November 2007

Six Sigma Training

A unique one day event presented by TMAC and the University of Houston

Novembe 12, 2007
Brady’s Landing, Houston, TX
8am–5pm

Register: spe-stx.org

Six Sigma is one of the most important business initiatives of the last decade. Learn how your company can benefit from the same methodology that Dell Computers, Motorola, and Dow Chemical used to:

• Establish Unparalleled Quality

• Discover Cost Savings

• Eliminate Issues Before They Occur

• Develop Leadership that Identifies and Solves Problems

Six Sigma can be applied to every business in all sectors of the economy. A hands-on simulation, delivered by a Master Black Belt, will demonstrate the effectiveness of the methodology. Learn about the DMAIC process and determine how it can be utilized in your company.

“TMAC’s Six Sigma Training gave us the tool to increase our quality, develop our managers, and find cost saving improvements.”

– Marc Pollo, American Shipping

Contact TMAC for more information
(832) 842-7043 or www.tmacgc.org

President’s Message

Greetings! Already 2007-2008 is bringing a wide variety of programming to the SPE South Texas Section. Following September's outing at the ballpark, we gathered at Valeron for a plant tour in October. Special thanks go to Mike Rancich and his coworkers at Valeron Strength Films! The tour was very interesting. Valeron produces the "backbone film" for lots of applications from the airline luggage tags to house wrap to tamper-resistant packaging. They offer a fascinating example of developing a specialty business from a relatively narrow product slate. Dinner at Pappasitos was enjoyed by all.

The November meeting will offer Lean Six Sigma training with leadership by Gerry Fusco, TMA, and the University of Houston. If you are a supplier to a company driven by Six Sigma, or you are considering starting a Six Sigma program yourself, this will be a good introduction. Because many members expressed an interest to get together with other section members but couldn't participate in the full program, a networking luncheon will be offered. Sign up for both on the website.

We are putting together the General Operating Committee and Technical Programming Committee for the 2009 International Polyolefins Conference. This conference is one of the key activities of the South Texas Section; we've set high standards for ourselves. By starting to plan early, we will be able to consider new possibilities for the conference, such as webcasting or special additional themes (like FlexPackCon for 2008). If you have some ideas which should be pursued, or if you'd like to get involved in the planning of the conference, please let me or Bill Diecks know.

There are lots of opportunities for section members to participate, either in narrowly defined tasks or in broader assignments. We welcome Kurt Hayden to the role of Secretary. Kurt joined South Texas last year after moving from Michigan and he's already been involved in programming as well as the new role of Secretary. Similarly, Carlos Lotero has volunteered to organize the South Texas SPE Essay contest this year. We welcome these new leaders and look forward to their expanded involvement.

That said, we must also thank Raj Saxena and Wayne Derrick for their years of special support. Raj has served the past several years as secretary of the section, but is now focusing on a new assignment which takes him away from plastics. We hope to see him active again in the future. Wayne has championed the student essay contest for many years and has been instrumental in involving many more schools. He has recruited writers which won the international competition; and he has represented SPE at school-wide presentations for the winners. Thanks Raj and Wayne!

Please think about how you'd like to be more involved in your professional society. We will appreciate your ideas as well as your help.

Sincerely

Donna S. Davis
SPE – South Texas Section President 2007-2008

Plastics Information: Check it Out

Since the Houston Public Library on McKinney St is essentially closed for remodeling, you cannot go there to browse for books on plastics/polymers. However, go to their catalog at www.hpl.lib.tx.us and arrange to pick up books at a branch library.

The Fondren Library at Rice University has the most complete collection of books on plastics and polymers. This is also a prime resource for patent and trademark information, as well as other US Government documents. You cannot check out books there unless you join Fondren Library [$50], but you can arrange for books to be sent to your library by inter-library loan. Use their catalog at www.rice.edu/fondren/.

The next best place to browse is at the MD Anderson Library at the University of Houston central campus. South Texas Section has donated many plastics books to this library. If you plan ahead, you can get a TexShare library card from a library where you are a member, which will allow you to check out books from any U of H library. Their catalog is at www.library.uh.edu/.

Breakfast Bunch Holds Annual Golf Outing

The Breakfast Bunch Invitational Golf Outing was held at Windrose Golf Club in Spring on Friday, October 19th. Twenty-Eight golfers came out and enjoyed perfect Fall weather to participate in the 2 Person Scramble. Since the day coincided with the monthly Lunch Bunch meeting, it was held at Windrose as well. Six additional folks came for lunch after the morning round of golf was completed.

Of the 14 teams competing, Eddie Rios and Steve Torchia prevailed to win First Prize. A close Second, losing a scorecard playoff, were Steve Williams and Mark Demark. The Longest Drive award was won by Todd Maples, and Jeff Pro picked up the Closest to Pin award.

This is the third year for the tournament since it was reestablished in 2005. The principle behind the event is to provide an enjoyable environment, at a reasonable price, where folks can invite their customers, colleagues, and friends to relax, have some fun, and take an extended weekend in during the time half way between the Labor Day and Thanksgiving periods. The generosity of the Companies that provide sponsor donations is a prime factor in keeping costs low for the event. This year’s sponsors are:

• AMETEK – Chemical Products Division, Houston
• Bag Magic, Inc., The Woodlands
• Ciba Specialty Chemicals, Houston
• Croda Universal, Inc., Magnolia
• C.W. Brabender Instruments, Inc., So. Hackensack
• Huber Engineered Materials, Houston
• Ingenia Polymers, Inc., Houston
• Kraton Polymers, LLC, Houston
• NFM Extruders, The Woodlands
• Phoenix Plastics Company, Conroe
• Tarquin Polymers & Colors, Inc., Houston
• TIAero, LLC, Spring
• UBS Financial Services, The Woodlands
• Windrose Golf Club, Spring

The Breakfast Bunch regularly meets at the I-Hop on Washington Ave, and I-10, at 7AM, on the first Tuesday monthly. The Lunch Bunch meets, at 11:30AM, the third Friday every month at the Steel City Pizzeria on Sawdust Rd in The Woodlands. The regular Section meeting is held, at 6:00PM, the second Monday of every month – usually at Brady’s Landing Restaurant on Cypress on the Ship Channel in Houston – check the Newsletter for special meetings. The South Texas Section offers its members a number of monthly opportunities at various venues to get together for technical, marketing, and general networking exchanges.

Recipient of The SPE Foundation
2007 Gulf Coast Hurricane Scholarships

The Gulf Coast Hurricane scholarship was established with an endowment from the Tex-La-Gulf Section of SPE to help ensure the healing and healthy long-term growth of the Plastics Industry and the residents of the Gulf Coast. The first recipient of the scholarship is Ynhi T. Thai, from Long Beach, MS, who will receive $3,000 over the next two years.

Ynhi is a junior at the University of Alabama, where she is majoring in Chemical Engineering, and is in the chemical and biological engineering honors program. She is a member of AIChE, the Society of Women Engineers, and Engineering Students Without Borders.

In 2005, Ynhi interned at the Naval Research Laboratory-Stennis Space Center where she conducted transmission electron microscopy studies of microbially Fe(III)-reduced organo nontronite; in 2006, she held a chemical engineering co-op at Eastman Chemical Co. where she wrote an operational manual for a polymer stretching machine they had recently purchased. She is currently serving as an undergraduate research assistant working on two projects related to fuel cells: improving the carbon-platinum interaction in making a catalyst for fuel cells by developing a better, more controlled process of doping the carbon with boron, and improving the humidifier for testing the lifetime of fuel cells.

The Gulf Coast Hurricane Scholarship is administered by the SPE Foundation, an affiliate of the Society of Plastics Engineers. One four-year university scholarship of $6,000 (funds distributed on a yearly basis) and two two-year junior college or technical institute scholarships of $2,000 (funds distributed on a yearly basis) are available. Applicants for this scholarship must have been a resident of a Gulf Coast County declared a national disaster area by President Bush due to the impact of Hurricane Katrina, Rita or Wilma in 2005, and must be attending a university, college or technical institute in a Gulf Coast State (Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas). Recipients must maintain a 2.0 GPA and enroll in at least 6 credit hours per semester to continue scholarship support.

The 2008-2009 Scholarship Application is available on the SPE website at
www.4spe.org/foundation.

From left to right: Rick Wilson – Susquehanna Section Councilor, SPE President Vicki Flaris, and Rick Wagner – South Texas Section Councilor

Councillor’s Report

Council Meeting

President Flaris honored Councilor Scott Peters of the Mold Making and Mold Design Division for his induction into the Plastics Pioneers Association. Mr. Peters was also honored by his Division as Mold Designer of the Year. President Flaris also announced that SPE Vice President James Griffing has been named a Fellow of the Boeing Corporation.

Executive Director Susan Oderwald reported that SPE has been working on a number of new initiatives and programs in response to the findings of the all-member value survey that was completed earlier this year. The New Technology Committee has agreed to support SPE's efforts to produce a New Technology Symposium on a variety of topics in Philadelphia early next November. We are also working with the new Biopolymers SIG and the Plastics Environmental Division to develop a Green Building Symposium in the near future.

Budget

The major Council action was the approval of the 2008 calendar-year budget. The budget that was approved calls for gross income of $5,495,000, direct expenses of $3,331,750, staff and overhead expenses of $2,086,850 and a net income of $76,400. Council approved the budget unchanged from the original presentation by Treasurer Ken Braney.

Awards and Recognition Programs:

Annual Awards Program
Applications for the SPE Annual Awards Program, recognizing excellence in business management, education, engineering technology, research, benefit to society, and overall industry contributions, are due November 15, 2007. Nominations for the Plastics Product Design Awards are due February 15, 2008; parts will be shipped to ANTEC 2008 for judging.

Essay Contest
The 2008 “Wonders of Plastics” Essay contest is under way; the South Texas effort will be led Don Lotoro in his new role on the Education Committee.

Husky and Chase Education Awards
Applications are available online for the Husky Section Education Award and the Chase Student Chapter Award. Applications are due February 6, 2008. Questions about these two awards should be addressed to Laurie McDougal.

Outstanding Student Chapter Awards (see additional notes under Committees)
Applications are available online for the Outstanding Student Chapter Award (formerly STRETCH). Applications are due February 6, 2008. Tricia McKnight is the contact for this award.

Information on all SPE Awards is available on the SPE website at www.4spe.org/awards.

Bylaws & Policies

The Bylaws & Policies Committee submitted four new policies for consideration by Council:
• 003-Conflict of Interest
• 007-Fellow Election Committee
• 011-Unemployed Members
• 017-Election of Councilors
Council voted to approve all four policies.

K Show

The SPE Seminar program for the K-Show in Dusseldorf, Germany, will be conducted by a new slate of Seminar instructors, recruited exclusively from the European Divisions and SIGs. It is felt that an all-European core of instructors will enhance attendance at the October K-Show and get the European Seminars program off to a faster start in 2008.

The SPE Foundation

The SPE Foundation ended August with a surplus of $64,818. Expenses are on track with this year’s budget. We continue to realize less income from the dues check-off boxes, which we attribute in part to the fact that the response to the dues invoice mailing is about 3.5% less than the same time last year. The Foundation investment balance is approximately $1,592,000.

Special Interest Groups

The following three Special Interest Groups were approved by Council:
• Plastics in Building and Construction - Contact: Mark Barger (markbarger@dow.com)
• Biopolymers - Contact: Doug Hirt (hirtd@clemson.edu)
• Medical Polymers Europe - Contact: Gerard McNally (g.mcnally@qub.ac.uk)

The following SIG name change was approved by Council:
• From North American Radiation Processing to Radiation Processing of Polymers North America
Contact: Dave Kerluke (DKerluke@sterigenics.com)

Committee Highlights

Conference Committee
• Sections should be encouraged to report mini-techs to international in advance of the program. This will put the information on the SPE calendar and help keep TopCons from overlapping or competing with content.
• Sections and divisions should register trademarks of important programs. The Flexible Packaging Division has registered their topical conference name, FlexPackCon^®, this year. South Texas should register Polyolefins.
   – International will pick up costs for US registration.
   – Other country registration will be charged back to section.
      - Canada ~ $5000
      - EU ~ $3000
• Extrusion Division is planning a new TopCon focused on coextrusion for 2008

ANTEC committtee
• ANTEC 2007
   – Net revenue up over 2006
   – Attendance near historical highs
   – 230 exhibitors (double historical high)
   – At this time all feedback towards new Plastics News partnership
• ANTEC 2009
   – A new “write now” brochure available which adds a new submission type of paper focused on industry to ANTEC.
   – New functionality has been added to the electronic submission site which allows papers to be submitted after abstract submission deadline
   – Sessions for 2008 will be held Mon. – Wed.
   – Exhibition for 2008 will be Mon. afternoon – Wed. Morning

Sections Committee
• Outstanding Student Chapter Award
   – Thermoforming Division continues to donate $5000/year to support ten - $500 awards
   – The division is asking other sections and divisions to support additional awards.
• Taskforce on regionalization
   – Committee sentiment was that forced regionalization is not necessary. Regionalization has begun to occur naturally.
   – Need better follow through with sections having problems.
      - More support for those requesting help
      - Sections not responding or supporting their members should be handled in a timely manner per policy/bylaws
   – Remaining question, how are the members of “provisional” or “abandoned” status get served?

Expanded Technical Programming and Training for February Conference

The 2008 International Conference of Polyolefins will be collocated with the SPE FlexPackCon and PolyTech seminars for even more content in 2008. In addition to the traditional nine sessions on polyolefins, the 2008 event will include four additional sessions on Flexible Packaging. The PolyTech
schedule has 19 one- to two-day seminars addressing a wide variety of topics from engineering properties and structures (e.g. fundamentals of crystallization) to converting technologies (e.g. blow molding and advanced extrusion) to product design (e.g. snap fits and welding of plastic parts). This PolyTech program is essentially an ANTEC-scope offering, here in the Houston area.

The Sunday afternoon tutorial will focus on flexible packaging converting and packaging technology, with emphasis on printing, metallization, and other techniques critical to packaging.

Check it out at www.spe-stx.org/PolyolefinsConference.htm and www.4spe.org/training/seminars/polytech08/index.php.

And mark your calendars now for February 24-27, 2008.

Board Minutes

The SPE South Texas Board of Directors met via teleconference on October 15, 2007.

The minutes of the previous meeting were discussed with no changes noted.

Glen Rasberry reported the bank accounts had been consolidated at Chase with a balance of $109,223.04. Seed money has been designated for the POLYOLEFINS Conference account. Both the September and October meetings (Astros game and tour of Valeron Strength Films) were essentially
break-even, leaving the program budget generally in balance.

Ray Johannessen recommended that South Texas not nominate anyone for Honored Service Member this year, but look for candidates for next year. The section has many HSMs already and also has a good cast of new leaders who simply don't have the years of service required for this particular award. Tom Walsh has sponsored a section member for Fellow.

Bill Diecks and Tom Walsh reported on the Polyolefins Conference. Several of the sessions are finished; the abstract deadline is November 1 with full papers due December 15. Work with the Flexible Packaging Division has gone will and the FlexPackCon sessions are almost full as well. We still need sponsors for coffee breaks, etc. Interested sponsors should contact Bill or Tom.

Donna Davis reported that SPE headquarters has offered to trademark the Polyolefins Conference to help us maintain its brand value. She also reported that several members have expressed interest in working on the 2009 conference. A proposal for the committee will be presented at the November meeting.

Mark Demark announced that Carlos Lotero has volunteered to lead the Essay Contest activity.

There was significant discussion around the newsletter format. Apparently, members like the web-style format for reading, but are concerned when printing. Sponsors were also concerned about the location and clarity around their messages. The publisher, Geiman, will incorporate the "Extruder" banner and reformat the newsletter to better meet these newly expressed preferences.

A networking lunch will be added to the planned Lean Six Sigma November meeting for those members wishing to meet but not participating in the technical program.

The next board meeting will be held in November following the monthly technical program.

Speed and Flexibility: A Value Proposition for a New Competitive Plastics Industry Environment

Norman E. Fowler, Xerox Corporation

Abstract
The American plastics industry is at a crossroad created by increased international competitive pressures as well as industry maturation and consolidation. Coming from this crossroad most likely will be a new set of value propositions aimed at battling not just on component price, but adding value to other parts of OEM’s and other customers’ businesses. One such value proposition integrates speed and flexibility to drive lower overall total cost of acquisition.

Introduction
Today, Original Equipment Manufacturers (or OEMs) are facing increased pressures from increasing global competition, blistering pace of new products, scarce skilled people, limited financial resources and increasing stock holders expectations. Typically, these OEMs deliver their products through the use of a value chain. For this paper, a value chain is a series of linked product delivery steps with suppliers all focused on delivering a product to the OEM’s customers. As the above mentioned pressures are placed on the OEM, pressures to reduce cost and generate greater productivity are in turn passed back along the value chain and its suppliers. The plastics industry, as most other commodities, are caught in this same drive for greater productivity for their customers. The impact on the plastics is further compounded by the industry’s growing maturity, increasing vendor base globalization, intense offshore competition and an escalating cost base that squeezes overall profitability. All together, this places an increasing burden on plastic component suppliers and their partners.

Increasing Value off Time To Market
With greater competition comes the increased need to improve an operation’s productivity. In this paper, the definition of productivity is the product of effectiveness (doing the right things) and efficiency (doing things right). OEMs and suppliers constantly looking for opportunities to increase productivity. Though most of the productivity effort is typically focused on reductions in unit manufacturing cost (UMC), a growing emphasis is being placed on time to market. Work conducted by Preston Smith and Donald Reinertsen focused on the impact on before tax profits of various common product delivery scenarios. [1] In their work, a six month delay in product introduction had a roughly the same negative before tax profits impact as a 50% increase in development cost. The six month delay also had a significantly greater impact than 10% higher product cost and 10% lost sales volume (see Figure 1). Also playing a role here is the shrinking product lives of many consumer products. Figure 2 illustrates the sales envelope of Hewlett Packard products from 1979 to 1988. [2] In this figure, the sales envelope is defined as time (in years) to attain half of a product’s total peak volume. During this period of time, the sales envelope decreased by 50% which indicates the average time a product in the marketplace had been roughly cut in half. Significant loss of profitability and shortened product lives combine to place a premium on delivering products to the marketplace on time.

Value of Taking a Different Plane
Most products and businesses go through a commonly documented life cycle known as the “S” curve. This phenomena is typically graphed as product performance as a function of time. These “S” curves are characterized by having four phases. As shown in Figure 3, the first generation product begins with a period of nominal growth as the innovative product is developed and brought to market. Once the consumer accepts the product, a period of rapid growth ensues. As a product or industry matures, competition increases and fewer product innovations are introduced. As a result, the rate of growth begins to slow and eventually falls. Fortunately, most companies understand this and begin developing new products that propel them off the original “S” curve on to a second-generation “S” curve. Generally, this second generation of products have significantly improved performance (e.g. new or more features, lower cost, etc.).

With higher levels of industry competition and increasingly knowledgeable customers, companies consistently look for unique or compelling reasons for customers to choose their products. These reasons can be called value propositions. The most successful value propositions are those that address the highest priority requirements of customers in a particular market segment. To be successful, companies also need product characteristics that consistently differentiate their products n the marketplace. These can be called vectors of differentiation. In some marketplaces, companies are looking at alternative value propositions that change the way they and their competitors compete. At the E-Service World 2000 Conference in Paris, France, Carly Fiorina, CEO of Hewlett Packard (HP) made this comment: “I believe that the pure product era is coming to a close. Products wrapped in services are what will provide sustainable revenue and profit for business in the net economy. We are looking at every product and seeing how we can wrap that in service to make it more valuable to our customers, more efficient for us to distribute, more powerful in the market place.” [3] This can be graphically represented in Figure 4. By wrapping new services around products, these companies move off the product plane and create a new value proposition, where more customer value is created. If these companies are uniquely capable of providing these services, they have also generated a vector of differentiation between them and their competitors.

Product Delivery Value Chain
Typically, a majority of the productivity pressure has been placed on manufacturing operations to improve the cost effectiveness of a product and/or service. However, for many reasons, an equal emphasis needs to be placed on the effectiveness and efficiency of the design process required to deliver a product to market. Though there are many different value chains, for the purposes of this paper, the one pictured in Figure 5 will serve as an example.

A value chain includes the flow of information and services from the specification of the product architecture to completion of the assembled product. Also, included in Figure 5 are the participants in this example value chain. These include OEM customer, part supplier, toolmaker and “other” suppliers who participate in the delivery process such as material suppliers. Together, with a varying degree of teamwork, these suppliers will work to deliver a complete assembled product. In each of these value chain process steps, typically one of the participants has responsibility for each step output (solid circle) and other work to support that step’s output (open circle). In this example, the OEM customer retains responsibility for a significant portion of the entire value chain controlling up through part design and from sub assembly through finished product. This type of value chain can be described as a “build to print. ” In this traditional value chain, the OEM takes design and assembly responsibility and the value chain participants build individual components to the OEM specifications. This level of value chain control is becoming harder for some OEM to maintain with the availability of key technical personnel or skills and the North American cost structure. At times, some OEMs will also lack the critical skills necessary to effectively deliver, resulting in rework and waste in the entire value chain delivery process. Though the OEM owns a substantial portion of the value chain, the molder and toolmaker own enough to have a dramatic impact on the overall product’s outcome. With many people owning small portions of the value chain, it is owned by all and by no one. One perturbation in the chain and all are impacted. It is also interesting to note the number of hand-offs that exist in this model. Unless inputs, outputs and constraints of each delivery segment are clearly defined, each hand-off represents an opportunity for waste.

A Different Value Chain Model
An alternative to this traditional value chain model can be found in Figure 6. In this model, two distinct changes take place. First, the role of OEM customer changes from a “build to print” development and delivery process to an “extended enterprise” process. In extended enterprise, the OEM serves more as a system integrator by breaking a product into a series of distinct modules and delegating development, design and delivery of those modules to a full service supplier. Each module is described with inputs, outputs and constraints. The full service supplier is also given the responsibility to design and manufacture a complete, fully functional module within the specified requirements. The component design authority then exists at the module supplier level where unique design, material and manufacturing skills reside. The sub-assembly process is also delegated. This generally yields higher overall margins than design to print suppliers as the portion of the assembly value added once captured by the OEM flow backward in the chain to the module supplier. The second change is in depth and breadth of the full service module supplier base. As indicated above, the module supplier has full design, development and delivery responsibilities and therefore must have, acquire and partner with other firms to capture those competencies necessary to ensure success.

In the extended enterprise model, the molder is replaced with a module supplier with design, prototype, tooling and assembly capability. Because this module supplier owns more of the value chain, there is less hand-offs, less opportunity for waste and therefore greater overall productivity. This case also illustrates growth and consolidation along the value chain (to capture more of the value add) than a more traditional growth within a segment of the value chain (to capture economies of scale).

These two different value chain models are exemplified in the difference between General Motors and Chrysler automotive design and delivery in the mid 1990’s. Utilizing the extended enterprise model with other innovative design and procurement strategies, Chrysler was able to deliver automobiles in more than 20% faster (234 weeks to 183 weeks from concept to volume production) at roughly a third to a half of the product development cost of GM and Ford respectively. [4] From the late 1980s to mid 1990s, Chrysler’s market share grew 20 percent to their highest share in 25 years and their profit per vehicle grew from $250 to $2110. [4]

A New Value Proposition
Suppliers anywhere along the plastic industry value chain as mentioned before face increasing demands from their OEM customers and pressure from low cost overseas competitors. Rather than battling on the unit manufacturing cost value proposition, one can look at using a more efficient and effective value chain to provide an OEM with alternative propositions with greater value other than just unit manufacturing cost. With an effective and efficient extended enterprise value chain, speed (how fast products can be brought to market) and flexibility (how fast the value chain can react to customers’ changes) can be significant and sustainable value propositions (Figure 7).

In this model, “speed” focuses on how fast the product delivery steps can be completed and thus minimizes the total cost of acquisition along the value chain. Just as Six Sigma and other quality improvement processes preach the need for continuous improvement in manufacturing processes, there needs to be an equal dedication to waste identification and elimination in the engineering and product delivery process. Hand-offs between process steps, suppliers and support functions are common areas for waste to occur. Suppliers who have a greater value chain span of control will typically have less hand-offs. Fewer hand-offs will reduce value chain waste such as lost time, unclear inputs, outputs and constraints and inventory just to name a few. For those suppliers who have module capability, the use of standard components, materials and architectures become a significant time to market advantage. Figure 8 illustrates a progression of three fuser module designs by Xerox’s Fuser Delivery Unit. In each successive design, the same design team utilized similar architectural elements, maintaining a consistent use of materials and made only incremental improvements to enhance functionality, module life or cost effectiveness. As a result, overall time to market was reduced twelve months per iteration and the gap between the target and actual cost was reduced dramatically. In today’s manufacturing environment, the word “productivity” is well understood and is a requirement for many demanding OEM customers. The same process discipline and drive for continuous improvement needs to also be applied to design and development if significant time to market advances can be made and repeated.

If speed is considered how fast the product delivery process steps can be completed, flexibility represents how effective and efficient the value chain reacts in reverse. Here, the intent is to assess the impact of changes that are requested or required by the final customer or consumer. These could be as simple as design changes suggestions or aesthetic requests or as sophisticated as establishing mass customization with “lot size of one” capability. With the increasing pace of new products and changes in customer demands, a flexible value chain will also minimize excessive inventory in the pipeline and obsolete products in store shelves. In many cases, it is not just the speed in which these actions can theoretically take place, but also the implications of inventory, change premiums or other financial impacts.

One of the flexibility goals is to have a value chain capable of reacting to an OEM’s customer environment where the cost of change is zero. Though the final goal of zero cost is for all practical purposes an unattainable goal, process discipline to identify and eliminate wasted time and expenditure of resources yields a more responsive and flexible value chain.

For both speed and flexibility to be attained and maintained, a productive value chain must be established and maintained. A current popular approach for dealing with effective and efficient flow through the value chain is “lean thinking.” In Lean Thinking, J.Womack andD. Jones discuss the principles and cite examples of Lean Thinking [5]. In broad terms, Womack’s and Jones’s work focuses on eliminating waste in the value chain through the use of five fundamental principles. These include: (1) defining value in terms of the ultimate customer, (2) identifying the value chain and eliminating waste along it, (3) breaking down the barriers that prevent continuous material flow, (4) pulling product through the value chain and (5) drive for perfection by continuously driving for incremental improvements and eliminating waste in the value chain [5].

Conclusions
Increasing OEM customer demands, formidable overseas competition and consolidation of a maturing plastics industry are placing greater pressure on today’s plastic suppliers. Though some suppliers face this lower cost competition head-on, others look to compete on a different plane by offering a different set of value propositions. Armed with an efficient and effective value chain, these extended enterprise suppliers use speed and flexibility as key vectors of differentiation.

References
[1] Smith, P. and Reinertsen, D., Developing Products in Half the Time, Van Nostrand Reinhold (1991)
[2] Patterson, M., Accelerating Innovation: Improving the Process of Product Development, Van Nostrand Reinhold (1993)
[3] Fiorina, C., E-Service World 2000 Conference, Paris, France (March, 2000)
[4] Dryer, J. H., How Chrysler Created the American Keiretsu, Harvard Business Review, July-August, 42-56, (1996)
[5] Womack, J. and Jones, D., Lean Thinking, Simon & Schuster (1996).

Bulletin Board

Upcoming Topical Conferences (TopCons)

ASC Additives Short Course
November 6-7, 2007
Cincinnati Marriot
Covington, Kentucky
Contact: Mark Collatz
PH: +1 301-986-9700 x112
mark.collatz@ascouncil.org

MSS e-Sort™ Automated Optical Sorting of Electronic Scrap
e-Live™ Presentation
November 7, 2007
New York 11am / Los Angeles 8am/ London 4pm / Paris 5pm
Contact: SPE e-Learning Center
PH: +1 203-775-0471 / FX: +1 203-775-8490
elearning@4spe.org

Rotomolding With Micro-Pellets When Using Aluminum Pigments
Best of ANTEC 2007
e-Live™ Presentation
November 8, 2007
New York 11am / Los Angeles 8am/ London 4pm / Paris 5pm
Contact: SPE e-Learning Center
PH: +1 203-775-0471 / FX: +1 203-775-8490
elearning@4spe.org

Co-Molded Resin Separation & Recovery
e-Live™ Presentation
November 15, 2007
New York 11am / Los Angeles 8am/ London 4pm / Paris 5pm
Contact: SPE e-Learning Center
PH: +1 203-775-0471 / FX: +1 203-775-8490
elearning@4spe.org

Commercializing Bioresins 2007
November 29-30, 2007
Doubletree Guest Suites
Atlanta, GA USA
Contact: Intertech Pira
Chris Smith
PH: +1 207-781-9635
chris1.smith@pira-international.com
www.intertechpira.com

Polyethylene Films 2007
December 3-4, 2007
The Hyatt Pier 66
Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA
Contact: AMI
Margit Korsak
PH: +1 610-478-0800
mk@researchami.com
www.amiplastics.com

PAGEV Turkish Plastics Industry Congress - 2007
December 4-5
Tuyap F air & Congress Center
Istanbul, TURKEY
Contact: Hande Madra
hande.madra@pagev.org.tr
www.pagev.org.tr/

Modern Toolmaking Conference at Euromold
SPE Rapid Design, Engineering & Moldmaking SIG
December 6, 2007
Frankfurt, Germany
Contact: Yetty Pauwels - SPE European Member Bureau
Eric Sasselaan 51, BE-2020 Antwerpen, BELGIUM
PH:+1 32 (0)3 541 7755 / FX: +1 32 (0)3 541 8425
spe.europe@skynet.be
www.speeurope.org

Autoplast 2007
December 12-14, 2007
Hotel Leela Kempinski
Sahar, Mumbai, INDIA
Contact: Vijay Boolani, SPE India
PH: +1 91-22-2430 2826 / FX: +1 91-22-2422 9875
speindia@gmail.com
www.4speindia.org
Feburary 2008

Polyolefins and FlexPackCon
February 24-27, 2008
Wyndham Hotel
Houston, TX USA
Contact:SPE Conference Department
PH: +1 203-775-0471 / FX: +1 203-775-8490
conferences@4spe.org

e-Learning Center

November 7 , 2007
MSS e-Sort™ Automated Optical Sorting of Electronic Scrap

November 8 , 2007 - Best of ANTEC 2007
The Relationship Between Chain Branching, Rheology
and Melt Processing of Polyvinylidene Fluoride

November 15 , 2007
Co-Molded Resin Separation & Recovery