Member Testimonials

Belonging & participating in a technical society has provided me numerous benefits. Among them: opportunity to give back something to the industry chance to learn more about areas of the industry tangential to where I am involved opportunity to meet & establish long-term professional relationships advancement in knowledge & exchange of information in my areas of expertise.

I joined SPE as a student in my third year at college just to try and get familiar with the local industry. I not only met a lot of great contacts, but I became very involved with my board of directors. Not only did I land my first professional job at a section meeting, but I have been able to hone my public speaking and leadership skills through the experience as well. It is really easy to take for granted what all is available through the Society, especially in this digital age. I can only hope that I can give back a portion of what all SPE has given me.

The Society of Plastics Engineers has provided me many opportunities throughout my educational career. Being a member of this organization has allowed me to keep on top of what is happening in the highly technical and fast moving industry by providing literature, education, and technical conferences such as ANTEC in which I have had the opportunity to attend and present at twice. The SPE can be utilized by all its members, educational and professional, as a networking and information tool to an ever expanding industry.

SPE is the primary organization for people in the plastics industry to keep up with new developments, through meetings and publications, and to network with people throughout the industry, locally, nationally, and internationally. It also offers multiple opportunities for broader involvement and activity in the profession.

Membership in SPE has been a positive experience from the time that I joined in 1963 to the present. The chief advantage has been the ability to meet and interact with a large number of people with similar interests in the plastics industry. Since many of these people are employed by competitors, I would have no other way of meeting them. A second advantage has been the ability to hear first hand presentations from important technical people. The dialogue between speaker and members of the audience is something that you would not hear if you were not there. Finally, membership provides a way for you to be recognized by your colleagues. It is a very satisfying experience to be part of a small group that is knowledgeable in a specialized segment of industry.

I am a member of SPE because I enjoy the connection with other plastics
professionals in the SPE network. It helps me in my job as an Extrusion Process Engineer at Fres-co System USA when I need expert advice or a technical solution. The education opportunities at ANTEC are a great blend of academic progress and practical application which keeps me up to date with the latest developments. The scholarships I have received from the SPE Foundation support my attendance at Villanova's professional MBA program.

Belonging to SPE for the past 20 years has provided me with numerous benefits. The most important one to me is the opportunity to give back to the industry that I have made my living in for all these years. A byproduct of participating in SPE at the Section and Society levels is that it has given me an opportunity to meet and establish lasting friendships with my peers in the industry. Thru the years I have been able to learn more about or industry as a whole. SPE has strengthened my knowledge allowing me to educate others outside our industry. It gives me a great sense of accomplishment and satisfaction to be a member of such a prestigious organization.

The feeling of belonging -- back in 1955, as a young engineer just out of school, it was a new family for me, one of adults who really did the things we were trained to do. I remember such people as Islyn Thomas, Harry du Bois, Chuck Winding and Bruce Maddock -- true pioneers of the industry. Going to the ANTECs was a real trip, in many ways. SPE gave me a chance to write and be published, and also to teach, giving back some of the knowledge I had learned (17 years teaching SPE extrusion seminars). ANTEC papers on disk allow far more thorough coverage of new developments than otherwise possible. But SPE is as much about people as about technology. Now, any SPE function is a social trip -- meeting old friends and making new ones, and after almost 50 years, the plastics industry is still my family.

SPE forms the network by which I communicate with other plastics technologists. The network is educational, it's conversational, it's marketing related, it's job related. I can't do without it. The best part is that the volunteer work needed for SPE to unction strengthens the network, provides increased contacts and promotes continuity with those entering the industry. It's time well spent.

When I think about what being a part of SPE has meant to me, two main thoughts come to mind. The first is that I had the opportunity early on in my career to take on leadership roles. As a young college graduate, volunteering in SPE provided opportunities to take on leadership responsibilities that helped me learn how to work with others, motivate others, and manage teams and projects. I don’t know of many companies that would be willing to give a young person the opportunities to learn these skills on the job. Through these leadership opportunities, I discovered the other thing that SPE has given me – the opportunity to make a difference and have an impact. When you contribute to or lead an effort in a volunteer organization, you can see how your work has an impact on the organization. Perhaps the most rewarding was a program I put together that reached out to elementary through high school students and help stimulate interest in science and technology and in plastics.

Membership in SPE has given me the opportunity to network with my peers in my profession. My volunteer time has allowed me to "give back" to the industry that has provided for my well-being. I have enjoyed over 30 years in the plastics industry and have served 27 of those years as a section board member or executive committee member. I thoroughly enjoy my membership in SPE!

I have been a member of SPE for over 40 years. SPE has provided opportunities for me to learn about the technologies of plastics materials, processing and usage that would be otherwise unavailable or available at considerable difficulty and cost. SPE has also afforded me an opportunity to meet many people in the industry and to contribute to the improvement in plastics technology and its application.

My association with SPE as a member and an active volunteer nurtured my professional growth. The SPE provided me many outstanding opportunities and benefits as a speaker, moderator and organizer of technical meetings and conferences. The professional network at SPE is second to none as a valuable resource for a sounding board to resolve technical and business issues. I am glad that I joined SPE and received excellent peer recognition and great benefits. I enthusiastically recommend membership with SPE for everyone involved in plastics.

The SPE is a major source of information with respect to all facets of the plastics industry - materials, processing, testing, applicationrtment of publishers, and related efforts constitute an especially valuable part of SPE.

I joined SPE in 1984. It has been one of the best decisions I have made for business as well as personal. It has afforded me some of the best OJT type of training in areas of leadership, management and networking that is priceless. It has allowed me the opportunity to meet industry specialists that I would not have met in my normal business routine. I have also learned from some of the best professionals in the business and I truly appreciate every opportunity to network with some of the finest people in the plastics industry.

When I first joined SPE some 14 years ago, I wasn't sure what to expect. I was a regional sales engineer for a German mold base company and had been recently relocated to the Greater Akron marketplace. I saw membership at that time as a great way to make contact with potential customers. Well some 14 years later, with almost a decade on the Mold Making & Mold Design division board of directors - I can say that my membership is something much more valuable. I have built personal and professional relationships that bring great reward. For the past six years, members of our board have met at ANTEC and shared meals and time together. We freely exchange ideas and hopes for the future of our industry. I have come to rely on the members of our division for technical guidance and insights. I don't believe that my career would have had as great rewards had it not been for my membership in this Society.

I have been an SPE member for almost 35 years and never regretted a day. It has provided me with networking opportunities that has enhanced my ability to be a successful member of the plastics community. I feel everyone involved in Plastics should join SPE and give back something to your industry. It was one of the smarter things I did 35 years ago.

Why belong to the SPE? Because you can't afford not to! Where else can you go to hear a knowledgeable speaker on a subject you are interested in or to meet your peers of same or similar interests? At regular Section meetings, or one can review the monthly journal Plastics Engineering for its in depth articles and to learn of new product applications, materials, equipment and processes. Also there is a calendar of "Dates to Remember" listing SPE Conferences, Seminars and Chapter meetings, some of which may be of specific interest to your endeavors. As a new member in 1948, I probably took more than I gave. But as a retiree, I would like to think I finally gave more than I took. And if I had to do it all over again, I would with pleasure.

Interaction and membership with The Society of Plastics Engineers has provided me with great pleasure and technical knowledge over the many years I’ve been a member. I’ve always enjoyed “the plastics environment" which is created at every meeting. It’s an opportunity for me to spend time on a regular basis with other plastics professionals and to do my part in helping our society continue its good work for the benefit of others.

Physically, our muscles atrophy without activity and use. Mentally, our brains atrophy without stimulation, challenge, and active processing of new information and experiences. Socially we atrophy without interaction with others and become withdrawn and introspective. Professionally, we atrophy unless we have new and dynamic relevant input. This is what SPE has done for me over the many years I have been a member.

I've been a member of SPE for over 20 years. During that time, for me, being a member has changed and expanded from being part of a professional engineering Society to belonging to a community. In the beginning, the SPE met my needs for technical engineering knowledge about plastics to help handle the demands of my early career assignments. Later, through becoming actively involved with the Board of Directors on the Section and Division level, I learned about leadership and getting things done through cooperation. I learned to view myself as being employed by the polymers industry, rather than simply by a firm. Now, at this stage of my career and life, the SPE represents a chance for me to develop and contribute my spirit, energy and creativity to a community that brings meaning to my life. My work with the Detroit Section and Automotive Division Society of Plastics Engineers Educational Foundation is a wonderful challenge to develop and evolve a vision for this nonprofit organization with a philanthropic basis. With the other people who are involved, we are creating an organization with value to our local community in southeastern Michigan and making a statement about how the plastics industry recognizes the value of philanthropy. This is what belonging to this professional society has done for me. The benefits do not come to the individual passively. One must choose where to devote one's energy and spirit. With the investments, the dividends and other benefits will come.

I have been a member of SPE since 1973 and have found it to be very beneficial. The main reason that I started attending local Section meetings of the Tri State Section in Evansville, IN was a search for knowledge about this industry; I wanted to become very versed in plastics technology. At the time there was no real place to get informed about the various aspects of the plastics industry except SPE. I am convinced that this is true today. Education and Training have to be the main reasons that SPE existed in the past and will exist in the future. All Seminars, TOPCONs and ANTECs are created to create a forum of learning. The Society of Plastics Engineers is excellence in training and information.