“Molding in Sustainability: Your Business. Our Industry’s Future”

Debbie Prenatt, Market Manager, Sustainability, M. Holland Company

Debbie’s passion is enabling manufacturers to integrate sustainable material and polymer solutions into their components to drive a more balanced product lifecycle. She joined M. Holland in December 2020 as an Application Development Engineer/Market Manager, Sustainability and holds a BS Degree from The Ohio State University and two master’s degrees from Colorado State University Global.

“Packaging Solutions for the Circular Economy”

Tim Ponrathnam, Director of Sustainability for Health, Hygiene and Specialties, Berry Global

Tim drives programs at Berry to include the use of recycled and sustainable materials in their products. He manages Berry’s life cycle assessment data for quantifying the Carbon footprint of Berry’s products. Tim has a PhD in Plastics Engineering from University of Massachusetts Lowell.

“Industry 4.0 Partnerships: Data Driven Sustainability Initiatives for Molders”

Gamini Mendis, Assistant Professor in Plastics Engineering Technology, Penn State Erie, The Behrend College

Gamini has a BS and PhD from Purdue University in Materials Engineering and Sustainability. He joined Penn State as a Post Doctorate Scholar in 2020 prior to his professorship appointment. He works closely with PA plastics manufacturers to implement sustainability programs in their plants.

Panel Discussion

Moderated by Alicyn Rhoades, PhD, Penn State Erie, The Behrend College: Interim Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies, Associate Professor Plastics Engineering Technology, Director, AREC-USA (Advanced Engineering Resource Center)