President’s Message

Dear SPE Cleveland members and friends,

HAPPY SPRING FROM SPE CLEVELAND!

It’s a privilege to share that Ron Raleigh, our SPE Cleveland Education Chair, recently awarded student scholarships for outstanding projects in plastics and polymers at Lakeland Community College’s Northeast Ohio Science and Engineering Fair on March 10th. Our Board will be confirming the date and location of the awards banquet later this month to properly recognize these deserving students and their proud families.

Last week, I had the opportunity to join a virtual lunch with Lynzie Nebel, 2026 SPE President. A key topic of discussion was the ongoing merger between Plastics Industry Associates (PLASTICS) and SPE. This important transformation is progressing well and is expected to be completed within the next 60-90 days. Encouragingly, this merger will not change the mission of our local chapters, like SPE Cleveland and SPE Akron. Instead, it will elevate chapter visibility and create new opportunities for corporate collaboration – very positive news for all of us.

I’m also pleased to announce that SPE Cleveland will be partnering with the Cleveland Engineering Society (CES) to host a facility tour at Thogus/RP+M on Tuesday, May 12th, beginning at 4:30PM. The tour will be followed by a dinner and networking event. Additional details will be shared soon – this is a great opportunity to visit one of Cleveland’s most innovative custom molding companies.

Looking ahead, our commitment to delivering leading-edge polymer science, technology, and engineering remains strong. Our October 22nd conference, the Injection Molding Innovation Summit, is shaping up to feature an impressive lineup of technical papers and panel discussions. With speakers traveling from across the country, this promises to be a premier, full-day event….please mark your calendars and register soon.

Thank you for your continued support of the SPE Cleveland Chapter. As always, please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or would like additional information.

For more information on activities across local societies, SPE chapters, and SPE divisions, please refer to the QR codes below.

Warm regards,