In November 2004, Hilex Poly Co., a maker of high-density polyethylene film products ranging from bagging systems to agricultural films, announced it would hire 50 and invest $13 million in expanding its North Vernon, Ind., plant.
      Hilex will use the facility to launch plastic bag collection programs and transport the bags back to the North Vernon plant. There, the material will be washed, reprocessed, and used in the manufacturing of bags.
      "This new facility will enable our customers to close the loop on plastic waste and put it back in its rightful place — in the bag," said Rex Varn, president and COO of Hilex Poly. The project receives more than $1.8 million in state incentives, including a $1-million zero-interest loan from the Recycling Promotion and Assistance Fund.for equipment to manufacture a recycled-content end product.
      Forward thinking also is on display in the neighboring state of Ohio too. Building on the state's prominent global presence in the plastics industry, the Ohio Dept. of Development announced in May 2005 $34 million in grants to establish two Wright Centers of Innovation on the campus of Ohio State University.
      Made available through the state's Third Frontier Project, the funds are being distributed through a consortium

Society of the Plastics Industry www.plasticsindustry.org Ohio Polymer Strategy Council www.polymerohio.org Polymers Center of Excellence, University Research Park, Charlotte, N.C. www.polymers-center.org Saudi Basic Industries Corporation www.sabic.com City of Riverside, Calif. www.riversideca.gov

of Ohio universities, led by Ohio State, the University of Akron and the University of Dayton.
      The new Center for Multifunctional Polymer Nanomaterials and Devices (CMPND) received $22.5 million, while the new Ohio Biopolymers Innovation Center received $11.5 million. Meanwhile, in-kind investments totaling more than $52 million had been pledged by 60 companies, including Goodyear Tire & Rubber, GE Transportation, Honda, Lockheed Martin and The Timken Co.
      "Our overall goal is to develop multi-scale synthesis and manufacturing methods that are low cost and environmentally benign," said Ohio State University Prof. James Lee, co-director with Sharell Mikesell, Ph.D., of CMPND.
      The state's announcement claimed that Ohio currently supports 140,000 polymer-related jobs, and projected that work at the centers would drive technology development that would create 4,500 more over the next three years.
      "This brings together Ohio's capabilities in polymers and agriculture in a powerful way," said Frank O'Brien-Bernini, vice president of science and technology for Owens-Corning, another corporate investor in the projects.