By Dianna Brodine, vice president of editorial, Plastics Business
Those who know me well have probably heard me tell two stories about the early days of Plastics Business magazine.
The first cover story featured Makuta Technics (now Makuta, Inc.), a precision micro molding company in Indiana led by the fantastic Stu Kaplan. While I had writing and interviewing experience, I knew nothing about plastics or injection molding – and I mean nothing. Stu gently led me through a several-hours-long phone interview… starting with an explanation of how injection molding equipment worked and what “resin” was… before we ever began talking about his company. Without Stu, that first issue of the magazine may have been our last!
Then, a few months later, I sent a draft of an article off to MAPP Executive Director Troy Nix for his review. He called me a little while later and said something I’ve remembered for 20 years: “It’s a good article, but what was I supposed to learn?”
And that, my friends, has been the basis of every issue since 2006. Plastics Business is here to educate, to share the stories of plastics processors, whether the successes or the painful lessons, so that the entire industry succeeds. The magazine leans on the people with experience in solving problems or thinking in new ways – CEOs, leadership teams, engineers, operations staff, human resources and quality personnel, marketing professionals and suppliers to the industry. When industry leaders step up to talk about their challenges and the solutions they’ve found, it makes each and every one of us better.
It’s because of MAPP’s network of subject matter experts across the United States that Plastics Business is celebrating its 20th anniversary. We hope you’ve learned something along the way, and we are excited to keep sharing your stories in the years ahead.
Thank you, from the Peterson Media Group team.
