8 minute read
Design Comment
DESIGN
COMMENT
Michael Paloian, Integrated Design Systems, Inc.
Designing for Sustainability
What is the most popular buzzword in the plastics industry today? The answer is sustainability. Everyone is jumping on the sustainability bandwagon. Some companies use the word for the sole purpose of promotion and marketing, while others genuinely believe they are saving the environment. Unfortunately, most people don’t truly understand the implications of the word and how to maximize the utility of plastics from the cradle to the grave genuinely. The remainder of this editorial will discuss this topic objectively.
Plastic materials have revolutionized society since their commercial introduction a little more than 100 years ago. They have become an integral part of our economy, society, and way of life because of their unique properties. One of these properties is their corrosion resistance and ability to sustain decomposition for long periods, sometimes hundreds of years. Unfortunately, this same property is the biggest problem associated with plastics; you can’t easily get rid of them once they have been created. All you must do is check the internet for plastic pollution, and you’ll quickly see the exponential amount of plastic waste deposited into our environment every year. For example, 1.25 million tons of micro pellets are dumped into our environment this year vs. almost zero in 1950! Projects for the next 30 years could triple that annual amount unless policies are changed. The question is, what is being done and what can be done?
Plastics like PET, PE, PS, and PP are collected, segregated, and reprocessed. Some companies like Ocean Plastics are gathering plastic waste from the ocean and recycling it into pellets for reuse. Other plastics are burned and used as fuel. How can designers truly design for sustainability? There are several considerations listed below: 1. Specify recycled materials – Surprisingly, recycled polyethylene is similar in cost to virgin polyethylene; the former is slightly higher than the latter. Designers must be aware of the property profile of recycled PE. Some applications are not well suited for recycled PE. Applications requiring stringent control of specific physical properties are not good candidates for recycled PE. 2. Cost – Cost-sensitive products are better suited to virgin PE than recycled materials, which are usually more expensive. 3. Regrind vs. Recycled – Can one claim a 5% use of regrind is equivalent to 100% recycled ocean plastics? Some companies claim their product is manufactured from recycled plastics because it contains a small amount of regrind, obviously deceptive. The industry should institute regulatory guidelines to prohibit this type of misrepresentation. 4. Design for Recycling – Ease of recycling is dependent on part
design. Ideally, product designs should be easily assembled and disassembled for recycling. Plastic parts that include large molded-in metal inserts, multilayer composition, and inseparable assemblies are difficult to recycle. 5. Availability – Designers should always consider material availability when specifying resins. If the resin supplier is not dependable and alternative sources don’t exist, it will pose a problem for maintaining long-term production commitments.
Specifying recycled resins is sensible and beneficial when the application, market, and manufacturing requirements make sense. Designers should never assume the properties of the recycled resin are as good as virgin material since the former comprises a blend of various materials that have been degraded during an unknown period. Compliance certificates are recommended when recycled materials are specified to maintain quality and production consistency. I hope this brief discussion about sustainability has been informative. I look forward to hearing from you. Please feel free to contact me with your questions or comments by writing to me at paloian@idsys.com
Harry Covington, Tom Murdough, and Steve Osborn
Thomas G. Murdough
Inducted into the Rotational Molding Hall of Fame
Susan Gibson, JSJ Productions, Inc.
Thomas G. Murdough, Jr. (Tom) is a legend in the toy manufacturing business. He founded Little Tykes in 1970, Step 2 in 1991, and Simplay3 in 2016. For his many years of service and contributions to the industry, Tom was presented with the highest honor the industry offers, induction into the Rotational Molding Hall of Fame. The ceremony took place during the 2021 Rotoplas and ARM Fall Meeting held in Rosemont, Illinois in September.
Tom is an entrepreneur, businessman, industry leader, and philanthropist. He is quick to attribute much of his success to an unwavering commitment to product safety, quality, and service. He has long held a strong belief in the “do it right” management philosophy for himself as well as for the people who’ve worked alongside him throughout his career.
After graduating from the University of Virginia, Tom spent three years of service as an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps. After this, Tom was employed with Wilson Sporting Goods Co., as a sales management trainee. He was transferred to Detroit and then to North Carolina where he worked form 1965-1968. It was in North Carolina that he met his lovely wife, Joy, to whom he has been married for almost 50 years and shares four sons and 9 grandchildren.
In 1968, Tom was transferred to The Wonder Products Company (also owned by Wilson Sporting Goods) as Vice President of Marketing. Wonder Products was also the first company to rotomolded hobby horses.
Tasked with filling machine time at Wonder Products, Tom landed a job of manufacturing 100,000 bedpans that were needed in a hurry. This would prove to be an important event in Tom’s career as he had to learn fast how to mass produce and meet the customer’s deadline.
In 1969, Tom partnered with Jack Hill, the owner of Rotodyne in Aurora, CA with the goal of developing and producing a children’s product line. The company was initially operating with one little rotomoulding machine, and the “Frog Toy Box” was Tom’s first successful rotomolded children’s toy product. The company grew rapidly from 1970-1972 to grossing sales of $1 million. Tom purchased the company and renamed it Little Tykes. The plant was moved to Macedonia, Ohio in 1977, and to Hudson, Ohio in 1983. Little Tykes was merged with Rubbermaid in 1984 and Tom remained on as President. The company became the most profitable division of Rubbermaid grossing over $300 million in 1989, with 1700 employees and five plants around the world.
Little Tykes was one of the first companies to make consumer goods, rotomolded toys, and playground equipment for children when the rest of the industry was using injection molding. Tom used a childcare center to test the toys before they went to market, and the toys were designed for year-around use. The company utilized Teflon lined tools to ease assembly, double stacked spiders for heavy weights, short cure cycles, and many
of the products’ assembly was without the use of fasteners. The “Cozy Coupe” was the largest car model sold in the US for several years running.
Tom left Little Tykes in 1989 and started Step2 in Streetsboro, Ohio in 1991 after his non-compete had expired. Many of his former employees followed and his team would once again build a significant children’s rotomolded toys company with plants in Ohio, California, Georgia, and Ireland. In Step 2 was sold to a private equity firm Liberty Partners in 2007. Tom planned to retire and spend more time with his family and enjoying other pursuits.
During Tom’s time out from children’s product manufacturing, he developed a new commercial center in downtown Hudson, Ohio, which was named First & Main. The property included 25-acres of retail shops, restaurants, office space, town library, grocery store, residences, parking, and green space.
It was after 8 years that Tom decided he wanted to do it all again. He wanted to develop another great company, developing a line of great children’s products along with home and garden products. Thus, Simplay3 began to take shape. Some of the early products produced by Simplay3 were the Game Day Push About Helmut, the Super Coupe Pedal Trike, and the Elly Coupe, similar to the Cozy Couple from the 1970s.
Tom was inducted into the Toy Hall of Fame in 2020, and he has played in significant role in philanthropic activities in Ohio and Florida with the Thomas G. and Joy P. Murdough Foundation, which is used for a variety of medical, hospital, education, industry, civic, and musical philanthropic endeavors.
Tom lends his leadership experience in a variety of local and national roles. He is a member of the Founders Group of the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation and has served as director or trustee for several businesses, civic, and educational boards including University Hospitals of Cleveland, MBNA Corporation, University of Virginia, Western Reserve Academy, and the Akron’s Children’s Hospital, to name a few.
Tom said, “I have always been fascinated with rotational molding and early on I began to wonder the product possibilities with the process. He believes rotomoulding can produce unique, high quality, durable products. He thoroughly enjoys seeing some of his former company’s products produced 40 years ago and it gives him great satisfaction. However, Tom says going into rotomoulding is a gutsy decision due to its limitations and since it is highly labor-intensive. “But today’s machines have evolved due to computerization and management software, so they are easier to use,” Tom said.
Through it all, he learned what inspired him and what motivates him. He has loved and felt very blessed with his career. Tom thanked his wife, Joy, and their sons Tom 3rd, Marshall, Jody, and Pete for their enduring support throughout his career. He also paid high tribute to Simplay3 executives Jim Miller, Brian McDonald, Hridsky, Mark Copeland, and Cary Karem.
