Document ppe2zppVBQZLpdbKzEovBvdnE

TELEPHONE NATIONAL 8 - 2588 Manufacturing Chemists' Association, Inc. (POUNDED 1872) 1625 Eye Street, N. W. Washington 6, D. C. Minutes of Meeting PLASTICS COMMITTEE Manhattan Club, New York City April 1, 1954 PRESENT: C. B. Branch J. A. Almquist S. L. Brous E, G. Crum R. A, Hoekelman Charles Lichtenberg George C. Miller Carl M. Pottenger J. C. Richards D. A. Rothrock F. H. Carman The meeting was called to order at 4:00 P.M. with Mr. Branch acting as Chairman. DAN M. RUGG All concurred with the comments by Mr. Branch on the great loss sus tained by the industry in the passing of Mr. Dan M. Rugg on Sunday, March 28. The Association's Washington office had been represented at the funeral services by P. H. Carman. The Committee was advised of some informal discussions with several members of the Koppers organi zation as to how his friends in the plastics industry could properly express their high esteem for Mr. Rugg and their feeling of loss due to his untimely death. It was agreed that the Washington office should proceed with prepa ration of a suitable memorial similar to that drawn up for Mr. Abbiati in 1952. It was proposed that this be signed by all of the Plastics Group attending the Baltusrol Outing. It was understood that this would be presented to the family at an appropriate time. Accordingly, the following resolution was proposed to be submitted to the Plastics Group for approval: "WHEREAS Dan M. Rugg has been a participating member of the Plastics Group of the Manufacturing Chemists' Association for many years and has served as its Chairman, and WHEREAS Mr. Rugg was held In high regard and affection by his associates because of his sterling character and his pro fessional capacities, and WHEREAS the individual members of the Plastics Group feel a great sense of personal loss on account of the recent death of Mr. Rugg, therefore be it RESOLVED that the Manufacturing Chemists' Association record their expression of sorrow and their sense of loss, and that a Plastics Committ e April 1, 195^ Page 2 copy of this resolution be sent to the family of our friend and iesteemed colleague as an indication of the high repute in which he has been held by his associates." BUYERS1 HANDBOOK REVISION Following contacts with buyers and department store executives, the writer had proposed a change in title of the book to "Plastics Facts Book - Facts Help You Buy and Sell Plastics." It was later suggested that "Plastics Handbook" be substituted for "Plastics Facts Book." However, members felt that the use of the term "handbook" would lead one to conclude that it wa3 of a technical nature, and it was finally agreed that the book should be called "Buyers' Plastics Manual" - this to be followed by "Facts Help You Buy and Sell Plastics." The Committee was advised that steps have been taken to obtain a list of trade names for materials sold for further fabrication by SPI and PCFA members. Contacts with retail buyers and members of the plas tics Industry indicated the public is becoming more and more familiar with trade names of these products and that a separate listing in the back of the book would be useful. Since MCA and SPI are sponsoring this book, it Is impractical to list names of all member companies, therefore, it is the plan to show only the sponsoring associations rather than all individual company names as in former editions on the back cover. The policy followed in the last edition of listing only member ma terials manufacturers in respective materials sections of the book is to be continued. The comments from members have all been correlated, revisions made mt in the text, and the material has gone to the printer. BUILDING TECHNICAL CONFERENCE Minutes of the meeting held in February had been distributed to all Plastics Committee members. Following a brief review, there was a short discussion on the general objectives of this conference and the Building Research Advisory Board of NRC. A tentative program has been circulated and requests sent to the special committee and technicians in the building industry for sug gestions on speakers. Further consideration of this program will be given in the April 7th meeting. A two-man subcommittee was appointed in February to recommend steps that could be taken in bringing about revision of codes to provide for plastics in building construction. The SPI public relations committee has been considering erection of a "plastics" house in cooperation with a group at the University of Illinois. A recent communication from a subcommittee outlined plans for financing specific parts of this by various trade publications; they requested the financial assistance of the Plastics Group in one phase of the program. Although purely tentative, the estimates of financing required were in the range of $7*00 - $15*000. It was the consensus of the Plastics'Committee that erection of a plastics house along the lines proposed by this committee would pre sent many insurmountable and controversial problems and that we could not encourage participation by MCA as a group. It was agreed that this matter should be discussed with Mr. Cruse of SPI, since the project has not been acted upon by their board of directors. CMA 078184 Piati-cius Cumnufciee April 1, 195^ Page 3 STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLES Since the prese conference announcing this Statement to the public on March 8, we have obtained the acceptance of the Proprietary Plastics Manufacturers Association, Mr. Richard A. Winter, President. The en graved parchments carrying signatures of the five association presidents will be available shortly. In cooperation with Mr. Schumacher, the Wash ington office and counsel, a plan for distribution of the engraved copies following acceptance by individual industry organizations has been agreed upon; initial steps have been taken to have this announcement and suitable application forms distributed by the cooperating associations. All members of the Plastics Group are being advised of the availability of the engraved copies suitable for framing and requested to indicate the number desired for display. M.I.T. RESEARCH PROJECT The Chairman requested each member to briefly state his organization's position with regard to continuance of this research through special financing and as a part of the financial package. The group was unani mous that the program should be continued to the extent now being sup ported; that is, $20,000 per year. The discussion then centered on the great need for a concise statement of what has been accomplished during the past year and what we can expect in the coming year for the $20,000 provided the Institute. It was suggested that the strong supporters of this be prepared to discuss it at White Sulphur when budgets are consid ered. It was also suggested that a technical man present a concise prog ress report, and it was generally agreed that the Technical Committee chairman should handle this assignment. This subject will be reviewed with a number of member representatives when the group is together at Baltusrol for presentation at White Sulphur. BUDGET The report of special assessments obtained for the finalclal package for current operations of approved plastics activities had been cleared with the agenda notice. A proposed budget for 195^-1955 was also in cluded therewith. Amounts proposed for the M.I.T. Project, Plastics in Building Techni cal Conference, and Statement of Principles were discussed separately, and these were approved as submitted. On the assumption that a surplus of approximately $5,700 will be available. It was agreed that an addi tional $17,500 should be proposed for special assessment and that It be obtained on a pro rata basis as In the current year with a schedule rang ing from $125 for the smallest members to $1,500 for the largest. It is understood this will be proposed to the full membership for final action in the June Business Meeting. MISCELLANEOUS The Committee was advised of the proposal that some Association commit tee undertake a study of pallets used for transportation of materials In bags with the view of arriving at a more economical size, method of ship ping, and possibly obtaining advantageous freight classifications. Sev eral Association functional committees are now considering what would be proper on this problem. > CMA 078185 Elastics Committee April 1, 1954 Page 4 Miscellaneous (cont.) The Association action regarding Massachusetts legislation on danger ous articles was reviewed briefly. The proposed bill has now been re vised to provide for rules and regulations set up by the Board of Pir Prevention Regulations; it is believed to be acceptable. Recent correspondence from the Los Angeles Fire Department concerning fire hazards of polyethylene products in storage has been referred to interested members. The Washington office is awaiting reply from one more member before a report is made to Los Angeles. MEETINGS It was agreed that the Annual Business Meeting should be held on Thurs day evening, June 3, following dinner of the Plastics Group at White Sul phur Springs, West Virginia. The next meeting of the Plastics Committee will be at 11:00 A.M. at Baltusrol Country Club on May 13, 1954. WHEREUPON, adjournment vaa taken at 6:00 P.M. FHC/mw April 5, 1954 Respectfully submitted. F. H. Carman > CMA 078186