your
industry. It was one of the smarter things I did
35 years ago. |
| George M. Prall Member since 1948 |
Why belong
to the SPE? Because you can't afford not to! Where
else can you go to hear a knowledgeable speaker
on a subject you are interested in or to meet
your peers of same or similar interests? At regular
Section meetings, or one can review the monthly
journal Plastics Engineering for its in depth
articles and to learn of new product applications,
materials, equipment and processes. Also there
is a calendar of "Dates to Remember"
listing SPE Conferences, Seminars and Chapter
meetings, some of which may be of specific interest
to your endeavors. As a new member in 1948, I
probably took more than I gave. But as a retiree,
I would like to think I finally gave more than
I took. And if I had to do it all over again,
I would with pleasure. |
| Murali Rajagopalan Member since 1990 |
I have been a SPE
member for the last 17 years and strongly believe
that it had a great positive impact in my professional
growth. During this period, I had the great opportunity
to associate with several plastic professionals
from the plastic industry as well as from the academia
which further enhanced my plastic knowledge.
I urge every plastic professionals who are not the SPE member yet to join the SPE since it brought me several new opportunities like taking a leadership role for the EPSDIV board, being a technical session chair person for the Antec sessions, net-working etc. In short, I am so proud to be a member of the SPE family! |
Tom Sloss
|
Interaction
and membership with The Society of Plastics Engineers
has provided me with great pleasure and technical
knowledge over the many years I’ve been
a member. I’ve always enjoyed “the
plastics environment" which is created at
every meeting. It’s an opportunity for me
to spend time on a regular basis with other plastics
professionals and to do my part in helping our
society continue its good work for the benefit
of others. |
William L.
Smith
|
Physically,
our muscles atrophy without activity and use.
Mentally, our brains atrophy without stimulation,
challenge, and active processing of new information
and experiences. Socially we atrophy without interaction
with others and become withdrawn and introspective.
Professionally, we atrophy unless we have new
and dynamic relevant input. This is what SPE has
done for me over the many years I have been a
member.
SPE has provided the professional stimulation, motivation, and learning that has kept me closer to state of the art in my field. Being a marketing and sales executive makes it critical above everything else, that one stay close to the market. SPE has allowed me to network with other professionals outside the office environment. Sometimes this has been in a technical program environment. Other times, it has been in a social setting, such as our recreational retreats and outings. These programs and social settings have been invaluable in getting to know others on their terms and at their pace and without the threatening environment of being solicited for business. All in all, SPE is a lot of product
for the buck. It is truly one of the bargains
still available for the plastics professional
today. |
| Douglas Stratton Member since 1980 |
I've been a
member of SPE for over 20 years. During that time,
for me, being a member has changed and expanded
from being part of a professional engineering
Society to belonging to a community. In the beginning,
the SPE met my needs for technical engineering
knowledge about plastics to help handle the demands
of my early career assignments. Later, through
becoming actively involved with the Board of Directors
on the Section and Division level, I learned about
leadership and getting things done through cooperation.
I learned to view myself as being employed by
the polymers industry, rather than simply by a
firm. Now, at this stage of my career and life,
the SPE represents a chance for me to develop
and contribute my spirit, energy and creativity
to a community that brings meaning to my life.
My work with the Detroit Section and Automotive
Division Society of Plastics Engineers Educational
Foundation is a wonderful challenge to develop
and evolve a vision for this nonprofit organization
with a philanthropic basis. With the other people
who are involved, we are creating an organization
with value to our local community in southeastern
Michigan and making a statement about how the
plastics industry recognizes the value of philanthropy.
This is what belonging to this professional society
has done for me. The benefits do not come to the
individual passively. One must choose where to
devote one's energy and spirit. With the investments,
the dividends and other benefits will come. |
| Ralph Starkey Member since 1973 |
I
have been a member of SPE since 1973 and have
found it to be very beneficial. The main reason
that I started attending local Section meetings
of the Tri State Section in Evansville, IN was
a search for knowledge about this industry; I
wanted to become very versed in plastics technology.
At the time there was no real place to get informed
about the various aspects of the plastics industry
except SPE. I am convinced that this is true today.
Education and Training have to be the main reasons
that SPE existed in the past and will exist in
the future. All Seminars, TOPCONs and ANTECs are
created to create a forum of learning. The Society
of Plastics Engineers is excellence in training
and information. |
William Tobin
|
When I first joined SPE in 1976 I
didn't get it. I didn't understand that if you are
not in the middle of it, you're on the outside.
And, you miss a lot when you are on the outside.
The more I became involved the larger my circle
of contacts became. The larger the circle of contacts
the more effective I was at my job. SPE is an anchor
you never lose. In these days of relocations and
downsizing, there's always a chapter somewhere so
that you can get reacquainted with the 'network'
in your area. This is an industry that is constantly
changing. You are never to old to learn and never
to smart to say you know it all. My personal and
professional success has been greatly enhanced by
my association with SPE. Now as a senior member
it is through SPE I can give back and help others.
In 1976 I didn't get it. Now I do. |
Tim
Womer
|
In 1979, the president
of our company, Mr. Jim Frankland, told me that
he wanted me to join a society that was for Plastic
Engineers. So, I sent in my application and became
a member. Then in 1984, I was able to attend my
first ANTEC and started to learn what SPE was really
all about. Meeting other people in the plastics
industry, doing similar things for a job like me.
Quickly I was introduced to other engineers and
started networking. Then in 1990, I wrote my first
technical paper and was elected to the Extrusion
Board of Directors. This is what really got me more
involved in SPE's governance. Over the years, I
went through all of the Extrusion Divisions positions
of governance and and got involved in other SPE
programs, writing chapters in books that became
SPE products, spoke at as many SPE events as possible
and then was appointed to the Executive Committee
of SPE. Now today, after 27 years in SPE, if someone
would have told me back then that I'd be the President
of SPE, I would have said "No Way". But
here I am and to this I say, "Anyone can get
involved, meet many new people and someday, you
too might be the President of SPE." |
Paul Zerfas
|
I joined SPE in 1989, shortly after
accepting a position as a Packaging Developer at
Kraft Foods. Membership in SPE gave me an instant
way to connect with the worldwide community of plastics
professionals. In 2000, with the encouragement of
a respected colleague, I increased my level of participation
in SPE by becoming involved in the formation of
the Flexible Packaging Special Interest Group. One
year later I became Chair of the SIG. I was astonished
by the energy and enthusiasm of our small group
of volunteers and I shall always remember the feeling
of accomplishment upon observing our fledgling group
grow to hundreds of members on it's way to becoming
a Division. SPE has been a catalyst for my personal
and professional development. Through my affiliation
with SPE I have formed not only a strong technical
network, but also lifelong friendships. |
