BIOENVIRONMENTAL POLYMER SOCIETY

BEPS MembershipHale Waihona Puke Baidu
BEPS 18TH
ANNUAL MEETING
For 18 years, the BEPS Annual Meeting has been the leading conference where top researchers from industry, academia and government meet to discuss the latest developments in biopolymers, biodegradable materials, sustainable resources and the impacts that plastics have on the environment. This year’s meeting will bring you new presentations and numerous networking opportunities. The BEPS 18th Annual Meeting is set to be in Toronto, Canada on October 1315, 2010. The host hotel is the Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel, Toronto, Canada. The meeting will be chaired by Prof. Amar Mohanty, University of Guelph, Canada (beps2010@uoguelph.ca). The online registration is open for this meeting at www.eplyevents.com/beps2010. Hotel reservations may be made at http://www.starwoodmeeting.com/book/beps. See you in Toronto..!! Sandeep Manandhar BEPS Newsletter Editor
NEWSLETTER
2010
Page 2
GAIN A COMPETITIVE THE RIGHT FOCUS
MICHAEL DEWSBURY VP. OF PACKAGING RESIN TECHNOLOGY INC.
COST
ADVANTAGE
WITH
Running an effective manufacturing business in today’s globally competitive marketplace is a challenge. Success comes from maximizing the value of people and assets, while maintaining a competitive cost structure. Businesses are reviewing all segments to reduce cost and survive during these difficult economic times. Those companies doing the best job today will recover first and be more profitable because of their efforts. Their hiring, development, and culture are directed at increasing earnings by developing better products, processes, marketing and sales. A sharp focus is key to survival. But, if a business concentrates solely on work force reductions to improve profitability it can hinder its ability to grow when the economy improves. Recovering from steep labor reductions will take valuable time and opportunities will be lost.
Toronto Skyline
Report
ARTICLES
BEPS PLENARY MEETING
2
SESSION
FOR
18TH ANNUAL
Gain a Competitive Cost Advantage with the Right F ocus
“Green Fibers for a Green Automotive Industry”, Professor Jonathan Y. Chen, PhD, University of Texas at Austin “Eco-sustainable Coatings for Polymers and Wood-based Products and Composites”, Professor Ing. Voytek Gutowski, PhD, CSIRO Division of Materials Science and Engineering “Biobased & Biomimetic Fibre Composites using Cellulose and Natural Fibers as Reinforcement”, Professor Ing. Jorg Müssig, PhD, Hochschule Bremen-University of Applied Sciences “Assessing the Bio-Environmental Degradability of Light-Weight Packaging Materials in Controlled Composting Environments”, Professor Richard Farrell, University of Saskachewan
8
An Overview of Biodegradable Polyesters – Definitions and Developments
4
The Hell Might Be Green
“Green Materials: from Sports Gear to Nanofilters to Soil Rehabilitation”, Professor Anil N. Netravali, Cornell University “Biopolymers, Composites and Nanocomposites Developed as part of Biorefineries Strategies”, William J. Orts, Western Regional Research Center-ARS-USDA
BIOENVIRONMENTAL
POLYMER
SOCIETY
(BEPS)
NEWSLETTER
June 2010
2010
Volume 20, Number 2
SPECIAL POINTS OF INTEREST: BEPS 18th Annual Meeting BEPS Plenary Session Journal of Polymers and the Environment BEPS Group on LinkedIn
“Business are reviewing all segments to reduce cost and survive during these difficult economic times”
I am not suggesting personnel reductions are not needed. But often there is too much focus on manufacturing or research labor to reduce cost when other areas are not contributing to improving the bottom line. Figure “A” is a typical cost chart for a company producing plastic parts or packaging. Raw material is the dominant cost. Obtaining a 5% improvement in any area helps, but the rewards are greater in reducing the cost of raw material. The best and brightest people you employ and all the tools your company has developed to identify and control system costs are focused on driving down production expenses. While this is not a wasted effort, total manufacturing expenditures represent less than 30% of the bottom line cost. A 5% improvement in manufacturing expenses, which would be huge in any of the businesses I have been associated with, would only impact the bottom line 1.5%. (30% x 5%) . The biggest expense for many manufacturing businesses is raw material. I once ran a polyester business where raw materials made up over 80% of the product cost. Back then, we didn’t spend the time or resources to determine if we were getting the best deal. Many companies fall into that trap. Since they’re getting excellent service from their suppliers, they assume they are giving them the “the best” price possible on raw material. As a manufacturer, your sales group is trying to do the exact same thing: maximize pricing and profits and make your customers happy. The same is true for your suppliers. If they can increase your prices by 5%, they will and it’ll impact your bottom line by at least 3% - 4%. Clearly, you’ll never make up that difference in another round of manufacturing cuts. As a senior manager for a plastics manufacturer, I was involved in many studies, using internal and external specialists. Our objective was to identify best in class capital costs, manufacturing costs, and projecting cost improvements through technology gains. We also spent countless man hours identifying new market opportunities, products, and ways to create market segments to improve pricing. The Paredo principle held true. We spent over 80% of our effort improving less than 20% of our cost. Regrettably, we did not apply the same effort or focus to our raw material.