SPI no more; rebrands as Plastics Industry Association, aka PLASTICS

Newcomers to the plastics industry understandably have been mystified by the name of their industry association, SPI: The Plastics Industry Trade Association. Why SPI? What does that mean? For the record, the Society of the Plastics Industry (SPI) was founded in 1937, and was rebranded in 2010. A new rebranding became official today (following several weeks of a teaser campaign): Henceforth, the association will operate under the name of Plastics Industry Association, or PLASTICS, for short. It has also unveiled a new website.

“To continue to drive the industry forward for decades to come, our board of directors made a decision to evolve our purpose-driven organization,” said William R. Carteaux, PLASTICS’ President and CEO, in a prepared statement. “We’re not a society; we’re an association that helps to shape the future of the industry. Our new identity as the Plastics Industry Association reflects the way forward.”

A new logo represents the six facets of the plastics industry supply chain, including brand owners, equipment manufacturers, material suppliers, moldmakers, processors and recyclers. Moving forward, the plastics industry is looking to grow and support sustainability and find ways to make recycling easier, hence the association also added its new, and first-ever tagline: “Better Industry. Better World.”

 “Our member-driven organization will continue to help the industry grow while promoting new technology through our trade shows and conferences,” said Jim Murphy, Chair of PLASTICS’ board of directors and President and CEO of Davis Standard, LLC. “At the same time, we’re going to work to evolve the way people think about plastics.” 

Carteaux discusses the decision to rebrand in the video below.