he advice proffered to Dustin Hoffman's confused college graduate Ben Braddock in the 1967 film, The Graduate, was destined to become one of filmdom's all-time famous lines. Although it became a cliché in subsequent years, it was at the same time prophetic.
        "I just want to say one word to you, just one word -- plastics," were the sage words of a family friend. "There's a great future in plastics. Think about it. Will you think about it?"
        Those thinking about plastics 35 years ago and acting upon it likely made good decisions in spite of economic lethargy over the last 18 months. The U.S. industry generated more than US$330 billion in shipments in 2000, according to a recent report from The Society of the Plastics Industry (SPI). The U.S. plastics industry employs more than 1.5 million with another 843,300 working at upstream suppliers.
        Texas set the pace in U.S. plastic shipments with $35.3 billion. California was second with $27.6 billion, and Ohio was third with $23.2 billion. But the greatest growth in the plastics industry over the last five years has come in North Carolina, which has posted a 51-percent rise in shipments since 1996.
        Texas ranked fifth in overall plastics employment, providing about 97,500 jobs. Leading the U.S. in resin production ($16.7 billion in shipments), Texas also led the way in two major industry categories: plastic bag manufacturing (5,300 employees, $1.24 billion in shipments) and plastic packaging and non-packaging film and sheet (5,600 employees, $1.74 billion in shipments).
        But more states are recognizing the economic significance of the plastics industry. While New Hampshire's plastics business is relatively small, coming in at more than $1.5 billion annually, it is growing. In fact, Gov. Jeanne Shaheen declared a "Plastics Industry Day" in the state in 2000.

Forecast Varies For Diverse Sectors

The injection molding market will grow at an annual rate of 8 percent over the next five years, according to a report by Mastio & Co., a consulting firm in St. Joseph, Mo. The Mastio report attributes the growth to increased substitution of injected molded plastics for traditional materials. This rate will add nearly 9 billion pounds of injection molding resin over the same period with total consumption to exceed 27 billion pounds by 2006.
        Jeff Vervlied is a principal with Materiality, a management consulting firm in Glenside, Pa., specializing in putting together private equity transactions in the plastics industry. He describes plastics as a fragmented industry with some sectors growing, some stagnant and others shrinking. Merger and acquisition activity has slowed considerably due to the slowdown in financial markets, he says.
        "Each segment has its own dynamics affecting growth," Vervlied says. "The industry is still moving, but it's not as dynamic as between 1998 and 2000."
        Rudy Underwood, Southeast public affairs director for SPI, describes the plastics business as "sputtering, but on an upward trend." The industry is growing, he says, despite a dismal market. Raw material suppliers, predominately based in Texas, Louisiana, Michigan and New Jersey, report orders on the rise, he says.
        While converters are lagging somewhat, the horizon looks promising. One indicator is the search for skilled employees. "Headhunters are looking for operators who know how to run machines," Underwood says.
        Personnel recruiters invariably have a feel on how a particular industry is doing. Lou Peck, of Lou Peck & Associates in Boise, Idaho, is a national plastics industry recruiter. He confirms business is slower than in recent years, but says, "there's still lots of business going on out there." Peck says he's getting plenty of requests for process engineers and chemists with materials backgrounds.

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