Plastics News Daily Report - May 10, 2018 - 50

50 ‹ PLASTICS NEWS DAILY REPORT ‹ May 10, 2018

NPE2018 Q&A
Plastics News photo by Roger Renstrom

Andy Routsis
ROUTSIS TRAINING INC., PRESIDENT
By Don Loepp
Plastics News Editor

ndy Routsis has been in
plastics since the late
1970s. In all that time, it
seems, workforce issues have
been a No. 1 concern of plastics
processors.
"The dirty little secret in the
plastics industry is that the machines, materials, molds, robotics
and auxiliary equipment has significantly improved, but the workforce has not improved," Routsis
said.
"This has resulted in companies
making significant investments in
capitol equipment, yet the workforce has no idea on how to get the
most from it," he added.
Routsis, 60, is president of Routsis Training Inc. (Booth W583) of
Dracut, Mass.
Q: How many NPEs and Antecs
have you been to?
Routsis: This NPE will be my
14th. I have attended four Antecs.
Q: Any memories of your first
NPE?
Routsis: Yes. It was exciting
since I could see firsthand, technology that was available from
many machine OEMs and auxiliary equipment. The "theme" at the

time was automatic mold changes,
and many of the machine OEMs
had demonstrations.
Also, GE Plastics had an interesting booth because they had an
ice skating rink and had 8-year-old
kids taking slapshots at the crowd,
which was protected from hockey
pucks by Lexan polycarbonate.
Q: Do any of the shows stand
out in your memory, and why?
Routsis: At the 1982 show, many
of the machine OEMs were flaunting their controls. These were
their versions of programmable
logic controllers (PLCs). This was
interesting to me since, in the mid1970s until the early 1980s, many
plants were afraid of the technology. The old joke use to be, "How
far away does the service tech live
from my plant?" Companies rejected solid state controls and lots of
pushback with PLCs. Now everyone was on the PLC train.
Q: What's your main aim in
coming to this year's show?
Routsis: To meet with customers and prospects. It is a good venue for our company to explain our
system of ongoing training. And
they can see firsthand that our
products and services can meet
the needs of a company regardless
of size. Additionally, NPE provides

Andy Routsis is the president of
Routsis Training in Dracut, Mass.
me the opportunity to determine
what is new technology or repackaged old technology.
Q: Tell me about the history of
Routsis Training.
Routsis: It began in 1982 as I
was frustrated with the lack of
knowledge that existed in our industry. Companies were throwing away thousands and wasting
lots of time. I took many training
seminars and looked at every
commercial training option (such
as videotapes). And I came to the
conclusion that our industry needed better information and training
materials that were practical and
useful.

Initially, I produced videotapes
and then moved to the interactive
CD-ROM platform. Now internet is
the best way to deliver consistent
training as it can be accessed from
a computer, iPad or smartphone.
Utilizing this technology and following up with practical hands on
exercises shortens the learning
curve and allows a participant to
get the most from their equipment.
Q: What are common mistakes
that companies make when it
comes to training?
Routsis: It is not ongoing or
structured. They only train a few.
Never a system in place. Many
companies make the mistake of
having employees shadow another employee. Training metrics are
never established to measure tangible results. Most companies do
not understand the importance
of sharing knowledge. Many companies will only train when grant
funding is made available.
Q: How about successful companies, what do they do right in
terms of training?
Routsis: They have a training
plan for the entire workforce. Metrics are monitored. Training is provided and incorporated in many
formats such as interactive online,
instructor-led training and handson exercises. These companies
put a high value on employees.
Training is ongoing.
Q: How is your training different from other programs?
Routsis: We are the only plastics

training company in our industry
that provides a system of ongoing
training for an entire production
workforce. Additionally, we have
the largest library of advanced
scientific training. And we cover areas that no other training
providers have, such as purging,
automation, tooling, automation,
robotics, maintenance, 5S, part design, mold design and more.
Q: What do you think will be
the main talking points at NPE
this year?
Routsis: I think people will be
talking about the economy and the
amount of work that they have. Everyone will be upbeat, but secretly
they are struggling with in-plant issues such as defective parts, customer returns, lack of skilled help,
employee turnover and having to
use recruiters. They have the business but not enjoying the profit
margins. As far as theme, I believe
you will see a push of Industry 4.0.
Q: Do you see any trends that
are particularly interesting?
Routsis: Many companies will
be looking into full system integration - machine, mold, robot,
etc. - so you will see many of
the machinery OEMs going down
this path. You may also see some
technology integration, such as a
twin- or quad-screw feeding into a
shot-pot type machine.
Q: How will you gauge whether
this show is successful?
Routsis: By the number of leads
that we convert by the end of 2018.

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Plastics News Daily Report - May 10, 2018