Motivation

According to the Society of the Plastics Industry, the plastics industry is the fourth-largest manufacturing industry in the United States, accounting for approximately $304 billion in annual shipments and more than 1.5 million direct employees nationwide. Since 1976, plastics have been the most widely used materials in this nation, surpassing steel, copper, and aluminum combined by volume. However, in spite of the strong growth and ubiquity of plastic products, the plastics industry continually faces new customer demands, furious global competition, spiraling oil prices, and growing environmental concerns. The establishment of the industrial consortium will leverage the present efforts of the plastics industry to improve its productivity and profitability by collectively developing innovative technologies and embracing emerging opportunities.

A research assistant examines the quality of plastic film extruded
from a pilot-scale film blowing line in the Polymer Processing Lab.