RotoWorld 3, 2021

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ROTOWORLD ®

625 West Market Street Salinas, CA 93901 USA

PRINTED MATTER

VOLUME XVII, ISSUE 3 • 2021

VOLUME XVII, ISSUE 3 • AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2021

© 2016 Exxon Mobil Corporation. All rights reserved. ExxonMobil, the ExxonMobil logo, the interlocking “X” device and all product names herein are trademarks of Exxon Mobil Corporation.

WWW.ROTOWORLDMAG .COM

Learn more about how we can work together to grow your business.

®

B u y e r s ’

G u i d e

RBG! CONNECT A Special Section

About Rotomolding

Your rotational molding capabilities begin with the quality and dependability of your polyethylene resin supply. Start your day with PE products and process innovations that help leading rotomolders bring their most complex designs to reality. Accomplish more with our reliable supply network, responsive sales support and expert technology team.

R o t o W o r l d

RBG! CONNECT

Delivering proven performance so you can innovate with confidence.

2 0 2 1 - 2 0 2 2

Roy Crawford, University of Waikato, New Zealand, Susan Gibson, JSJ Productions, Inc., and Dr. Paul Nugent, MNOP

Gotcha Covered HR…on Hiring, Conflict Resolution and Record Keeping Patricial Pannell, Michelle Butler, and Shannon Coleman Cryer, Gotcha Covered HR, LLC

7 Ways to use your Website as a PR Tool Kim Harrison, Cutting Edge PR

RBG! CONNECT 2021 - 2022 RotoWorld® Buyers’ Guide Get on the list!

Place your company, products, and services in print & online before the global Rotational Molding industry in the exciting all new annual RBG! Connect.

Contact us for listing information and cost details. Don’t wait... +512.894.4106 | rotoworld@jsjproductionsinc.com | susan@jsjproductionsinc.com rotoworldmag.com

Powder King Machines Offer Optional Single-Use Disks ®

FEATURING: The EC200 Controller System No need to purchase any new components; direct fit, no alterations required Reduce freight expenses and no neeed to return disks for sharpening Same grade tool steel & Rockwell Hardness as standard re-sharpening disks

Powder King® is the first and only company to offer remote access for all operations of pulverizing mills.

GET IN TOUCH 623.551.9897

sales@powder-king.com

www.powder-king.com

Anthem, AZ

CONTENTS

FEATURES FEATURE STORY

About Rotomolding

17

Roy Crawford, University of Waikato, New Zealand, Susan Gibson, JSJ Productions, Inc., and Dr. Paul Nugent, MNOP Am overview of the key features of rotational molding - including design guides.

46

Gotcha Covered HR…on Hiring, Conflict Resolution, and Record Keeping Patricial Pannell, Michelle Butler, and Shannon Coleman Cryer, Gotcha Covered HR, LLC Employers are having to get creative with both the interview and the talent acquisition process.

50

7 Ways to use your Website as a PR Tool Kim Harrison, Cutting Edge PR Your website is an essential business tool.

4 ROTOWORLD® AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2021

www.rotoworldmag.com 5

CONTENTS

SPECIAL SECTION www.rotoworldmag.com

2 0 2 1 - 2 0 2 2

R o t o W o r l d

®

B u y e r s ’

G u i d e

RBG! CONNECT A Special Section

25

2021 - 2022 RBG! CONNECT PREMIER LISTINGS 27 Exxonmobil 28 Ferry Industries, Inc. 29 DMC Diversified Mold & Castings 30 Integrated Design Systems 31 Jerico Plastic Industries, Inc. 34 Matrix Polymers 35 Norstar Aluminum Molds, Inc. 36 Rotomachinery Group 37 Powder King 38 Roto Load 39 ARM 42 ARMA 44 RBG! Connect Application

6 ROTOWORLD® AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2021

RotoSpeed Advantages

When Performance Counts...

➲ Proven Performance ➲ Lowest Cost of Ownership ➲ Highest Productivity, Durability ➲ Remote Ethernet Machine Support ➲ Automated Systems & Solutions ➲ Global Sales & Full-Service Support Team ➲ Over 1,400 Machines in Over 60 Countries ➲ Engineering, Manufacturing & Support from the U.S.A. ➲ Energy-Smart Machines, Fastest Oven Temp Recovery ➲ Leader in Process Control Systems; RotoCure, IRT & RotoLog ➲ Carousel Mold Swing Areas to 239” (6m) & Arm Weight Capacities to 12,000 lbs (5443 kg)

In-Stock Machines

Carousels 24 Models

In-Line Shuttles 10+ Models

Rocking Ovens 5 Models

Work Platforms Fixed & Moving

Mixers

11 Models

Dispensing Systems

www.ferryindustries.com • sales@ferryindustries.com Ph: +1.330.920.9200 • Fx: +1.330.920.4200 • 4445 Allen Rd, Stow, OH 44224 USA © 2021 Ferry Industries, Inc.

www.rotoworldmag.com 7

FROM THE

PUBLISHER Susan Gibson, JSJ Productions, Inc.

Marketing in a Niche Industry We are excited to introduce to you the new RotoWorld® RBG! CONNECT. This rotational molding industry Buyers’ Guide is designed to be your best and most handy resource for finding the right vendor to meet your needs. Whether it is a rotomolder sourcing a supplier, an OEM, wholesaler, or retailer sourcing a rotomolder, or someone sourcing a designer or consultant, the RBG! CONNECT will be your place to go.

No matter your role — sales, marketing, operations, or leadership — you have a lot to accomplish. So do the buyers of your company’s products or services. Targeting the rotational molding industry is your opportunity to develop new growth strategies and attain greater success. At the same time, it will serve to engage your audience and strengthen your brand presence.

Generating new leads translating to new business requires a lot of research and using the right tools and resources. These tools and resources will connect you with websites, blogs, reports, press releases, and consumer data. Thanks to big data, which this has allowed marketers to creatively develop content that directly

Research

Need

The buyer defines a need for their product or service The buyer performs research to learn about possible solutions If executing a new design, the buyer researches the product The buyer evaluates potential suppliers The buyer creates a shortlist of the best suppliers The buyer selects a winning supplier and makes a purchase

The key is to be where your buyers are. Often, buyers go right to their most familiar source rather than conducting a web search. The new RBG! CONNECT provides just that source for the rotational molding industry (print & online).

This is an opportunity to tap into buyers searching for you online. A business listing in an online directory helps get your business found. Search engines like Google will show your business on search results depending on how well your location content matches what someone is searching for, how far away their location is to you, and how strong your overall online presence is.

Evaluation

Design

targets and speaks to a specific demographic, interest, need, preference, and location.

By understanding what your buyers needs are, you can more easily accomplish one of the most important things you need — generating leads. Generating leads is one of the most important aspects of marketing — integral to growing your business.

The Industrial Buying Cycle is important to understand in knowing how to meet your customers’ needs. It leads to creating more meaningful connections and winning more business.

From a supplier’s perspective, the industrial buying cycle is a two-step process: the buyer realizes a need and comes to a supplier to purchase a product or service. That feels like an oversimplification, right? It is, but at a high level the process involves six basic phases.

8 ROTOWORLD® AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2021

• • • • • •

Purchase

Shortlist

The online landscape is full of platforms for making specific connections, however, the one most dedicated to your industry makes the greatest sense.

Watch for more detailed marketing tips on the RBG! CONNECT as this new resource grows and becomes more and more comprehensive.

Get involved and stay tuned!

Susan Gibson Publisher & Editor

Some Things Just Stick PE and foam are not among these things.

J-Bond was developed for adhering Polyurethane foam to Polyethylene. It provides outstanding adhesive properties by forming a bond between itself and the insulating foam.

It’s not as natural as our friend here sticking to a tree, but J-Bond is about to make a huge impact in the world of demanding foamed applications like coolers!

Introducing

J-Bond

Functionalized Polyethelyne Resin

Stick with Jerico quality custom compounds!

Call or Click Today (330) 730-1140 info@jericoplastic.com

Proudly Supporting the Association of Rotational Molders!

Family-Owned and Operated Since 1997

Committed to Excellence in Rotational Molding

Phone (330) 334-5244 Fax (330) 334-9123

JericoPlastic.com info@jericoplastic.com

www.rotoworldmag.com 9

Susan D. Gibson

Publisher & Editor President - JSJ Productions, Inc. susan@jsjproductionsinc.com

Technical Editor Alvin Spence PhD MEng aspence@centroinc.com Process Editor Paul Nugent PhD MEng paul@paulnugent.com Michael Paloian

Design Editor President - Integrated Design Systems, Inc. paloian@idsys.com

Celal Beysel

Global Contributing Editors

Martin Coles

Chairman - Floteks Plastik beysel@superonline.com Matrix Polymers martin.coles@matrixpolymers.com

Adam Covington Mark Kearns Ravi Mehra

Ferry Industries acovington@ferryindustries.com

Moulding Research Manager m.kearns@qub.ac.uk

Managing Director - Norstar International LLC maramehra@aol.com

Advertising and Art Production Marketing/Advertising Director Jennifer Gibson Hebert Vice President, JSJ Productions, Inc. Chief Art Director Anya Wilcox

jennifer@jsjproductionsinc.com

JSJ Productions, Inc. awilcox@designintersection.com

Circulation & Distribution Administration Sheryl Bjorn JSJ Productions, Inc. sheryl@jsjproductionsinc.com -

Editing & Translations Suzanne Ketron | Oliver Wandres | Sheryl Bjorn Website & Online Technology Jason Cooper JSJ Productions, Inc. jason@bound.by RotoWorld® is a JSJ Productions, Inc. Trade Publication JSJ Productions, Inc. 625 West Market Street, Salinas, CA 93901 Phone: (512) 894.4106; Fax (512) 858.0486 Email: rotoworldmag@rotoworldmag.com and Website: www.rotoworldmag.com Subscriptions One-year subscription (six issues), print or digital, $60 US, $90 Canada/Mexico, $135 All Other Countries.

To subscribe or to submit change of address information, call us at (512) 894.4106; fax us at (512) 858.0486; visit us online at www.rotoworldmag.com; or email us at sheryl@jsjproductionsinc.com.

You may also write to RotoWorld® Subscriptions, JSJ Productions, Inc., 625 West Market Street, Salinas, CA 93901 Advertising For information on advertising, please contact Advertising Director Jennifer Gibson Hebert, JSJ Productions, Inc. Email Jennifer Gibson at jennifer@jsjproductionsinc.com Letters We welcome letters about our contents. Write Letters to the Editor, JSJ Productions, Inc., 625 West Market Street, Salinas, CA 93901 512.894.4106 phone 512.858.0486 fax, or Email susan@jsjproductionsinc.com.

Editorial Queries We consider unsolicited contributions.

Send manuscript submissions as email attachment to Susan Gibson at susan@jsjproductionsinc.com.

JSJ Productions, Inc. bears no responsibility for claim or factual data represented in contributed articles.

Postmaster Send changes of address to RotoWorld®, JSJ Productions, Inc., 625 West Market Street, Salinas, CA 93901 RotoWorld® is a JSJ Productions, Inc. independently owned, bi-monthly trade magazine for the international rotational molding and plastics design industries. JSJ Productions, Inc. owns all copyrights on articles published herein unless ownership is otherwise stated.

Reproduction of this magazine, in whole or in part, without the express written p ­ ermission of the publisher is not permitted.

10 ROTOWORLD® AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2021

Experts In Rotomoulding Materials

Global supplier of raw materials to the rotational moulding industry • Crosslink Polyethylene

• Polyethylene Granules & Powders

• Dedicated Technical Services Support Team

• Ancillary Products • Polypropylene Granules & Powders • Polyamide Powders

• Multi-lingual Customer Service • 5 Production Sites across 3 Continents

UK | Poland | Australia | New Zealand | Malaysia

To learn more about our products & material solutions get in touch at sales@matrixpolymers.com matrixpolymers.com

CONTRIBUTING

EDITORS ROTOWORLD ®

PRIORITY MAIL INTERNATIONAL U.S. POSTAGE PAID AUSTIN, TX PERMIT NO. 2515

PRINTED MATTER

625 West Market Street Salinas, CA 93901 USA VOLUME XVI, ISSUE 4 • 2020

VOLUME XVII, ISSUE 2 • 2021

VOLUME XVII, ISSUE 6 • 2020/2021

Brian Olesen, Centro Inc., President & CEO

Dr. Nick Henwood, Rotomotive Limited

Viscosity and Melt Index

Influence Material Selection

Alvin Spence, Centro, Incorporated

MARKETS

ogo, the interlocking “X” device and all product names herein are trademarks of Exxon Mobil Corporation.

Delivering proven performance so you can innovate with confidence.

ROTOPLAS 2021 is on!

WWW.ROTOWORLDMAG .COM

Susan Gibson, JSJ Productions, Inc.

DESIGN

Delivering proven performance so you can innovate with confidence.

Delivering proven performance so you can innovate with confidence.

Maintaining healthy reputations During a Pandemic

© 2016 Exxon Mobil Corporation. All rights reserved. ExxonMobil, the ExxonMobil logo, the interlocking “X” device and all product names herein are trademarks of Exxon Mobil Corporation.

Your rotational molding capabilities begin with the quality and dependability of your polyethylene resin supply. Start your day with PE products and process innovations that help leading rotomolders bring their most complex designs to reality. Accomplish more with our reliable supply network, responsive sales support and expert technology team.

Delivering proven performance so you can innovate with confidence.

Learn more about how we can work together to grow your business.

U.S. ROTATIONAL MOLDING: THE ROAD AHEAD Future trend of growth in the u.S. And global economies in a time of pandemic.

THE SEVEN SIMULTANEOUS STAGES OF ROTATIONAL MOULDING

© 2016 Exxon Mobil Corporation. All rights reserved. ExxonMobil, the ExxonMobil logo, the interlocking “X” device and all product names herein are trademarks of Exxon Mobil Corporation.

Your rotational molding capabilities begin with the quality and dependability of your polyethylene resin supply. Start your day with PE products and process innovations that help leading rotomolders bring their most complex designs to reality. Accomplish more with our reliable supply network, responsive sales support and expert technology team.

Learn more about how we can work together to grow your business.

WWW.ROTOWORLDMAG .COM

2020 ARM Annual Meeting Online

Karem Akoul, Peter Ross, Brian Allen and David Seall CP Cases, London; Mark Kearns and Dr. Peter Martin, Queen’s University, Belfast

Rotomoulding’s Fight Against COVID-19

WWW.ROTOWORLDMAG .COM

VOLUME XVII, ISSUE 6 • DECEMBER 2020-JANUARY 2021

LEADERSHIP

WWW.ROTOWORLDMAG .COM

Need to Know about Michelle Rose, ARMA Polymer Chemistry

The Use of Virtual Reality in the Development of a New Rotational Moulding Factory

VOLUME XVI, ISSUE 3 • 2020

From Zeros to Heroes

CONVERSION

ARMA Rotoconnect’s What Rotomolders

3 WAYS THE CORONAVIRUS VIRUS IS CHANGING WHO WE ARE

MARKETS

VOLUME XVI, ISSUE 3 • MAY-JUNE 2020

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Shift to Digital

Rob Miller, Wittmann Battenfeld Canada Inc. / ROTOLOADTM

Your rotational molding capabilities begin with the quality and dependability of your polyethylene resin supply. Start your day with PE products and process innovations that help leading rotomolders bring their most complex designs to reality. Accomplish more with our reliable supply network, responsive sales support and expert technology team.

VOLUME XVII, ISSUE 2 • JUNE-JULY 2021

ROTOWORLD ®

VOLUME XVI, ISSUE 5 • OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2020

TECHNOLOGY

Put Your Money...

Where Your Delivering proven performance Money is! so you can innovate with confidence.

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VOLUME XVI, ISSUE 2 • MARCH-APRIL 2020

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ROTOWORLD ®

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625 West Market Street Salinas, CA 93901 USA

“If you build it, they will come” Rotoculture takes roots

Learn more about how we can work together to grow your business.

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in Indian 625 West Market Street Agriculture…

Salinas, CA 93901 USA Sunil Raithatha, Prashant Trivedi & Umakant Savadekar

gin with the quality and n supply. Start your day with hat help leading rotomolders ality. Accomplish more with e sales support and expert

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VOLUME XVI, ISSUE 2 • 2020

ROTOWORLD ®

VOLUME XVI, ISSUE 4 • AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2020

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en performance ovate with confidence.

ow your

ROTOWORLD ®

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The Power of Pigment

A Study of Dry Blending

Succeeding in Uncertain Times

Consider how humans perceive the future

© 2016 Exxon Mobil Corporation. All rights reserved. ExxonMobil, the ExxonMobil logo, the interlocking “X” device and all product names herein are trademarks of Exxon Mobil Corporation.

Andrea Lekushoff, Broad Reach Communications

WWW.ROTOWORLDMAG .COM

Learn more about how we can work together to grow your business.

our reliable supply network, responsive sales support and expert technology team.

Learn more about how we can work together to grow your business.

WWW.ROTOWORLDMAG .COM

rotomolding:

Your rotational molding capabilities begin with the quality and Your rotational molding capabilities begin with the quality and dependability of your polyethylene resin supply. Start your day with dependability of your polyethylene resin supply. Start your day with PE products and process innovations that help leading rotomolders bring their most complex designs to reality. Accomplish more PEwith products and process innovations that help leading rotomolders our reliable supply network, responsive sales support and expert bring their most complex designs to reality. Accomplish more with technology team.

The Next 10 Years Paul Nugent, MNOP

Small acts of kindness at work Part 1: MACcreeP benefit the giver, the receiver, and the whole organisation

of Rotomolded Polymer Structures

Eric Lainé, Eric Maziers, Jean-Claude Grandidier

© 2016 Exxon Mobil Corporation. All rights reserved. ExxonMobil, the ExxonMobil logo, the interlocking “X” device and all product names herein are trademarks of Exxon Mobil Corporation.

Alex Fradera

Case Study of a Long-Term Filled Industrial Storage Tank – Prediction at 20 years (Part 3) Eric Lainé, Jean-Claude Grandidier, Eric Maziers, Steve Lewis, Rua Woller, and Alistair Bell

© 2016 Exxon Mobil Corporation. All rights reserved. ExxonMobil, the ExxonMobil logo, the interlocking “X” device and all product names herein are trademarks of Exxon Mobil Corporation.

TECHNICAL EDITOR

PROCESS EDITOR

Alvin Spence Alvin Spence is Vice President Engineering at Centro, Inc., North Liberty, Iowa. He provides leadership for Centro’s product development team and quality resources. Alvin received his Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical & Industrial Engineering and PhD from Queen’s University Belfast. aspence@centroinc.com

DESIGN EDITOR

Paul Nugent Paul is a consultant who travels extensively across six continents assisting clients in many roles from training to expert witnessing.

He received his Eng. degree in Aeronautical Engineering and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Queen’s University of Belfast.

Paul developed the Rotolog system, the first complete computer simulation (RotoSim), and authored a book entitled Rotational Molding: A Practical Guide. paul@paulnugent.com CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

Michael Paloian Michael is President of Integrated Design Systems, Inc., Great Neck, New York. Over the past 25 years, Mike has developed a broad range of plastic products utilizing various processing methods including rotational molding. Mike’s B.S. degree in Plastics Engineering and Masters in Industrial Design, combined with his extensive experience, has formed the basis for his branded and unique insights into the field of plastics part design. paloian@idsys.com

12 ROTOWORLD® AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2021

Celal Beysel Celal is Chairman of Floteks Plastik, the pioneer and innovative leader of the rotational molding industry in Turkey and a Global Contributing Editor for RotoWorld® magazine.

Being an ARM member for more than 20 years, he has made many presentations at ARM meetings in various countries. He is also active in business and political organizations in his country. Celal has authored numerous articles published in various newspapers and magazines about politics, plastics, rotomolding, and innovation. beysel@superonline.com

CONTRIBUTING

EDITORS

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

Martin Coles Martin Coles, CEO of Matrix Polymers co-founded the business 30 years ago and is the company’s largest shareholder.

Shortly after graduating from London University, he began his career in the plastics industry working for a major Italian petrochemical and soon became passionate about the unique world of rotomoulding. Matrix Polymers are experts in rotomoulding materials and have become a global supplier with compounding and grinding plants in the UK, Poland, Australia, New Zealand, and Malaysia.

The company sells more than $150 million of rotomoulding materials each year and has 230 employees. martin.coles@matrixpolymers.com

Adam Covington Adam Covington is President of Ferry Industries, Inc. in Akron, Ohio U.S.A. Covington has been with Ferry Industries for over 11 years, advanced through the manufacturing, engineering, sales, and service positions within the company and was appointed President in 2019. Adam strives to find solutions for customer’s needs and advance machine technology for the rotomolding industry. He is a graduate of Ohio University’s Russ College of Engineering and Technology with a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Technology. acovington@ferryindustries.com CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

Mark Kearns

M.Kearns@qub.ac.uk

Mark Kearns is the Rotational Moulding Research Manager of the Polymer Processing Research Centre at Queen’s University of Belfast. He is a Chartered Chemical Engineer with a M. Phil Degree in Rotational Moulding. Mark manages rotational moulding research and development projects for companies across Europe, Australasia, and North America.

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

Ravi Mehra Ravi Mehra has been associated with the rotational molding industry since the early 1970’s. He is a Past President of ARM – Association of Rotational Molders, and has been inducted into the ARM Hall of Fame. He is the Founding Chairman of StAR – the rotational moulding Trade Association of India. He was the Chairman of ARMO – Affiliation of Rotational Moulding Organizations from 2012 to 2014. Ravi consults internationally with companies in the rotational moulding arena to help their global strategy, facilitate technology tie-ups, and business alliances. maramehra@aol.com CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

Rob Miller Rob Miller is Owner/President, Wittmann Battenfeld Canada Inc. Rotoload. Rob started in the plastics pneumatic conveying industry in 1986. He has spent his entire career developing, engineering, and designing all types of catalog, standard, and custom pneumatic conveying systems for the plastics industry. He started in the rotational molding industry in 2013, has enjoyed learning the idiosyncrasies of the industry and market, and most of all meeting the people and building relationships for the future.

Rob.Miller@wittmann-group.ca

Ian Hansen Ian Hansen has over 30 years of experience in the rotational moulding industry and has presented to conferences around the world on the subject of quality, safety, and tank design standards.

Rotomoulders around the globe have problems from time to time. Rota Consult delivers production solutions so rotomoulders can improve productivity and profitability, without wasting more of their valuable time. ianhansenconsult@gmail.com www.ianhansenconsult.com

www.rotoworldmag.com 13

POWDER KING NEWS Breaking News at Powder King ! ®

In less than one year, Powder King® has implemented new standards and operating procedures, including products and services to best fit the needs of our consumers. “We are excited and proud to announce our innovations to the public, as we are working on providing our best services and products to the Plastics Industry,” says CEO of Powder King®, Jim Hummel. Take a look inside of the latest!

Powder King® set a record-breaking year of success in 2020! At a time of uncertainty and trials for many, Powder King® is so grateful to have received support from new and long-term customers. It is our mission to provide exceptional services to help advance the Plastics Industry. Here at Powder King®, we believe that having a foundation of integrity is a key asset, which we must preserve and enhance.

Single Use Disk We now offer a single use disks to our customers. There also is no need for an expensive retro-fit kit that other manufactures have to supply.

The Powder King® single use disks are a direct replacement to the current Powder King® pulverizing mills.

The single use disk is discarded once it has been used to its full extent. This saves the customer

from returning the disk to supplier for re-sharpening and expenses and time to do so.

The single use disk can be stocked by the customer or shipped immediately by Powder King® to their customer. The single use disk is made from high grade tool steel that is through hardened to 58-60 Rockwell C. to provide maximum life to the disk for maximum production.

Powder King® Presents its All New Proprietary EC200 Embedded Controller We have been working extensively to simplify the local and remote efficiencies of their pulverizing mills.

Powder King® is excited to have launched the New EC200 Embedded Controller, which would allow remote access to all operating the pulverizing systems,” says Jim Hummel, CEO of Powder King LLC. The new HMI and

EC200 embedded controller replaced the PLC and several other devices. All necessary inputs and outputs are built in, simplifying the system design, operation, and maintenance of the control system. The same software for EC200 and HMI operates everything, and machine configuration is selectable via password protected HMI screen.

Powder King® set a record-breaking year of success in 2020! We are forever grateful to have received support from new and long-term customers.” — Jim Hummel, CEO of Powder King®

ADVERTORIAL

INNOVATION: Powder King Presents its All New Proprietary EC200 Embedded Controller ®

Powder King® Purchases Rototron Mixers With the purchase of Rotoron mixers by Powder King® we now are proud to offer the PKA-150 Mixer is an efficient and economical means of dry coloring or dispensing additives into natural powdered raw materials for roto molding. The PKA-150 Mixer has a sturdy 150 litre (40 gallon) stainless steel mixing bowl and allows for making approximately 100-pound batches. Time of mixing is controlled either by timed mixing or by temperature mixing. A pneumatically

operated discharge door and spout makes the preparation of multiple batches fast and easy.

Removeable stainless steel mixing blades make cleanup both efficient and thorough.

Included in the purchase will be the name and complete assets of the Rototron mixers. which includes all inventory, drawings, customer lists, equipment lines owned by Rototron, such as Drop Dart impact testing equipment.

Our mission is to provide the most updated and effective technology and operating components to our customers to guarantee maximum results. Powder King® is confident that our products will continue to exceed your expectations and provide you with the highest quality services.”

— Jim Hummel, CEO of Powder King®

Dry Flow Test Powder King® has implemented manufacturing of Dry Flow Funnels & Bulk Density Cup. Powder King has purchased manufacturing rights from RotoSolutions of South Africa for the ARM/ARMO Standard Dry Flow Kit. Dry Flow Testing, which is the time taken for 100 grams of powder suitable for rotomolding to flow through a standard funnel and fill the measuring cup. Dry flow is the measure of how a powder will tumble and flow in the mold during the rotational molding process. Flowability affects the heat transfer in the powder pool and how the powder distributes itself within the mold.

Flowability depends mostly on the particle shape and to a lesser extent on particle size.

Particles that have been ground poorly will have “tails” which will cause powder to have poor flow properties, possibly leading to pinholes on the surface, bridging across narrow recesses, a rough internal surface, a high void content within sharp corners and threads in the molded part.

Test results can be also affected by the funnel’s shape and dimensions, surface roughness of the inside of the funnel and powder temperature, hence look after your funnel and do all tests at room temperature, 72°F. Dry flow is probably the single most used test to reflect overall quality of a powder. Having the ability to identify significant variations in powder quality can minimize unsatisfactory molded products.

*Powder King® also purchased a manufacturing agreement from RotoSolutions of South Africa to manufacture the ARM/ARMO Dry Flow Funnel and Bulk Density Cup for testing Rotomolded Powders.

ADVERTORIAL

GUEST CONTRIBUTING

EDITORS

Patricia “Patti” Pannell

Kim Harrison Kim Harrison, Founder and Principal of Cutting Edge PR, loves sharing actionable ideas and information about professional communication and business management. He has wide experience as a corporate affairs manager, consultant, author, lecturer, and CEO of a non-profit organization.

Kim is a Fellow and former national board member of the Public Relations Institute of Australia, and he ran his State’s professional development program for 7 years, helping many practitioners to strengthen their communication skills. People from 115 countries benefit from the practical knowledge shared in his monthly newsletter and in his books available from cuttingedgepr.com.

Patricia “Patti” Pannell is a Human Resources Consultant and Civil Mediator. A native of Greenville, South Carolina, and a graduate of the University of South Carolina School of Law, Patti was actively engaged in the practice of Labor and Employment law in her adoptive home of New Orleans for more than 25 years before following her passion of becoming an entrepreneur and starting her own business. In 2014, she co-founded Gotcha Covered HR to provide human resources support to small and mid-sized businesses, who often lack access to professional human resources services. The team at Gotcha Covered HR customizes practical and cost-effective strategies and solutions for all things “people-related”, including workforce development, management training, private investigation and resolution of workplace complaints or disruptions, and development of legally compliant and effective personnel policies and procedures. Gotcha Covered HR is a member of New Orleans & Company, StayLocal!, The New Orleans Chamber, The Jefferson Chamber, … www.gotchacoveredhr.com

OVER CNC Molds

Fabricated Molds

16 ROTOWORLD® AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2021

YEARS STRONG

Cast Aluminum Molds

About Rotomolding Roy Crawford, University of Waikato, New Zealand, Susan Gibson, JSJ Productions, Inc., and Dr. Paul Nugent, MNOP

Image Courtesy of SLIDE® of Italy

www.rotoworldmag.com 17

Rotational molding is a method for manufacturing hollow plastic products. It is best known for the manufacture of tanks, but many designers all over the world are using the process to make many different types of plastic parts. Some of the market sectors that it serves include medical products, consumer products, agricultural and garden equipment, automotive and transportation components, toys, leisure craft, sporting equipment, furniture, materials handling articles, and aesthetic point of sale products.

The rotational molding industry offers exciting opportunities to designers and end-users. Over recent decades a number of significant technical advances have been made with new types of machines, molds, and materials becoming available. Important new market sectors continue to emerge, as rotational molders are able to deliver high-quality, high-performance parts at competitive prices. In the portfolio of manufacturing methods available to designers, rotational molding ranks as one of the major conversion processes alongside structural blow molding, twin-sheet thermoforming, and injection molding.

This article provides an overview of the key features of rotational molding. It describes the basic nature of the process and gives the reader a primer on some of the characteristics that must be taken into account when designing plastics parts that are to be rotomolded. Detailed design guides for rotational molding are cited at the end of the article.

The principle of rotational molding of plastics is relatively straightforward. Indeed, the simplicity of the process is a key to its success because it allows ease of entry into the market with lowcost equipment and ready availability of easy to mold polyethylene materials. Basically, rotational molding consists of introducing a known amount of plastic in powder, granular, or liquid form into a hollow, shell-like mold. The mold is heated and simultaneously rotated about two principal axes so that the plastic enclosed in the mold adheres to and forms a layer against the inner mold surface.

Mold rotation continues during the cooling phase so that the plastic retains the desired shape as it solidifies. When the plastic is sufficiently rigid, the mold rotation is stopped to allow the removal of the plastic product from the mold. The process is distinguished from spin-casting or centrifugal casting by its relatively low rotational speeds, typically 4 – 10 rpm.

The basic steps (a) mold charging, (b) mold heating, (c) mold cooling, and (d) part ejection are shown in Figure 1. This diagram is for illustration purposes only. In reality, there are many types of commercial and custom-made machines for manufacturing plastic parts using the rotational molding principle.

Most large commercial machines are of a “Carousel” design.

In these machines, the mold or molds are mounted on an arm that imparts the biaxial rotation to the molds and carries them sequentially into the heating zone, the cooling zone, and finally into the demolding/charging area. Three arms are often used so that heating, cooling, and servicing can be carried out simultaneously on three different sets of molds. In some cases, the arms are fixed together at 120˚ spacing in a turret style design similar to that shown in Figure 2. In more recent designs, the arms can be moved independently of each other so that, for example, the molds being heated can be moved out of the oven if the melting 18 ROTOWORLD® AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2021

process on the mold wall is completed before the cooling has been completed on the preceding arm.

Figure 1: Four Basic Steps of Rotational Molding

Figure 2: Three Arm Turret Style Carousel Machine (Image Courtesy of Ferry Industries)

In another main type of machine design, the molds are manipulated in a “Rock and Roll” motion” – that is, full 360˚ rotation about one long axis and a rocking motion about a perpendicular axis (typically +/- 45 degrees).

There is a range of derivative machine styles which use these rotation and mold movement approaches with many permutations of the sequencing of heating, cooling, and mold servicing.

Heating methods in the ovens are dominated by gas-fired hotair circulation systems but conductive heating systems for molds are also increasingly used. Infrared and solar powered machines

are being explored and conductive and dielectric mold heating methods have been tested experimentally.

Rotational molding is an atmospheric pressure process that produces low stress parts. The fact that there are no stresses on the melt as it is shaped is a major advantage that rotational molding has over all other manufacturing methods for plastics parts: however, stresses can arise during the cooling process depending on the design of the final part. Also, as there are no forces on the plastic melt during forming, rotational molds can have thin walls and can be relatively inexpensive to fabricate. For simple parts, mold delivery times can be short, more complex parts which require casting or machining are more involved: machined aluminum molds have become the preferred approach in recent years for high quality complex moldings.

Modern, multi-armed machines allow multiple molds of different sizes and shapes to be run at the same time. With proper mold design, complex parts, such as double-walled containers, that are difficult or impossible to mold by any other method, can be rotationally molded. With correct process control, the wall thickness of rotationally molded parts can be relatively uniform often with a tighter thickness distribution than processes such as structural blow molding or twin-sheet thermoforming which tend to stretch material in sharp features. And unlike these competitive processes, rotational molding has no pinch-off seams or weld lines that must be post-mold trimmed or otherwise finished but will have parting lines that require care during molding.

The main attractions of rotational molding are: • A hollow part can be made in one piece with no weld lines or joints

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• The molded part can be largely stress-free depending on design features • The molds can be relatively inexpensive compared to other processes • The lead time to produce a mold is relatively short • Wall thickness can be relatively uniform, even for large parts • Wall thickness can be altered without modifying the mold by changing shot-weight • Short production runs can be economically viable • Material waste can often be minimized with the full charge of material consumed making the part • It is possible to make multi-layer moldings, including foamed parts • Different types of products can be molded together on the one machine • Inserts are relatively easy to mold in • High quality graphics can be molded in The main limitations of rotational molding are: • The overall manufacturing times are long, although this can be mitigated with the correct combination of machine and multiple molds • The choice of molding materials remains relatively limited compared to other processes • Material costs are relatively high due to the need for special additive packages and the fact that standard materials must be ground to a fine powder • Some geometrical features (such as ribs) are difficult to mold.

Table 1 compares a range of process attributes for blow molding,

Factor

Blow Molding

Thermoforming

Rotational Molding

Typical Product Size (cc)

10-1,000,000

5-1000

10-10,000,000

Plastics Available

Limited

Broad

Limited

Feedstock

Pellets

Sheet

Powder/Liquid

Raw Material Prep. Cost

None

Up to +100%

Up to +100%

Reinforcing Fibers

Yes

Yes

Difficult

Mold Materials

Steel, Aluminum

Aluminum

Steel, Aluminum

Mold Pressure

<1 MN/m2

<0.3 MN/m2

<0.1 MN/m2

High

Moderate

Moderate

Thickness Tolerance

10-20%

10-20%

10-20%

Thickness Uniformity

Non-uniform

Non-uniform

Uniform possible

Mold Cost

Inserts

Feasible

No

Yes

High

Very high

None

Residual Stress

Moderate

High

Low

Part Detailing

Very good

Good w/ pressure

Adequate

In-Mold Graphics

Yes

Possible

Yes

Cycle Time

Fast

Fast

Slow

Labor Intensive

No

Moderate

Yes

Orientation in Part

Table 1: Comparison of Blow Molding, Thermoforming and Rotational Molding (ref: Throne, J.L., Plastics Engineering 54, 10 (1998)

thermoforming, and rotational molding.

Nowadays rotationally molded parts are used in practically every market sector where plastics parts are found. This includes high technology sectors such as the aircraft industry and highquality consumer products such as premium coolers. The process is best suited for the manufacture of one-piece hollow parts or double-wall open containers. Secondary operations can be used to split moldings or cut out panel so that all types of single-wall open containers and products can be created. Areas that are to be cut out of a part can be shielded from the heat during molding so that there is very little material waste as a result of the cutting/trimming operation. Table 2 gives examples of typical types of rotationally molded parts. It may be seen that the variety of products is impressive and although polyethylene is the primary material.

Some examples of rotationally molded parts are shown in

Figure 3. In most cases a high-quality finish and close tolerances can be achieved in these parts by using high-quality molds. A key point is that they are all complex 3-dimensional shapes, and they are all made in one piece. Foaming can also be incorporated into rotationally molded parts to provide thermal insulation or higher stiffness with reduced weight.

Nearly all commercial products manufactured by rotational molding are made from thermoplastics, although thermosetting materials can also be used. Polyolefins, specifically polyethylene, dominate the market for rotationally molded parts. There are several reasons why this situation has arisen: polyethylene is readily converted from granules to the powder form needed for rotational molding; polyethylene remains more stable than most plastics during the relatively long heating period; the melting profile for polyethylene allows time for the distribution

Tanks

Water, septic, oil, water treatment, chemical storage & fuel

Transportation

Traffic signs and barriers, bull bars, instrument panels, roofs, wheel arches, ducting, air vents, armrests & panels

Containers

Reusable shipping, IBC’s, drums and barrels, planters, airlines containers & refrigerated boxes

Toys & Leisure

Playhouses, balls, ride-on toys, outdoor furniture, hobby horses, dolls heads & body parts

Material Handling

Pallets, trash cans, fish bins, packaging & dunnage

Marine Industry

Dock floats, pool liners, fenders, leisure craft, boats, kayaks, canoes & life rings

Medical

Face masks, paramedic cases, stretchers, dental chairs, medical specimen cases, & vaccine transport

Industrial

Floor polishers, water filtration, blower housings & recycling units

Miscellaneous

Manhole covers, cleaning equipment tanks, point-of-sale units, tool boxes & garden equipment

Table 2: Examples of Rotationally Molded Products Categories

20 ROTOWORLD® AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2021

and coalescence without shear necessary in the low-pressure rotomolding process. Polyethylene, in its many forms, represents about 95% of all polymers that are rotationally molded. PVC plastisol is quite widely used for playball and exercise equipment – polycarbonate, nylon, polypropylene, unsaturated polyesters, ABS, acrylics, cellulosics, epoxies, fluorocarbons, phenolics, polybutylenes, polystyrenes, polyurethanes, and silicones make up the rest. High–performance materials such as fiber-reinforced nylon and PEEK show potential to be used in this technology but represent a very small fraction of industry output.

The molds used in rotational molding are of a shell-like construction. They are ideally made in two halves, although complex parts may require molds to separate into multiple pieces. The molds are held closed at the parting line by clamps, bolts, or high-temperature pneumatic cylinders.

The mold almost always has a vent tube (“breather”) to allow for equalization of pressure between the inside of the molded part and the external environment. The positioning of the vent tube depends on the nature of the plastic part – for example, the fill port of a tank is a convenient place to locate the vent. The size of the vent can be critical: too small a vent can cause a negative pressure to occur during the early stages of cooling which can cause blowholes and deformation.

The most common mold materials are cast aluminum, machined aluminium, or fabricated sheet steel. The latter is favored for large articles such as tanks, whereas casting or machining is used for smaller parts that contain complex details, or where several identical molds are required. Electroformed or vapor-formed nickel plate molds are also used, particularly for PVC parts. In recent years, the use of CNC machined molds is becoming common, and this is resulting in exciting improvements in mold quality, particularly at the parting line. Molds undergo high thermal stresses as they are regularly cycled in ovens which go from room temperature to over 300˚C (572˚F). Automation of mold opening and mold filling is also helping to reduce labor content, lower cycle times, and improve consistency of weight and quality in the final molded part.

Figure 3: Some Typical Rotationally Molded Parts

www.rotoworldmag.com 21

In the latest types of automated machines, the mold and the machine are a single unit enabling very precise control over mold rotation, as well as control over the temperature and pressure inside the mold using direct electrical heating of the molds.

Robotic systems using 5-axis units allow for fully automated rotomolding: electrically heated molds can be manipulated in more complex rotation patterns to ensure more uniform heating and transferred between process stations. While production of simple parts such as flower-pots, water tanks, and trash cans has been fully automated successfully, justifying the cost of demolding complex molds remains a challenge.

The nature of rotational molding creates some special effects not seen in other manufacturing processes for plastic parts. Outside corners of rotomolded parts are usually thicker than the general wall thickness because the plastic powder gathers in the corners of the mold. Conversely, inside corners are usually thinner because the plastic powder falls away from the mold in these areas. The generally

part, and the use of curved surfaces or design details is highly recommended to conceal warpage effects. Internal cooling of molds using either air or water mist is possible: this has the double benefit of overcoming warpage and reducing manufacturing times.

Threads, both internal and external, can be molded into the part, although coarser thread profiles are preferred to allow for ease of flow of powder. Commercial “flow enhancers” can be sprayed onto the mold in areas such as thread profiles and these improve the reproduction of the mold details considerably, although most of these problems can be overcome through proper control of particle size and heat flow.

Metal inserts are also very common in rotationally molded parts. The relatively large shrinkage of the polyethylene ensures that inserts are tightly gripped during molding, but it must be recognized that the resulting restriction of the shrinkage will introduce residual stress. As is often the case with polyethylene, care must be taken with the use of inserts if there is the possibility

Figure 4: Corner Thickness and Radii in Rotational Molding (Image Courtesy of Integrated Design Systems)

recommended radii for inside the outside corners are illustrated in Figure 4. The general rule of thumb for inside and outside corners is that larger radii will give more uniform wall thickness.

Rotational molding, like blow molding and thermoforming, is a free surface molding method. Wall thickness variations can occur in rotational molding, but the molder can exercise some degree of control over wall thickness by altering the speeds and speed ratios about the major and minor axes. In addition, some areas of the mold can be shielded to reduce material build-up, or extra heat can be directed to areas where more thickness is required.

The shrinkage in polyethylene is relatively large, typically around 3%, but this can be allowed for and tolerances of less than 1% are achievable. A flatness tolerance of 2-3% is usually the best that can be achieved due to the one-sided cooling in rotational molding.

Wherever possible, large flat areas should be avoided in a molded 22 ROTOWORLD® AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2021

that the molded part is exposed to a stress-cracking environment.

Conventional ribs are difficult to create by rotational molding because the plastic powder does not flow easily into the deep recess needed to create a sharp rib. Instead, the same type of stiffening effect can be created using corrugations as shown in Figure 5. The recommended depth of the corrugations is about four times the material thickness and the width should be about five times the material thickness. This is to ensure a good balance of axial and transverse stiffness.

Special stiffening features called “kiss-offs” are very effective in rotational molding (see Figure 6). These are created in double wall parts by adding conical features in the mold that cause the two walls of the part to be “linked” together. The resulting molding can be very stiff and, in some cases, such as pallets, foaming is added to provide excellent stiffness to weight ratio.

Figure 5: Recommended Stiffening Corrugation Dimensions (Image Courtesy of Integrated Design Systems)”

Improvements in mold design, and powder quality, are enabling some types of stiffening ribs to be created in rotomolded tanks as illustrated in the underground tank in Figure 7. These solid ribs are about 70mm deep and 10mm thick.

Accelerating Customer Success through better products and better service for rotational molders

Figure 6: Kiss-Off’ Stiffening Feature in Rotational Molding (Image Courtesy of Integrated Design Systems)

Draft angles are usually not necessary in female parts of the mold because the plastic will shrink away from the mold. However, in male parts of a mold where there is a tendency for the plastic to shrink onto the mold, draft angles of 1-2o are usually sufficient.

These are illustrated in Figure 8. If the mold is textured, an extra 1o draft should be allowed. These values of draft angles are for polyethylene. An extra degree should be allowed for stiffer materials such as polypropylene and nylon. Engineering materials such as polycarbonate will require a further 2o in all cases.

Some undercuts are permissible in rotational molding where the material shrinkage or flexibility will allow the material to pull away from the mold. The designer will need to determine what is possible based on knowledge of the shrinkage. Generous

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draft angles on external undercuts are not permissible since the shrinkage of the material will prevent ejection of the part as shown in Figure 9.

Figure 7: Solid Ribs Molded Into an Underground Tank Design (Image Courtesy of Integrated Design Systems)

Figure 8: Draft Angles for Rotational Molding Features (Courtesy Integrated Design Systems)

Holes can molded-in using silicone inserts during rotational molding; they can also be machined afterwards using normal types of cutting tools. During molding, it is common to shield the areas to be cut out with insulation so as to avoid material wastage. Although polyethylene is difficult to paint, sophisticated

Figure 9: Avoid Undercuts in the Line of Draw (Image Courtesy of Integrated Design Systems)

24 ROTOWORLD® AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2021

decorating methods have been developed for rotationally molded parts including in-mold graphic transfers which are applied to the mold and then become incorporated in the surface of the molded part and post-mold graphics which are applied to the part after demolding.

The rotational molding industry is a dynamic sector with molders and suppliers to the industry always ready to respond to challenges. As a process, rotational molding has always been known as a versatile manufacturing method for plastic parts and this versatility continues to develop as molders respond to the need to provide high performance parts in demanding market sectors. In doing this, the process has retained its advantages of producing low-stress parts, available with short lead times and attractive economics for a broad range of end-uses.

Thank you to Dr. Paul Nugent, MNOP for his contributions and updates to this article. Those wishing to obtain more detailed information on the rotational molding of plastics are referred to the following sources of information [1-8]: 1. Crawford, R.J and Kearns, M. P., Practical Guide to Rotational Moulding, 2nd edition, RAPRA Technology, Shawbury, Shrewsbury, UK (2012) 2. Nugent, P., Rotational Molding: A Practical Guide., www.paulnugent.com (2001) 3. Carvani, M., Mondini, F. and Romboli, E., Rotational Moulding: Theory & Practice., Association of Rotational Moulders Australasia (2006) 4. Beall, G.L., Rotational Molding – Design, Materials, Tooling and Processing, 1998, Munich: Hanser. 245.

5. Beall, G., A Designer’s Guide to Rotationally Molding, SPE RETEC, 1999. Cleveland, Ohio, USA. 6. Dodge, P.T., Rotational Molding – The Basic Process, 1995, The Association of Rotational Molders: Chicago, Illinois. p. 14.

7. Crawford, R.J. and Throne, J.L., Rotational Molding Technology, William Andrew Publishing (now Elsevier) 2002 8. Crawford, R.J Rotational Moulding of Plastics, 2nd edition, Research Studies Press, UK (1996)

2 0 2 1 - 2 0 2 2

R o t o W o r l d

®

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Image Courtesy of SLIDE® S.r.l. Italy

RBG! CONNECT (print & online) provides desk handy resource and easy online access, connection, and communication with valued vendors in the rotational molding industry. Use this new resource to reach out to the companies that have the perfect fit products and services for your needs.

If you are a Rotomolder looking for products and services to ensure the success of your company or that next project, RBG! CONNECT will be there to guide you to the right resource. If you are an OEM, wholesaler, or retailer looking for a rotomolder, watch the RBG! Connect as it grows to include rotomolders, consultants, and educators throughout the world.

The new RBG! CONNECT will be in print one time each year and online 24/7, 265 days a year with information by product and service. Keep your printed version handy on your desk for quick access and go to (rotoworldmag.com/online/site/rbg_connect_application) for more and more resources as they come online.

See Premier Listings here and join RBG! CONNECT today by signing up your company at (rotoworldmag.com/ online/site/rbg_connect_application). Or you can respond by completing the application found on page 44.

For more information on how you can join RBG! CONNECT, please email RotoWorld® at rotoworld@jsjproductionsinc.com - call 512.689.3369 or go to www.rotoworldmag.com

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ExxonMobil Chemical is a leading supplier of polyethylene resin to the rotomolding industry.

We are pleased to serve your performance needs with outstanding product consistency, dependable sales support, and expert technical knowledge.

PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

Tanks

Materials:

Rotational Molding Contact:

Address:

Kevin C. Jamieson kevin.c.jamieson@exxonmobil.com

505 Quarry Park Boulevard SE. T2C 5N1 Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Phone: 587.476.3923

Customer Service:

Phone: 800.668.0177

• Linear Low Density Polyethylene Resin • High Density Polyethylene Resin • High Density Cross-Linkable

Polyethylene Resin

ExxonMobil Chemical Rotational Molding Linear Polyethylene Gradeslate – North America ExxonMobil Chemical Rotational Molding PaxonTM Cross-Linkable Polythylene Gradeslate North America

chem@exxonmobil.com www.exxonmobilpe.com

COMPANY ExxonMobil, the largest publicly traded international oil and gas company, uses technology and innovation to help meet the world’s growing energy needs. We hold an industry-leading inventory of resources and are one of the world’s largest integrated refiners, marketers of petroleum products and chemical manufacturers.

Point of Purchase Display

Seats

Food Handling

Baby Changer

©2021 Exxon Mobil Corporation. All rights reserved. ExxonMobil, the ExxonMobil logo, the interlocking “X” device and all product names herein are trademarks of Exxon Mobil Corporation.

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For over 38 years - Innovation, Reliability and Performance are the foundation of every RotoSpeed machine Ferry Industries has manufactured.

PRODUCTS AND SERVICES Address:

4445 Allen Road Stow, Ohio 44224 USA Phone: 1.330.920.9200 Fax: 1.330.920.4200 sales@ferryindustries.com www.ferryindustries.com

Contact:

Tony Short tshort@ferryindustries.com Ann Rowland arowland@ferryindustries.com Adam Covington acovington@ferryindustries.com

COMPANY Ferry Industries is the global leader, manufacturing the most productive rotational molding machines available to the market with over 1,400 machines in 60 countries.

Ferry manufactures RotoSpeed Independent-arm machines, In-line Shuttle machines and Rocking-Oven machines. RotoSpeed machines are available with swing capacities from 55” - 239” (1.4 m - 6.0 m) inches and handle heavy mold weights from 1,000 12,000 lbs (450 - 5443 kg) pounds per arm.

Standard on every rotational molding machine is Ferry’s RotoCure machine control.

RotoCure allows the operator to set, store and retrieve cure recipes, manage process trends, provide machine diagnostics, and record production data for reporting.

An exclusive option to optimize part-to-part quality and consistency is Ferry’s InfraRed Thermometry or IRT. IRT automatically monitors and controls the heating and cooling cycle of each arm in real time, making the machine adaptive to ambient conditions, greatly improving productivity, and energy efficiency.

All Ferry RotoSpeed machines are manufactured in the United States, using high quality, globally available components, to guarantee reliable performance.

Leading for over three decades, Ferry continues to redefine the industry through great customer service, building relationships and bringing firsts that improve both the quality of your products and your profits. Ferry Industries…When Performance Counts!

Videos:

RotoSpeed • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Q9JwKCFpuU • https://www.youtube.com/user/FerryIndustries/videos

28 ROTOWORLD® AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2021

RotoSpeed™ Rotational Molding Machines • Independent-Arm Carousels, 18 models, Swing Areas 55” - 239” (1.4m 6.0 m), Weight Capacities 1,000 - 12,000 lbs (450 - 5443 kg) • Fixed-Arm Carousels, 6 models, Swing Areas 55” - 120” (1.4 m - 3.0 m), Weight Capacities 1,000 - 4,000 lbs (450 - 1820 kg) • In-Line Shuttles, 7 models, Swing Areas 102” - 287” (2.6 m - 7.3 m), Weight Capacities 1,500 - 10,000 lbs (682 - 4545 kg) • Rocking Oven Machines, 5 models, Swing Areas 210/292” (5.3 m - 7.4 m) x 75/120” (1.9 m - 3 m), Weight Capacities 3,000 - 9,000 lbs (1362 - 4082 kg) Rotational Molding Process Management • RotoCure 7.0 - Operating Program for all Machines • InfraRed Thermometry (IRT) - NonContact Closed-Loop Process Control • RotoLog 5.0 Wi-Fi - Real-Time Cycle Diagnostics For Rotational Molding Rotational Molding Material Handling Equipment • High-Intensity Mixers • RotoLoad Powder Dispensing Equipment Rotational Molding Auxiliary Equipment and Upgrades • Operator Work Platforms • Arm & Carriage Upgrades • Oven & Cooler Upgrades • RotoCure Operating System Upgrades

Articles:

Managing Rotational Molding Machine Energy Costs - Adam Covington 2014 Ferry Plas-Mec High-Intensity Mixers can improve the Appearance and Quality of your Molded parts – Harry Covington 2014.

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A Family Business

Satisfying our customers for over 80 years.

PRODUCTS AND SERVICES DMC: • • • • • •

Address:

19800 Miles Road Warrensville Heights, OH 44128-4118 Phone: 216.663.1814 info@diversifiedmolds.com www.diversifiedmolds.com

Machined Molds Cast Molds Fabricated Molds Models & Patterns Mold Release Coatings (Permanent) Mold Clamps

Contact:

Vince Costello vcostello@diversifiedmolds.com Jim Henry jhenry@diversifiedmolds.com Chris DiFilippo cdfilippo@diversifiedmolds.com

COMPANY DMC is a full-service manufacturer of CNC machined, cast aluminum, and fabricated aluminum, steel, and stainless steel rotational molds. DMC is a provider of design consultation, models, mold and frame repair and revisions, mold coating, and spare parts.

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RBG! CONNECT

Rotational Molding Product Design Experts Concept to First Article Production Approval

Integrated Design Systems (IDS) has worldwide recognition as the best rotational molding designfirm. IDS has designed and developed products ranging from MRI machines to rotationally molded rickshaws. Many of our designs have received awards based on innovation and aesthetics. Let us help you develop your next product from concept to production.

• Free Quotes • Fixed price • Affordable rates • Guaranteed results • Quick turnaround

Contact:

74 West Main Street Oyster Bay, New York 11771 USA Phone: 516.482.2181 paloian@idsys.com www.idsys.com

30 ROTOWORLD® AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2021

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Jerico Plastic Industries, Inc. is committed to excellence in rotational molding and custom compounding. As a custom compounder of color, recycled and specialty resins, the company currently offers rotational molding PP, cross-linkable PE, flame retardant PE and special effects PE compounds, in addition to our newest product lines, J-Sustain and J-Bond!

PRODUCTS AND SERVICES Materials:

Custom Designed Compounds • LLDPE • HDPE Grades – Special Modified PE Grades • Soft Feel PE – Range of Densities • J-Sustain – Recycled resin • J-Bond – Functionalized polyethylene compounds Flame Resistent – UL Grades • PE • Aesthetic Materials / Special Effects Specialized Services • Custom Grinding • Custom Blending • Custom Compounding Chemicals & Additives • UV Stabilizers • Colorants – Dry Blend • Colorants – MasterBatch

Address:

Contacts:

Phone: 330.730.1140

Brandi Fey brandi@jericoplastic.com

401 Bridge Street Minerva, Ohio 44657 USA info@jericoplastic.com www.jericoplastic.com

Steve Copeland steve@jericoplastic.com

COMPANY We have grown from a family-owned, start-up company in 1997 to being a major supplier of materials for various rotational molding companies that produce high-end indoor and outdoor products. Jerico Plastic provides custom colored and specialty compounds, as well as special effects compounds for a variety of applications.

Our core mission is developing custom compounds and formulations for the specialty applications of our rotational and injection molding customers who have helped us earn our reputation for being service-oriented and quality-minded in every area of our compounding business. We are focused on meeting the needs of customers and partners by providing value and excellence in every step of our process.

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SERVING

THE ROTOMOLDING

INDUSTRY

32 ROTOWORLD® AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2021

Suppliers of high-quality resins exclusively for Rotational Molding Strategically located warehouses with large inventories Colored Compounds in stock, available from 1000 lb.

Experts in Circular Economy and Sustainable Materials

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Experts In Rotomoulding Materials

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Polyethylene Granules & Powders Ancillary Products Polypropylene Granules & Powders Polyamide Powders Crosslink Polyethylene Dedicated Global Technical services Support Team • Multi-lingual Customer Service • 5 Production Sites across 3 Continents

Aux Equipment:

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Material Equipment:

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Materials: Address:

Contact:

Ranbir Kooner ranbir.kooner@MATRIXPOLYMERS.COM

Northampton UK NN3 9AG +44 1604 789 100 sales@matrixpolymers.com matrixpolymes.com

• LDPE • LLDPE • mLLDPE • HDPE • Nylon • Polycarbonate • PP

Consulting:

COMPANY Matrix Polymers are highly regarded as a global supplier of raw materials to the rotational moulding industry.

What we bring to the partnership

• Global footprint that delivers world-class raw materials to the rotational

moulding industry

• Highly educated and knowledgeable industry specialists who partner with you

from ideation to creation committed to push boundaries and innovate, we help our customers identify new opportunities aligned to market trends and insights

• Experienced team of people in all aspects of rotational moulding, from polymer

chemistry and polymer design, compounding, grinding, rotomoulding, color matching, logistics, customer services, sales support & product development

• Dedicated Technical Services Support team that offers on-site technical assistance

and trouble-shooting, analytical testing of products and polymers & color matching

• The largest supplier of colored powder to the rotational moulding industry in

Australia and New Zealand

34 ROTOWORLD® AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2021

• End Use Development • Research • Technical Education

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Rotomolders:

• Agriculture Products • Automotive • Containers • Electronic • Floor Care • Furniture • Industrial Products • Lighting • Marine Products • Playground Equipment • Recreation/Sporting Goods • Storage • Tank (All Kinds) • Toys

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Norstar Aluminum Molds, Inc. is a leader in “Creative Solutions” for the rotational molding industry.

With over 60 years of experience, two U.S. based manufacturing facilities, and a network of international partners, Norstar Aluminum Molds, Inc. is uniquely suited to provide rotational molders with the utmost service and creative solutions to all their rotational tooling needs.

PRODUCTS AND SERVICES Norstar:

COMPANY Address:

W66 N622 Madison Avenue Cedarburg, Wisconsin 53012 USA

Contact:

Sandy Scaccia sscaccia@norstarmolds.com

Phone: 262-375-5600

• • • • • • •

Patterns Aluminum Cast Molds CNC Machined Molds Fabricated Aluminum Tools Mold Modifications, Repair & Refurbishment Used Molds Permanent Release Coatings

RotoMart Products:

info@norstarmolds.com info@rotomart.com www.norstarmolds.com www.rotomart.com

COMPANY

• • • • • • • •

Venting Products Mold Clamps Molded-In Inserts Mold Release Agents (Semi-Permanent) Frame & Mounting Components Mold Machined Components Internal Cooling Components Production Related Parts

Norstar

Norstar is a full service mold maker for the rotational molding industry offering cast, CNC machined and fabricated aluminum molds; patternmaking, mold repair and refurbishment; machined threaded caps and permanent mold release coatings. Norstar has a long established history of providing “Creative Solutions” to the rotational molding industry both through its manufacture of state of the art molds and through its RotoMart division.

RotoMart

RotoMart is our on-line parts and supply division with hundreds of product offerings.

RotoMart.com is designed to offer our customers a quick and easy way to shop any time of day, any day of the week. We offer a variety of products to maintain molds in good working order, as well as products used in production.

Used Molds: RotoMart offers a variety of quality used molds. These molds offer molders an opportunity to enter or expand their product lines at a fraction of the original cost. We also offer a service to help customers sell their unused molds.

www.rotoworldmag.com 35

RBG! CONNECT

Rotomachinery Group designs and produces a wide range of rotational molding machines (independent arms machines, fixed arms machines, shuttle machines, rock & roll machines, lab machines, box ovens and special machines), accessories of high technological level, thanks to its 50 years’ experience in this field. Know-how, demonstration tests, design service and the efficient after sales service are the most appreciated features by the worldwide customers.

PRODUCTS AND SERVICES Processing Equipment: European Address:

American Address:

Phone: +39 0321 772021 Fax: +39 0321 772027

Phone: +1 819 846 2787 Fax: +1 819 846 3096

polivinil@polivinil.com www.rotomachinerygroup.com

Toll free: +1 888 308 4787

Polivinil Rotomachinery SPA Via Crosa, 53 28065 Cerano (NO) ITALY

STP Rotomachinery Inc. 120 Rue des PME Sherbrooke, QC J1C 0R2 Canada

sales@stprotomachinery.com www.rotomachinery.com

COMPANY Rotomachinery Group people are an energic team sharing machinery designing expertise, between Polivinil Rotomachinery S.p.A. (Italy) for more than 50 years in the market, and, STP Rotomchinery Inc., a Canadian company founded by Polivinil Rotomachinery in 2005 around a group of people active in the design and development of rotational molding machinery for 15 years.

This enthusiasm has led to create a highly motivated international team, capable to create products with highest quality standards.

Rotomachinery Group today employs over 150 people at its’ two manufacturing units, directly with engineers, specialized technicians, highly trained operators, expert industrial designers and indirectly through strategic suppliers.

Group’s mission: manufacture and sell rotomolding equipments, technologically advanced, robust, and reliable.

Significant resources have been invested to acquire the best technologies available.

Increase of efficiency, costs reduction and easiness of use are well shown in the latest innovations we made: continuous temperature measurement inside the mold, total automatic process management, real time adjustment of the hot air circulation in the oven and REGEN system to allow reduction consumption and speed up the production.

36 ROTOWORLD® AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2021

• • • • • • •

Independent Arms Machines; Fixed Arms Machines; Shuttle Machines; Rock ‘n Roll Machines; Lab Machines; Box Ovens; Special Machines.

Material Preparation Equipment: • Mixers • Dosing Units

RBG! CONNECT

Powder King® Direct Drive Pulverizing Systems “We deliver what others promise!”

Address:

41780 North Vision Way Unit #120 - Building 2 Anthem, Arizona 85086 USA

Contact:

Jim Hummel jhummel@powder-king.com

Phone: 623.551.9897 Fax: 623.551.8571

PRODUCTS AND SERVICES Auxiliary Equipment, Components & Supplies • EC200 Controller System • Storage Silos / Bins • High Intensity Mixers • Dust Collection • Disk Sharpening Services & New Disks for all Models of Pulverizing Systems • Lab Test Equipment

sales@powder-king.com www.powder-king.com

COMPANY Powder King® founded in 2003 by Jim Hummel, now a 29 year veteran in the Rotational Molding Industry and 45 years fabrication experience has once again taken their line of pulverizing systems to the next level. Powder King® well known for their unique direct drive operator friendly, compact modular space saving systems. The systems are built with all the latest technology not available by others in the industry, such as; direct drive mill to utilize 100% of available HP of the mill motor, pocketed designed flywheels and water jacketed adjusting fixtures to mount their one piece abrasive resistant disks, the disks are completely captivated 360 degrees on OD and ID of their disks by segmented clamping system. Powder King® also has state of the art single screw disks gapping adjusters to make setting the gap between the disks fast and extremely simple, unlike other methods that require many tools and is very time consuming to set the gapping between the disks. The disk gap adjusters are only on a Powder King® pulverizing system. The systems also have integrated work platforms for operators to access the different levels of the machine, sifters are 100% guarded to protect operators from the moving sifter boxes as well when accessing the area via work platform. All systems have break over hinged cyclone for easy access and cleaning, all piping is heavy gauge using O-ring sealing clamps to quickly clamp together the piping and insure of leak free connections. The machine control is powered by New Proprietary EC200 Controller System, allowing the machine to precisely control the pulverizing process with remote operational capabilities.

Material Preparation Equipment • Single-use Disks • PK-150 Mixers • Grinders & Pulverizing Equipment • Mixers & Blenders • Material Handling Equipment • Material Transfer Equipment • Powder Testing Equipment Processing Equipment • Direct Drive Pulverizing Systems from Lab Scale to High Production Models • Pellet / Powder Conveying Systems • Laboratory Testing Equipment Consulting Services • Machine Design • Process Flow & Optimization Research • Technical Education

Articles:

Powder King® Announces their new PKA Velocity SeriesTM Pulverizing System Powder King® PKA-18-Full Scale Lab Mill Powder King® PKA-18 Cryogenic Pulverizer Powder King® Celebrates 10 Year Anniversary

www.rotoworldmag.com 37

RBG! CONNECT

ROTOLOAD™ by Wittmann Battenfeld Canada Inc.

THE COMPANY For over 35 years Wittmann Battenfeld Canada Inc. has been developing, designing, and helping our customers to discover the very best of Material Handling and Conveying Systems and Automation.

The ROTOLOAD™ Powder Resin Dispensing System has specifically engineered to benefit and automate the process of ROTO MOLDING. With ease of use, accuracy, repeatability, and flexibility at the root of every design decision, the patented ROTOLOAD™ is the industry standard for gravimetric powder dispensing, automation, and control.

With the ability to adapt to every application, the ROTOLOAD™ and its automation capabilities can easily be configured to meet every engineering challenge.

With full INDUSTRY 4.0 communication capabilities, the ROTOLOAD™, can interface with your ERP/MRP systems to add that extra level of control, monitoring and efficiency.

DEVELOP – the Purpose, the Scope, the Specifications DESIGN – the Process, the Equipment, the Layout DISCOVER – the Efficiencies, the Savings, the Success

CONTACT INFORMATION Rob Miller PRESIDENT rob.miller@wittmann-group.ca 416-677-7928 Lisa Greentree TECHNICAL SALES lisa.greentree@wittmann-group.ca 416-678-2895

PRODUCTS AND SERVICES • Gravimetric Powder Dispensing Systems • Central Powder Conveying systems • Storage Silos • Blending Systems • Weighing Systems • Control systems

WITTMANN BATTENFELD CANADA INC. Ph 1-905-887-5355 Fax 1-905-887-1162 www.wittmann-group.ca www.rotoload.com WITTMANN BATTENFELD CANADA INC. 35 LEEK CRESCENT RICHMOND HILL, ONTARIO L4B 4C2

RBG! CONNECT

The Association of Rotational Molders (ARM) was founded in 1976 and is the largest association for rotational molders, their suppliers, consultants, and educatiors. ARM provides tools for you to train your employees, reduce scrap, connect with customers, learn from experts and peers. Our focus is on providing a tremendous return on investment.

Immediate Free Access to more than 100

Rotolink Newsletter

Immediate Free Access to ARM’s classic training video library

Sales Inquiry Notifications

on-demand webinars and videos Topics range from Determining Your True Cost to Proper Sampling Techniques. Many titles are added throughout the year.

Includes programs on curing, venting, and good manufacturing practices. All videos include Spanish subtitles.

Our email hits your inbox twice a week with news on our industry, a webinar from our archive, insight on resin trends, supply chain, and much more.

We review sales leads typically from companies seeking molders – and email them to our member companies. We actively advertise for leads on behalf of our members.

www.rotoworldmag.com 39

RBG! CONNECT

Complimentary Registration to the Annual Meeting

Provided for one employee for each new member company. Unparalleled education and networking opportunities for rotomolders.

Sample Operator Instructions

An 80+ page document calling out the highlights of nine company’s operator instructions. Also more than 700 documents and presentations from past Annual Meetings.

Free Troubleshooting Calls

These moderated teleconferences are conducted every six weeks (eight per year) and allow you to troubleshoot your process and discuss HR issues with other molders, suppliers, and rotomolding experts.

Networking with industry peers

The greatest ARM benefit: Informal learning at a coffee break could revolutionize your process or reduce your expenses by tens of thousands of dollars. We hear it from members again and again.

Awards and Awareness

Showcase your company in our online member directory and through awards including Safety Award, Product Competition, and more.

Discounted Registration to all ARM Meetings

Includes regional meetings, the in-depth Hands-On Rotomolding Workshop at Penn College, and our Executive Forum which will be held on Amelia Island.

2022 Meetings

ARM is happy to announce our 2022 meeting schedule. Mark your calendar to join us for:

Executive Forum

March 14-16, 2022 Omni Amelia Island Resort in Amelia Island, Florida

Annual Meeting

November 7-10, 2022 Westin Peachtree Plaza in Atlanta, Georgia

More information, schedules, hotel reservation links and more will be available in Rotolink, our email newsletter, and on www.rotomolding.org as we finalize our meeting schedule.

40 ROTOWORLD® AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2021

RBG! CONNECT

Our Education Library includes more than 100 videos and webinars ARM now offers more than 100 videos on-demand for members. Members can access all of the titles listed below immediately.

• Coming in Fall 2021: Rotomolding

Safety Webinar Series

• Operator Training Program (25

•

• • •

• • • • •

• •

• • • • •

• • •

• • •

•

Videos) by Nick Henwood, Dru Laws, and more Click for the detailed contents Finishing Series (5 videos): Secondary Finishing Operations, Graphics, EPS Molding, PU Foaming, In-Mold Label Free Graphics and Coatings by Konstantia Asteriadou, Jason Brownell, Rick Carlsen, Corey Eystad, Nick Henwood, and Scott Saxman Rotational Molding Design (6 videos)

by Michael Paloian Case Study: Body Board by Mario Poma Challenges and Approaches in using Post-Consumer Recycled in Rotomolding by Henry Hay Fade Resistance of Pigments by Mike Haubert Foam Technology by Alex Pritchard Fracture Mechanics for Rotational Molding by Sachin Waigaonkar Introduction to Long-Term Material Properties by Nick Henwood Leveraging New Resins – Collaborating with your Material Supplier to Elevate your Business by Carmine D’Agostino and Hassan Riaz Polyethylene Market Update 2020 by Chris Gick The Progression of Industry 4.0 principles for Rotational Molding by Rob Miller Roto+10 by Paul Nugent SWOT Analysis of Rotomomolding Process by Rick Carlsen UV Stability & Heat Aging by Thomas Steele Virtual Plant Tours by Matt Bushman and Mick Webber Virtual Reality to Optimise the Design and Build a New Rotomoulding Factory

by Karem Akoul Welding 101 by Kevin McTavish Burner Maintenance presented by Adam Covington Considerations When Light-Weighting Rotomolded Parts presented by Henry Hay Cooling Fixtures presented by Ron Joannou Jr. and Joey Morsi Determining Your True Cost presented

by Steve Osborn The Effect of Pigments and Warpage on HDPE Rotomolded Parts by Mike Haubert EPCRA Reporting & Combustible Dust (with Roto 101 Intro) presented by EPA & OSHA

• Finishing Parts with Robots (Case Study)

• Roto 101 presented by Rick Carlsen &

•

• Safety in Rotomolding & OSHA

•

• • • • • •

• • • •

• • • • • • • •

presented by Dru Laws Finite Element Analysis: The Basics presented by Michael Paloian Improving Rotational Molded Insert Performance presented by Glenn Larkin and Jon Ratzlaff In-Process Rotational Foam Molding presented by Dru Laws Infrared Thermography presented by Bill Spenceley Lengthening the Life of Your Mold presented by Tony Short Making the Most of Trade Shows by Melissa Shearer Making the Most of Your Marketing Budget presented by Melissa Shearer Mold Clamping Methods – Pros and Cons presented by Erik Adams and Bob Mueller Mold Release presented by Even Silo & Scott Waterman Mold Trends: Europe v. North America presented by Sergio Zilioli Part Cure As it Relates to Industry 4.0

by Rob Miller Part Cure: How To Use Part Density to Check For Correct Cure by Nick Henwood Part Cure: Troubleshooting by Ron Cooke Process Control: Modelling the Rotomolding Process by Hassan Riaz Process Tuning 101 by Nick Henwood Prop 65 for Rotomolders presented by Mike Haubert Proper Sampling Techniques presented

by Josh Hunsberger and Dave Loeffler Rebranding Your Business (Case Study) presented by Tom Innis Resin Rotomation by Rob Miller Rotational Molding & the Evolving Structural Part Processing Business presented by Dr. Peter Mooney

Ron Joannou Jr.

• •

• • • •

•

• •

• • • • •

• •

Compliance presented by Dave Schwoerer Save Energy & Save Money presented

by Bill Spenceley Selecting the Right PE Grade for Your Part presented by Nick Henwood Selling in Tough Times and Uncertain Market by Paul Reilly The Seven Stages of Rotomolding by Gareth McDowell Solve Cosmetic Part Problems presented

by Jon Ratzlaff Stiffness Models and Options for MultiLayered Parts presented by Dr. Nick Henwood Test Method for Flowability (Dry Flow Rate) of Polyethylene Powders Using a Specified Funnel presented by Ron Cooke & Jon Ratzlaff Ten Actionable Business Topics by Tom Kammerait Troubleshooting Your Rotomolding Operation from a Shop Floor Perspective presented by Ron Cooke Turning a 4% Bottom Line into a 10% Bottom Line presented by Al Bates Understanding the Molding Cycle presented by Gareth MacDowell Unwanted Holes in Rotomolded Parts

by Nick Henwood Vent Plug Materials, Techniques, and Installations by Sandy Scaccia What Does Internal Air Mold Temperature Have to do with Quality presented by Gareth McDowell What’s New presented by 18 ARM Suppliers What’s Your Problem (2 videos) presented by Ron Cooke & Sandy Scaccia

www.rotoworldmag.com 41

RBG! CONNECT

WHO IS ARMA?

The Association of Rotational Moulders Australasia Ltd (ARMA) is the premier organisation for rotational moulders throughout Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific and Southeast Asia and as one of the most active associations in the world, we also have rotational moulding and supplier members around the globe who enjoy our resources and extensive industry network. Our member moulders and suppliers have a proven commitment to providing their clients with quality products and services.

BENEFITS ARMA Members receive a range of benefits to assist company’s in keeping up to date with what is happening in the industry both locally and internationally such a s a copy of this magazine, Rotoworld®.

6 issues are included, both hard copy and digitally.

To make it easy for you all the important information that may influence your company can be viewed quickly and easily with the monthly e-newsletter, RotoNews. ARMA understand time is precious so we will highlight business referrals, news updates and business opportunities all in this one contact so that you can concentrate on your own business needs.

ARMA works to provide your company with up-to-date information, contacts, and assistance in the way you need it, when you need it and where you need it and provides information on the availability of research and development programs, government assistance as well as training and business management practices necessary to develop your business.

The ARMA Technical Library provides a range of video training, guides, resources, and past presentations on a multitude of topics such as the Australian & New Zealand Standard ASNZS4766:2020, design, tooling and moulds, staff induction, health and safety, delivery and safety.

One of the newest additions for our members is an online portal and mobile phone app that allows organisations to manage their own details, find other members, stay up to date with the latest news, book events and access the technical library instantly.

42 ROTOWORLD® AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2021

RBG! CONNECT

FURTHER BENEFITS • Company details in the Find a Member section of

• • • •

• • • •

• • • • •

• • •

www.rotationalmoulding.com, the No 1 industry website in the world.

Technical advice where possible.

Free advertising on Rotomarket; an online facility for buying and selling machinery Industry contacts when you need them, including access to consultants.

RotoNews and the International Industry Update are emailed each month with vital industry information and updates.

Access to digital and hard copy magazine focussed on rotational moulding and design A range of safety posters and design posters available in print ready format Member rates to the Rotomould Conference, Masterclass Technical Workshops and other webinars and events.

ARMA organises factory tours all through the world which provides you with the opportunity to form new relationships and see how other factories run.

Your details will always be provided for any business referrals through the Association.

Involvement and voting rights at the Annual General Meeting.

Receive support for representation of interests and advocacy to government, business, and community.

Education and awareness raising on issues developing in the industry.

Access to world-wide contacts through ARMO (Affiliation of Rotational Moulding Organisations) as well as member rates at all international events.

Involvement in Sub-committees on the environment & safety Nominate for the Board of Directors and vote in matters of policy.

Participation in our policy formulation and development processes to help influence the business and regulatory environment in which you operate.

For more information or to join ARMA please contact us on the details below: Michelle Rose

CEO Association of Rotational Moulders Australasia LTD PO Box 237 Moonee Ponds VIC 3039 Australia Phone: + 61 (0)404 265 88 michellerose@rotationalmoulding.com www.rotationalmoulding.com

www.rotoworldmag.com 43

RBG! CONNECT Application Reserve your Listing Today for RBG! CONNECT (print & online). You can sign up your new Company Listing at rotoworldmag.com and click on Buyers’ Guide or go to https://rotomodling.com/online/site/rbg_connectapplication

Products and Services Index Auxiliary Equipment, Components & Supplies ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑

Participation Levels ❑ BASIC LISTING: Company Logo; Company Name, Address & Contact Information; Company Bio; Products/Services Listing (alpha & by category) — $99 Annual Cost

❑ ❑ ❑

MIDGRADE LISTING: Company Logo; Company Name, Address & Contact Information; Company Bio; Products/ Services Listing (alpha & by category), Keywords (5) Lead Generation, Browse by Category — $600 Annual Cost

❑

❑

PREMIER LISTING: Company Logo; Company Name Address & Contact Information; Company Bio; Products/ Service Listing (alpha & by category); Keywords (5) Lead Generation; Browse by Category; Photo Gallery (up to 5 photos and or videos); and a full page print listing in the print version. — $1200 Annual Cost

❑

❑ ❑

Material Preparation Equipment

Company Listing Information Sheet

❑

Supplier

❑

Educator

❑ ❑

Rotomolder

❑

❑ Grinders & Pulverizing Equipment ❑ Mixers & Blenders ❑ Material Handling Equipment ❑ Material Transfer Systems ❑ Powder Testing Equipment Other

Designer

Consultant

Company Name City

State

Fasteners Fittings Mold Clamps Molded-In Inserts Tank Accessories Graphics–In-Mold Graphics-Post-Mold Mold Release Agents (Semi-Permanent) Spin Weld Fittings Welding Equipment Welding Rod/Custom Colored Decorating, Finishing & Printing Systems Impact Test Equipment Laboratory Other

Zip Code

Phone Processing Equipment

Email Address

❑ Carousel Machines – Fixed Arms ❑ Carousel Machines – Independent Arms ❑ Rock & Roll Machines ❑ Shuttle Machines ❑ CNC Routers ❑ Other

Website Representative(s) Signature Provide a brief description of your Company.

Mold Making

Models & Patterns Cast Molds Fabricated Molds Machined Molds Mold Release Coatings (Permanent) ❑ Other ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑

I am purchasing the following:

❑ ❑ ❑

PREMIER LISTING — $1,200 MIDGRADE LISTING — $600 BASIC LISTING — $99

❑

❑

Materials

❑

Signature

Card # Exp. Date Three or Four Digit Security Code

44 ROTOWORLD® AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2021

❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑

LDPE LLDPE mLLDPE HDPE Nylon Polycarbonate PP PVC Polyurethane Foam Other

Consulting Services ❑ Advertising, Internet, Marketing & Public Relations ❑ End Use Development ❑ Product Design ❑ Machine Design ❑ Mold Design & Engineering ❑ Process Flow & Optimization ❑ Research ❑ Technical Education ❑ Legal Consulting ❑ Other

Specialized Services ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑

Custom Grinding Custom Blending Custom Compounding QC Testing – Raw Materials QC Testing – Molded Parts Packaging Trucking Warehousing Other

Chemicals & Additives ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑

Antioxidants UV Stabilizers Colorants – Dry Blend Colorants – MasterBatch Adhesives Other

Rotomolders ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑

Agriculture Products Automotive Blow Molding Containers Custom Molding Design Services Electronics Floor Care Furniture Industrial Products Injection Molding Lighting Material Handling Products Marine Products Playground Equipment Recreation/Sporting Goods Storage Tank (All Kinds) Thermoforming Toys Vacuum Forming Other

A Sustainable Future a history of innovation

This is what drives us in the pursuit of a future that is renewable.

The result is a line of products that meets the growing demands of the sustainability marketplace with the promise of a tomorrow that is rich and colorful.

J-Sustain produces bright, vivid colors so it can be used in indoor and outdoor applications with plenty of aesthetic appeal. Its formulation offers a variety of ways to incorporate the material into your sustainable and green products.

J-Sustain The next revolution in recycled resin.

Stick with Jerico!

(330) 730-1140 i n f o @ j e r i c o p l a s t i c. c o m

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JericoPlastic.com info@jericoplastic.com

www.rotoworldmag.com 45

Gotcha Covered HR…on hiring, conflict resolution, and record keeping Patricial Pannell, Michelle Butler, and Shannon Coleman Cryer, Gotcha Covered HR, LLC

Hiring Strategies During the Pandemic

identification, and deliver items such as laptops.

How have hiring practices changed during social distancing?

Employers have had to get creative with both the interview and talent acquisition processes. When hiring or returning employees to work, businesses are rethinking what skills are critical to their organization; how to make do with a smaller staff, or how to keep everyone on the payroll by having them split shifts or job share.

Many companies are recognizing the need to cross-train employees so that they can perform multiple duties. Employees are generally responding positively to being given the opportunity to learn more skill sets, and the added benefit is they are better able to help one another when there may be a skeletal staff. This also can create a stronger sense of teamwork.

The interview process is mostly being done virtually. They may start with a preliminary phone or email interview with a set of job-related questions, thoughtfully created in advance by the leadership team.

Once the pool of candidates has been narrowed, some businesses are hosting virtual lunches/coffees where they drop off or have lunch delivered to an applicant’s home before the interview. We are also seeing drive-by document processing once a candidate is selected, where HR can collect signatures, check

What policies and procedures have had to change for businesses?

Over the past six months, there have been a dizzying number of new COVID-related Federal, State, and Parish guidelines, mandates, and laws directed at customer and employee protections and protocols, such as family and sick leaves of absence and workplace safety and health. Best practice is for businesses to keep current on how these laws and guidelines apply to their industry and incorporate them as written standard operating procedures.

Changes or updates of workplace policies have included reconfiguring of the workplace itself to ensure the workspace accommodates distancing and signage (such as requiring hand washing and masks). Managers must make decisions on which employees need to be physically present at the job site and which may work remotely. These decisions are based on the requirements of the job and/or personal circumstances, such as need for family leave/sick leave, PTO, and vacation time requests, and workplace accommodation requests.

Businesses have been challenged to be very circumspect about how they are making rehiring and hiring decisions so as not to violate any current or new employment law, as the EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) and other Federal agencies are scrutinizing these workplace decisions and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.

By: Patricia Pannell, J.D., CEO and Founder, Gotcha Covered HR LLC

46 ROTOWORLD® AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2021

Is remote work here to stay?

In a word…YES! Although there may be some reluctance about employees not being physically in the office, many companies are finding that working from home allows flexibility for their employees, who are faced with having to work unconventional hours due to childcare or care for elderly parents. Companies are finding this is a compassionate alternative while still trying to navigate its novelty.

Adhering to a strict policy requiring everyone must be in the office may cause a business to lose a long-term valuable employee.

This is not to say that making the decision to allow one employee to work from home, but not another, may cause some conflict or resistance by employees.

We recommend that a business consult with a Human Resources expert when making these or other difficult employment decisions. If a business is consistent in making decisions consistently, in good faith and based on the employee’s job and personal circumstances, they should be ok.

How does a company help remote employees avoid burnout and stay connected to the company/fellow employees?

Employee burnout is of particular concern to HR professionals, especially during the pandemic when one day seems to blur into the next. The Mayo Clinic defines burnout as “a state of physical, emotional, or mental exhaustion, combined with doubts about your competence and the value of your work.”

Employers need to find creative ways to help employees navigate these very valid feelings.

Offering flexibility during the workday, permitting generous use of PTO, and making adjustments in scheduling work hours are some ways to help employees take needed brakes for selfcare. Employers need to think outside the box when it comes to expectations of “normal” work hours if it will help employees deal with childcare and self-care needs.

Employers can encourage balance and grounding activities (exercise, meditation, etc.) by offering virtual mental health counseling or webinars addressing coping mechanisms.

Addressing the ergonomics of work-from-home arrangements can also be beneficial. Some companies are investing in home office furniture and ergonomic workstations so employees can

be more physically comfortable (which also reduces the chances of repetitive stress injuries, etc. that could increase worker’s compensation and health insurance claims).

Staying connected to the company and fellow employees while working remotely is also a challenge. Employees can feel disenfranchised if they are working at home and not otherwise connected to their co-workers. There are many ways to engage virtually and to do so periodically is the best route, so that employees working remotely feel a part of the organization and invested. Weekly zoom meetings are strongly recommended so that employees can not only share work related progress, but to talk about how to personally reconnect with each other.

As far as monitoring performance, which is admittedly a concern, it is best practice to outline those expectations clearly with employees and check in with them often. Make sure they know that they have a front-line supervisor or in-house manager with whom they can talk. Effective and frequent communication is integral to the employee’s success.

Patricia Pannell, J.D. is a Human Resources consultant, attorney, mediator, and the CEO/Founder of Gotcha Covered HR, a New Orleans based consulting firm with over 30 year of HR consulting experience. Patricia can be reached at Patti@GotchaCoveredHR.com.

Conflict Resolution: Best Alternative in Today’s New Normal

By Michelle Butler, J.D. Consultant, Mediator, Investigator, Gotcha Covered HR The COVID-19 pandemic has created challenges never before www.rotoworldmag.com 47

seen in the workplace. Have you noticed that temperaments are strained at work of late? Do your employees seem testy? Are some employees troubled by social distancing and others for mandates you have put in place? Is there a difference of opinions within your leadership team about significant issues concerning COVIDrelated protocols?

These types of conflicts and differences of opinions can adversely affect employee morale, workplace climate, and productivity.

There will always be conflict if people have differences of opinion. Conflict requires, needs, and desires resolution. But what is the best way to resolve conflict, especially in today’s “new normal”?

The last thing your business needs is for your employees to be without some internal recourse or means of compromise to resolve these conflicts. In the absence of an internal process, you could find your business confronted by litigation over issues that could have been “nipped in the bud”.

Litigation is contentious and costly. Losing in litigation can feel like annihilation or utter defeat. Yet, winning may not really be “winning” when you consider the financial cost of litigation and the impact on your human resources.

Conflict resolution, on the other hand, facilitated by a trained 48 ROTOWORLD® AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2021

objective mediator, is not only more cost effective than litigation, but allows for each of the parties to engage in meaningful dialogue, where each person gets to have their voice heard in a neutral uncontentious environment. It is the best and most effective way to address conflict and arrive at a facilitated mutual resolution.

Often conflict results from miscommunication or misconceptions about what another has said or done. This often happens in the workplace. Listening is an active art but when people’s feelings get involved, sometimes they are not really hearing or understanding what is being conveyed. Often information is not conveyed in the most transparent manner, either intentionally or inadvertently.

This is where a neutral third party can assist the parties to meet and converse with each other and help foster an expeditious congenial resolution.

If you have an experienced in-house HR person, utilize their talents at conflict resolution, or reach out to a third party for support. The amicable and expeditious resolution of any conflict, by mediation or conciliation, is the best method to resolve any conflict in dispute.

Michelle Butler, J.D. is an Advisor and Mediator for Gotcha Covered HR. Michelle can be reached at Michelle@ GotchaCoveredHR.com.

Record-Keeping and the Fair Labor Standards Act

By Shannon Coleman Cryer, Wage and Hour Compliance Advisor, Gotcha Covered HR Hi everyone, Shannon here, from Gotcha Covered HR, the onestop-shop for all your HR needs! Today, I’d like to discuss “All you need to know about record-keeping” as it relates to the requirements of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division — the governmental agency charged with enforcing the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

Understanding the record-keeping requirements of FLSA and the enforcement procedures of the Wage and Hour Division (WHD) can be confusing, especially for the small business owner. As a starting point before we hope on to the logistics of record-keeping, let’s discuss whether the WHD may have jurisdiction over your particular business.

Any business that earns $500,000 or more per year and has two or more employees is considered a “covered employer” under the FLSA. However, even if your business does not meet the $500,000 threshold, if your employees are engaged in work that “regularly involves them in commerce between States” (i.e., interstate commerce), then your business is also covered.

Determining whether your employees are “engaged in interstate commerce” could be as simple as employing anyone who swipes credit cards – this would include, for example, a restaurant’s servers

and cashiers. Because credit cards typically process across state lines or even in other countries, WHD considers this to be interstate commerce. Another example is an employee who travels out of state for business, or an office worker who uses a telephone, fax machine, the U.S. mail, or e-mail to communicate with people in another state. All these workers are considered to be engaged in interstate commerce.

Thus, even if your business does not make $500,000 per year, if your employees are engaged in interstate commerce then the WHD can claim jurisdiction over your business and proceed with an investigation to ensure compliance with recordkeeping as well as minimum wage and overtime requirements. That means that this article, dear “covered employer,” is meant for you! It is your responsibility to ensure proper record-keeping under the provisions of the FLSA, and Shannon is here to help you figure it out.

As a former WHD Investigator, a violation I have seen time and time again is employers failing to keep proper records of labor time sheets – in some cases, employers, actually discarded timesheets after the pay period ended. If you are one of those employers, please stop this practice immediately! WHD regulations (29 CFR 516.6) require that basic employment and earnings records must be kept for two years from the date of last entry.

Shannon Coleman Cryer is a Wage and Hour Compliance Advisor for Gotcha Covered HR. Shannon can be reached at Shannon@ GotchaCoveredHR.com

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www.rotoworldmag.com 49

7 ways to use your website as a PR tool Kim Harrison, Cutting Edge PR

Your website is an essential business tool. In fact, it may be your greatest asset – your most important marketing and communication tool – because more people view your web pages than any other tool. Your website can convey a tremendous amount of information and create active engagement opportunities for users, incorporating and connecting with many tools such as SEO, social media, information, and marketing content, which will drive traffic, leads, and sales. It can be your ultimate PR tool – and yet communicators often overlook the value of a website. This article addresses 7 ways to use your website for PR advantages.

Your website is often the first source of information people find when they search online for your organization, or your products and services. In many cases, it could be your only chance to create a good impression. That’s why it needs to be thoughtfully designed, with a clear structure and helpful signposts to content areas, with reader-friendly, quality content.

50 ROTOWORLD® AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2021

Use your website as a PR tool Often overlooked is the opportunity to use a website as a vital and versatile public relations (PR) tool. We need to keep in front of mind that “Public relations is a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics,” according to the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), the world’s largest PR professional body.

Public relations are about influencing, engaging, and building relationships with key stakeholders across numerous platforms in order to shape and frame the public perception of an organization.

Communication is a central element in all our lives and is essential for organizations to function. Communication is the core purpose of PR and is also exactly what a website is about.

When you’re intentional and strategic about your website’s purpose, you can use it to reach so many audiences. Your website can be used as a central PR tool applicable to nearly all the

Some of the discipline areas and functions within public relations PR Consulting

Investor, shareholder relations

Organizational communication

Marketing communication, sponsorship

Employee communication

Media relations

Stakeholder relations management

Social media engagement

Reputation development

Community relations

Government relations

Event management

Issue management

Speech writing and presentation preparation

Crisis communication

Content creation

Source PRSA

disciplines and functions within PR for organizations of widely different type and size (see chart above): Here are 7 ways you can effectively use your website as a PR tool: 1. Your website strategy: Carefully plan and regularly review Innumerable changes are continually transforming the internet.

Therefore, you need to plan and review the design, structure, and content of your website to keep up with these changes, which include changes in the business environment, and changes within your organization.

Research may be a valuable investment to find out more about how these changes are impacting on your customers and all other types of stakeholders – and therefore will influence the content you need on your website. Don’t forget to involve your employees in your quest to stay up to date with these changes. For example, you can arrange employee focus groups to discuss internal and external issues.

Here are core considerations you need to address for each section of your site representing your significant discipline areas and functions: • The key business objectives you intend to accomplish with this site.

• Your primary audience/s for each PR discipline/function area represented in the site. This will determine your tone of voice, what you provide – your content, and platforms used to follow up. With marketing communication, your website needs to be attractive to your target demographics.

• Prior understanding and knowledge your primary audiences have about the topics covered in the PR discipline and function areas.

• The main education and reading levels of your key audiences.

• Your key messages, supporting messages, and proof point/ validation for each of the PR discipline/function areas on the website.

• What you want your key audiences to do in relation to each discipline/function area in the site.

• What they are seeking from their discipline/function area of interest represented in the website.

• Information and involvement site visitors will be seeking.

• How you can fulfill their needs that align with your objectives.

Tools you can use to help attract and support the awareness, interest, engagement, and active responses of site visitors.

2. Design all pages to be attractive – both to visitors and search engines Your website shows who your organization is, and what you offer – whether it is information, products, services, or more. People arriving at the site need to feel welcome, and to perceive the site as credible, trustworthy, and reliable. They need to feel confident the site provides what they are seeking.

Your website design and content will directly shape the public’s perceptions of your brand. Organize your website so that your content (including white papers and reports), images (including infographics), videos, audio, games, quizzes, contests, giveaways, etc., cater well to the interests of your visitors.

The homepage isn’t the only entry to your website. Your visitors can enter directly or through a link to any page – from blogs, your online newsroom links, and other pages. If the entry points don’t give a strong, positive impression, those visitors may never return.

You can learn more here on how to use WordPress in web design and proficient optimization.

3. Capitalize on SEO opportunities Your web pages need to appeal to search engines as well as your human readers, thus increasing your site’s visibility, which is essential in PR. Search engines reward a steady flow of new content, including specific sections on PR topics, press releases, blog posts, newsletters, podcasts, video, and updated conversations from social media sites. From this array of content, PR generates links – and search engines respond really well to high-quality links.

Accordingly, keyword research and writing optimized for search engines are essential to an effective website, even though a good balance can be challenging. Organizations increase their traffic, conversion rates, and revenue significantly from simple SEO strategies.

We think of the external connections created by a website, and we also need to use internal links to content areas within the site.

These are valuable for SEO, and they raise the visibility of sections www.rotoworldmag.com 51

of your website. Your blogs or articles are especially valuable for creating internal linking opportunities.

It’s therefore important that you understand the significance of SEO and keyword requirements. Learn how to use SEO and keywords, so visitors can find you easily.

Monitoring the coverage of your organization is essential because you need to keep track of your reputation and news across the internet so you can respond, if necessary. For instance, monitor the web to find every website, blog, and news source where your brand is mentioned in a given period. Monitor any backlinks sending traffic to your domain from mentions of your brand name. Find where your brand name and those of competitors are mentioned on social media.

4. Embark on social media marketing The size of the social media world is staggering. As of July 2021, 54% of the world’s population is estimated to use social media, with daily usage averaging 2.5 hours per person according to data analyzed by Smart Insights, who also observe that the COVID

pandemic has pushed a “monumental increase in online and digital activities.”

The Pew Research Center estimated as at February 2021 that 72% of the US population used some type of social media, summarizing as follows: YouTube and Facebook are the most-widely used online platforms, and its user base is most broadly representative of the population as a whole. Smaller shares of Americans use sites such as Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, LinkedIn, Snapchat, WhatsApp, Reddit, and TikTok. 52 ROTOWORLD® AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2021

You can take advantage of this to share influential content to audiences on immense social media platforms. Social media enable you to connect with target audiences directly and instantly – segmenting to the audiences you most wish to deal with. Then you can direct them to your website to reach the page/s that contain content in which they will be interested.

The key to social media success is to join a conversation, not try to dominate it. Social media platforms are a great fit for online public relations because they support the role of PR professionals in building internal and external relationships. Key points: • You must have a strategy and key messages to get the most from social media platforms.

• Social media platforms work well across many traditional PR functional areas such as news media, marketing communication, issue management, and crisis communication, community relations.

• Social channels provide instant feedback about issues, products, events, consumer complaints, and preferences.

• Popular social media channels, such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Flickr make excellent platforms for small business marketing as well as for larger accounts, and all levels of government and government agencies. Apparently “about 70% of US adults rely on social media for government information at least once a week.” This is particularly important during the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Many companies now use social media for primary customer relationship management.

Continued on page 54

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5. Establish a helpful online newsroom An online newsroom based on your website is hugely versatile and essential, serving many important functions. Obviously, information for media is its prime function, but it can also be used to communicate information for the following functions: external organizational communication, stakeholder relations management, reputation development, issue management, crisis communication, investor and shareholder relations, marketing communication, and sponsorship, media relations (including publicizing speeches and presentations), community relations, event management, and social media engagement. Some employee-related content, which is also relevant externally, is usually included on a corporate website as well.

Positive publicity builds credibility – it can effectively create valuable “third party endorsement,” in which external commentators make positive observations about your organization and its products or services.

Include strong keywords in your press release content if you can, based on keyword research. Also include internal links relating to relevant pages in your website.

An online newsroom is vital for including much-needed information, and especially details for 24/7 contact for reporters, who may use your site after hours or are based in far-off time zones. Every journalist uses the web for researching and backgrounding for a story. Therefore, it is essential to post a helpful media kit in the newsroom, including, for example:

• Press releases containing organizational news and commentary, latest and archived – and organized by category for easy reference • Fact sheets, including “boilerplate” information on your organization, as background for press releases • Downloadable press kit, including logo in several formats • Copies of recent media coverage • Copies of executive and industry speeches • Corporate reports and presentations • Insights on economic, sector and global trends affecting the company • Corporate background information suitable for media and relevant others • Image gallery containing high resolution images and bios of the leadership team and production/manufacturing areas and products, if applicable Contact details for your media spokesperson/s – one who actually answers the phone!

• Copy of latest annual report should be made available, if applicable, e.g., by public companies and government departments, etc.

• Newsletter subscription form 6. Publish articles and blogs on your website The difference between blog posts and articles: A blog post is usually written from a personal perspective based on opinion, and

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can include facts or information, but it is based on experience and includes more personality. An article is typically written to convey facts, information, news, and unbiased perspective. My website, cuttingedgepr.com contains articles – like this one!

Content can be conveyed in several ways, not just in words.

You can use visual and video images, podcasts, and other tools to carry the points of interest you wish to make.

Publishing a regular article or blog on your website is an effective tool to establish your presence in the competitive marketplace. Use it to gracefully highlight your expertise and build trust and a dependable reputation.

However, you must consistently write high-quality content in your blogs or articles to build a positive PR effect. Great content is a powerful way to attract visitors. The content will rate well on search engine results pages (SERP) if you have done your keyword research.

7. Your website is a great vehicle for newsletters Email newsletters contain important news and updates to keep your readers up to date about your brand or products and other significant information. Even though they have been around for 30 years, newsletters are still an outstanding tool to attract subscribers from within your target audience to your website. For

instance, in marketing communication you can write a concise promo for a product or service in your newsletter, and then use your “Call to Action” button to take readers to your website where they can read more about the offer and make payment if they wish.

Incidentally, experts recommend not using the word “SUBMIT” on CTA buttons. “Submit” is a terrible word, with negative connotations, so write alternative terms like “Download Whitepaper,” “Get Your Free eBook,” or “Join Our Newsletter” or “Subscribe to Our Newsletter.”

Opt-in and opt-out requirements also help businesses ensure that their subscribers are likely to be more interested in what they offer, as opposed to merely casual readers.

Finally, the role of a functional, accessible, responsive, and usable business website can’t be overemphasized. After the COVID-19 pandemic struck, websites were, for a while, the main link between an organization and its audience. But websites needed to be user-friendly. Therefore, having a website that performs well is a valuable marketing and PR tool. Adding digital tools to your traditional PR strategies may not be an easy feat.

However, when you can take advantage of the benefits your website can provide, you will appreciate the improvements.

www.rotoworldmag.com 55

Resilience During the COVID-19 Pandemic cdc.gov/info

Whether you are going into work or working from home, the COVID-19 pandemic has probably changed the way you work.

Fear and anxiety about this new disease and other strong emotions can be overwhelming, and workplace stress can lead to burnout.

How you cope with these emotions and stress can affect your wellbeing, the well-being of the people you care about, your workplace, and your community. During this pandemic, it is critical that you recognize what stress looks like, take steps to build your resilience and manage job stress, and know where to go if you need help.

• • • • • • •

Recognize the symptoms of stress you may be experiencing.

Feeling irritation, anger, or in denial Feeling uncertain, nervous, or anxious Lacking motivation Feeling tired, overwhelmed, or burned out Feeling sad or depressed Having trouble sleeping Having trouble concentrating

Know the common work-related factors that can add to stress during a pandemic: • Concern about the risk of being exposed to the virus at work • Taking care of personal and family needs while working 56 ROTOWORLD® AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2021

• Managing a different workload • Lack of access to the tools and equipment needed to perform your job • Feelings that you are not contributing enough to work or guilt about not being on the frontline • Uncertainty about the future of your workplace and/or employment • Learning new communication tools and dealing with technical difficulties • Adapting to a different workspace and/or work schedule Follow these tips to build resilience and manage job stress.

• Communicate with your coworkers, supervisors, and employees about job stress while maintaining social distancing (at least 6 feet).

- Identify things that cause stress and work together to identify solutions.

- Talk openly with employers, employees, and unions about how the pandemic is affecting work. Expectations should be communicated clearly by everyone.

- Ask about how to access mental health resources in your workplace.

• Identify those things which you do not have control over and do the best you can with the resources available to you.

“How you cope with these emotions and stress can affect your wellbeing, the well-being of the people you care about, your workplace, and your community.”

• Increase your sense of control by developing a consistent daily routine when possible — ideally one that is similar to your schedule before the pandemic.

- Keep a regular sleep scheduleexternal icon.

- Take breaks from work to stretch, exercise, or check in with your supportive colleagues, coworkers, family, and friends.

- Spend time outdoors, either being physically active or relaxing.

- If you work from home, set a regular time to end your work for the day, if possible.

- Practice mindfulness techniquesexternal icon.

- Do things you enjoy during non-work hours.

• Know the facts about COVID-19. Be informed about how to protect yourself and others.

Understanding the risk and sharing accurate information with people you care about can reduce stress and help you make a connection with others.

• Remind yourself that each of us has a crucial role in fighting this pandemic.

• Remind yourself that everyone is in an unusual situation with limited resources.

• Take breaks from watching, reading, or listening to news stories, including social media. Hearing about the pandemic repeatedly can be upsetting and mentally exhausting • Connect with others. Talk with people you trust about your concerns, how you are feeling, or how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting you.

- Connect with others through phone calls, email, text messages, mailing letters or cards, video chat, and social media.

- Check on others. Helping others improves your sense of control, belonging, and selfesteem. Look for safe ways to offer social support to others, especially if they are showing signs of stress, such as depression and anxiety.

• If you feel you may be misusing alcohol or other drugs (including prescription drugs) as a means of coping, reach out for help.

• If you are being treated for a mental health condition, continue with your treatment and be aware of any new or worsening symptoms.

Know where to go if you need help or more information.

If you feel you or someone you know may harm themselves or someone else: • National Suicide Prevention Lifeline

- Toll-free number 1-800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8255) - The Online Lifeline Crisis Chatexternal icon is free and confidential. You’ll be connected to a skilled, trained counselor in your area.

• National Domestic Violence Hotline

- Call 1-800-799-7233 and TTY 1-800-787-3224 If you are feeling overwhelmed with emotions like sadness, depression, or anxiety: • Disaster Distress Helplineexternal icon

- Call or text 1-800-985-5990 • Check with your employer for information about

possible employee assistance program resources.

If you need to find treatment or mental health providers in your area: • Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services

Administration (SAMHSA) Find Treatment

Mental Health Resources • CDC Coronavirus (COVID-19) Stress and Coping • Working Adults: Care for Yourself • American Psychological Association • National Alliance on Mental Illness

COVID-19 Resources • NIOSH Workplace Safety and Health Topic • CDC COVID-19 • CDCINFO: 1-800-CDC-INFO (1-800-232-4636) |

TTY: 1-888-232-6348 | Website: cdc.gov/info

www.rotoworldmag.com 57

Leading Through a New Brand of Burnout Mark Athitakis, Associations Now The pandemic has expanded the range of things that stress out leaders and their staffs.

Some tweaks to your approach to breaks and communication may be in order.

Welcome back from your Labor Day break!

You’ve made it through the summer, maybe had a chance to use some vacation time, and now you’re ready to tackle a busy fall feeling calm and refreshed, right? Right?

There’s a good chance you aren’t as relaxed these days as you might like. Nor is your staff.

A May 2020 report by the project management technology firm Asana found that 89 percent of U.S. workers experienced burnout at least once in the past year. And that was before the COVID19 era hit full swing. Now, with a new array of stressors—remote-work arrangements that challenge work-life balance, zoom fatigue, anxiety over the virus itself—the idea of what it means to look after your staff ’s well-being requires a

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rethink. The usual rhythm of vacations and holidays may not do the trick.

Lack of autonomy puts people on a fast track to burnout.

The evidence of that is in reports on the “Great Resignation,” referring to the sizable proportion of Americans who are quitting their jobs—4 million in April 2021 alone. More break time alone won’t crack the problem of retaining burned-out workers looking for other opportunities, wrote workplace expert Liz Fosslien recently in the MIT Sloan Management Review. The struggle is more existential: “Lacking a sense of meaning and not receiving the emotional support you need to thrive are also strongly related to feeling stretched too thin,” she writes.

To address that, Fosslien recommends a number of things that leaders can do to help their teams feel a bit more emotionally balanced. Most involve opening lines of communication, if workers want to talk directly about particular issues. But a good leader also knows when to lay off a little bit: Empowering people to do their work without micromanaging them goes a long way toward their feeling less pressure. As Fosslien writes, “a lack of autonomy puts people on a fast track to burnout.”

This is also an especially good time to emphasize professional development. If “lacking a sense of meaning” is a substantial

problem, opportunities to upgrade skills can be a boon for both the worker and the organization alike. That can involve the typical kinds of training that gets discussed at performance-review time.

But the training can also be more ad hoc; Fosslien suggests that employees take part in 30-minute “skill swaps” in which employees train each other up briefly on particular skills they’re interested in.

Beneficial as those things might be, it’s best to tread carefully— the solution to staff feeling more overwhelmed isn’t necessarily putting for things to do in their inbox, even if they’re beneficial in the long run. But if a hallmark of the pandemic-era workplace is that everybody is now working everywhere, all the time, leaders can ease the anxiety by instituting some firm boundaries on when work gets done.

Speaking with the Society for Human Resource Management, leadership expert Michael Levitt recommends that workers get in the habit of setting alarms for when their workday is done, and then shutting off notifications for the day. I’d go a step further and suggest that leaders make a point to establish it as a policy; after all, your most-stressed workers are the ones least likely to ask for permission for that kind of peace of mind. And what if there’s an emergency? Maybe, in the midst of a viral pandemic, it’s best to save that word for when it’s warranted. “Priorities and urgent matters are fine, but only hospitals deal in emergencies,” he says.

How has your association faced and addressed burnout issues at your office? Share your experiences in the comments.

www.rotoworldmag.com 59

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ADVERTISERS’

INDEX

16 Diversified Mold & Castings 19800 Miles Rd. Warrensville Hts., OH 44128-4118 USA 216.663.1814 | 888.642.1222 info@diversifiedmolds.com www.diversifiedmolds.com 49 DRAM S.r.l.

Via Privata Eligio Brigatti 12 20152 Milan Italy info@dramsrl.com dramsrl.com 64 ExxonMobil Chemical Co. PO Box 96126 West Springs Calgary, Alberta Canada, T3H 0L3 800.668.0177 kevin.c.jamieson@exxonmobil.com https://www.exxonmobilchemical.com /en/products-and-services/ polyethylene 7 Ferry Industries, Inc. 4445 Allen Road Stow, OH 44224-1093 USA 330.920.9200 sales@ferryindustries.com www.ferryindustries.com 2, 26, 58 JSJ Productions, Inc. 625 West Market St. Salinas, CA 93901 USA 512.894.4106 susan@jsjproductionsinc.com www.jsjproductionsinc.com 9, 45 Jerico Plastic Industries, Inc. 7970 Boneta Road Wadsworth, OH 44281 USA 330.334.5244 Minerva Plant: 330.868.4600 steve@jericoplastic.com www.jericoplastic.com

53 Maag / Reduction Engineering Scheer USA Headquarters 235 Progress Blvd.

Kent, OH 44240 USA 1.800.844.2927 | 330.677.2225 Maag.KEN.Info@maag.com www.maag.com Europe Headquarters Ostring 19 63762 Grossostheim, Germany +49.6026.503.354 info@maag.com www.maag.com 11 Matrix Polymers The Priory Orchard Hill Little Billing Northhampton, NN9 9AG United Kingdom +44.1604.789100 sales@matrixpolymers.com www.matrixpolymers.com 23 NOVA Chemicals 1555 Coraopolis Heights Road Moon Township, PA 15108 412.490.4311 Doug.Biela@novachem.com www.novachem.com

55 Poliplast S.p.A. Via Carrali, 8 24020 Casnigo (BG) Italy +39.035.724145 info@poliplastspa.com www.poliplastspa.com 3, 14 Powder King, LLC 41780 N. Vision Way Unit 120 Bldg. 2 Anthem, AZ 85086 USA 623.551.9897 sales@powder-king.com www.powder-king.com 32-33 Roto Polymers 26210 Emery Road, Suite 202 Cleveland, OH 44128 USA 1.844.POLIMER (1.844.765.4637) info@rotopolymers.com www.rotopolymers.com 63 Rotomachinery Group Via Crosa, 53 28065 Cerano (NO) Italy +39.0321.772021 polivinil@polivinil.com www.rotomachinerygroup.com

5 OREX Rotomoulding SP. Z O.O. Cieszyriska 6, 43-520 CHYBIE Poland +48 32 440 83 15 magda.wantola@orex.pl www.orex-rotomoulding.com

61 VMP, Inc. 24830 Avenue Tibbitts Valencia, CA 91355-3404 USA 888.4.VMP.INC 661.294.9934 info@vmpinc.com www.vmpinc.com

59 Polnac Lázaro Cárdenas, No. 49, Col. San Jerónimo Tepetlacalco, Tlalnepantla, Estado de México, Mexico C.P. 54090 +52.55.5362.5360 ext. 275 glenn@polnac.com www.polnac.com

54 Wittmann Battenfeld Canada Inc. / ROTOLOADTM 35 Leek Crescent Richmond Hill, ON L4B 4C2, Canada 905.887.5355 Toll Free: 1.888.466.8266 info@wittmann-group.ca www.wittmann-group.ca

62 ROTOWORLD® AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2021

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Roy Crawford, University of Waikato, New Zealand, Susan Gibson, JSJ Productions, Inc., and Dr. Paul Nugent, MNOP

Gotcha Covered HR…on Hiring, Conflict Resolution and Record Keeping Patricial Pannell, Michelle Butler, and Shannon Coleman Cryer, Gotcha Covered HR, LLC

7 Ways to use your Website as a PR Tool Kim Harrison, Cutting Edge PR