Plastics News Daily Report - May 9, 2018 - 60

60 ‹ PLASTICS NEWS DAILY REPORT ‹ May 9, 2018
in
Hyannis,
Mass. It was
an international
company,
and I knew I
wanted my career to have a
global outlook.
Because
my
undergrad degrees were in
French and inCarlin
ternational relations and the
company had large customers in
Belgium and France, they tasked
me with managing sales in foreign
markets.
Q: How many NPEs and Antecs
have you been to?
Carlin: This year will be my fifth
NPE and third Antec.
Q: Any memories of your first
NPE? First Antec?
Carlin: Some of those first career trade shows at McCormick
are blurred by the ravages of time.
... At Sencorp, we exhibited at
both NPE and Pack Expo with large
booths and multiple machines. I
recall working with our trade show
consultant at the time who was
very well-versed in the "mechanics" of McCormick. I learned a few
things there.
I remember a colleague of mine
who managed extrusion sales in
international markets for us. He
had meetings with a Polish family
where the son, who was about 14,
did all the translation for his father,
who owned the business. When I
asked my colleague how difficult it
was to negotiate that way, he said
that everyone would be speaking

NPE2018 Q&A

Conor Carlin
CMT MATERIALS INC., SALES AND MARKETING MANAGER
By Don Loepp
Plastics News Editor

onor Carlin is a leading
plastics industry voice
on sustainability. He sees
some signs for optimism on the
topic at NPE2018.
"This is such an important area
for our industry," said Carlin, the
sales and marketing manager for
CMT Materials Inc. in Attleboro,
Mass.
"On the one hand, there are tremendous challenges associated
with plastics pollution, misperceptions among the public and a wild
patchwork of polices, bans and
incentives that make true stewardship difficult. On the other hand,
there has never been so many
talented people working together and separately to truly change
the world for the better, whether
through development of novel bioplastics or through improvements
in recycling efficiencies. I often say
that there are a lot of environmentalists in the plastics industry.
"There is certainly more momentum now than three years ago,
and we have a real chance to solve
some difficult problems," he added.
He hopes to hear about cooperation between the plastics supply

chain and the waste management
industry "to unlock the true potential of recycling."
"Right now, the economics are
not working, so we need to get
more ideas on the table, including
behavioral programs, extended
producer responsibility, eco-modulations that reward better designed products and risk-sharing
structures for real investment in
more plastics recycling facilities
(PRF). The demand champion program from the Association of Plastic Reyclers, for example, is a great
example of how to pull more recycled material through the market."
In addition to his role at CMT,
Carlin also is vice president of
marketing and communications
for the Society of Plastics Engineers, so he will split his time between NPE and SPE's Antec.
Q: How did you get into plastics?
Carlin: I started working in the
plastics industry in 1998, shortly
after getting my B.A. from Boston
University. The father of one of my
college roommates was CEO of an
industrial group who offered me a
chance to interview with a packaging machinery manufacturer in
Leominster, Mass., before moving full-time to another division

English in 10 years' time anyway.
He wasn't too far off. (And I think
he closed the deal, too.)
My first Antec was Boston in
2005, in conjunction with that
year's SPE thermoforming division
board meetings.
Q: You straddle two fences in
Orlando this year, with CMT exhibiting at NPE plus your role for
SPE. How do you manage those
responsibilities?
Carlin: The schedule this year
allows enough time to manage
both sets of responsibilities. The
SPE Executive Board meets prior
to the official NPE kickoff, though
there is some overlap at the start
of the week. Good planning and
preparation, along with some great
colleagues, help to make things
manageable. That said, I still don't
think there will be enough time to
see everything at the show.
Q: Putting on your CMT hat,
what new products do you have
this year? How do your products
help thermoformers?
Carlin: CMT has developed a
range of products that has evolved
with advances in plastic packaging. This year, we have planned to
highlight the different attributes
of different plug-assist materials
across multiple thermoforming
booths. Thin-gauge thermoformed
parts such as drinking cups, coffee
capsules, fruit trays, barrier trays,
horticultural parts and many
more are formed with plug-assisted pre-stretching. Our Hytac
syntactic foam plug materials are
designed to optimize plastic parts
with specific material properties:
low thermal conductivity, low spe-

cific heat and low coefficient of
thermal expansion. The results for
thermoformers are improved material distribution, fewer rejects,
reduced starting gauge and faster
cycle times.
Q: You travel a lot internationally, so you also have that perspective on the plastics industry.
What are your thoughts on the
North American plastics industry and how it fits into the global
market?
Carlin: I'm on my way to Shanghai to visit and exhibit at Chinaplas
for the sixth time. This is a very
large show, second only to K in
terms of exhibitors and attendees.
Even during these past five years,
I have seen a noticeable evolution
in the technology of China-based
OEMs. Their domestic market continues to grow, and with rising incomes and increasing urbanization,
plastics consumption is increasing.
The North American industry
is not homogenous, so we are
seeing different developments,
different rates of change in various sectors. Resin production
has been profoundly impacted by
shale gas, which has created a real
competitive edge. That translates
to increased domestic consumption and increased exports. From
this perspective, the U.S. is very
much a part of the global plastics
market. U.S. machinery exports,
by contrast, show a large trade
deficit. It is a very competitive arena, but we also have a large and
dynamic market at home and in
NAFTA where domestic producers
continue to succeed, even as more
imports arrive.

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2018

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