Plastics industry veteran Mel Ettenson, publisher of Global Plastics Letter, will start to post occasional contributions to the MDM Blog based on his most recent issue or other happenings in the plastics industry.
Below is a quick interview I conducted with him to introduce him to MDM readers. His newsletter can be found at www.globalplasticsletter.com.
MDM: What is your history in the plastics industry?
Ettenson: I have been in the plastics industry for almost 50 years. Starting with several manufacturing companies in the plastics composites sector and then into marketing and distribution with several global plastic semi-finished shapes distributors including starting one, which I sold to a German steel company in the late 90’s when I started my newsletter.
MDM: Tell me a little about why you started Global Plastics Letter. What is your goal with the publication?
Ettenson: I started Global Plastics Letter in November 1999 initially to fill a void since there was no publication anywhere on the planet that was devoted exclusively to the plastics semi-finished shapes sector of the plastics industry, which is a multibillion dollar business. It also afforded me an opportunity to keep up with the news and progress of this business globally, rather than use the "r" word (retired). As quoted in "The Graduate" (See my Web site home page.)…" the future is… one word: plastics."
The goal of our publication is to provide information to management of the companies in our segment of the plastics industry which will help them manage, forecast, innovate and thrive -information is power.
MDM: What are the key issues plastics distributors (and manufacturers) are facing right now?
Ettenson: Key issues for plastics distributors are not unlike general industrial distribution companies: managing for recessionary times; how to grow despite a recession; new applications to replace traditional metal ones; how to deal with inflation that turned to stagflation; how to predict how swings in oil prices (since most plastics are either oil-based or natural gas-based) are having an effect on commodity prices and inventory values; continued consolidation in the manufacturing and distribution sectors; how to improve supplier relations and on and on.
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