By Donald R. Rochelo
President, Apex Engineering
President, Berkshire Plastics Network

In recent years there has been an increased awareness in the Berkshires about this industry we call plastics. To the general public the plastics industry gives the appearance of being relatively new to this area. Very few people know that the plastics industry in Berkshire County played host to one of the first plastics companies in the world.

Plastics first came to Berkshire County in 1881 via Levi L. Brown who purchased licensing rights from Daniel Spill, a manager at the Parkesine Company who perfected a process in 1867 using a cellulose nitrate substance, Zylonite. Brown started a company called American Zylonite in the northern section of Adams, an area still referred to as Zylonite. American Zylonite was believed to be one of the largest producers of celluloid in the United States. Three employees, Emil Kipper, George Mowbray and James Jarvis were responsible for a series of patents that improved the production of celluloid and advanced the industry. As a result of this, American Zylonite expanded to become a manufacturer of products made from Zylonite. The company grew and manufactured products included in items such as jewelry, dishes, radios, clocks and telephones. It grew to a point that the area around it even had its own post office, a trolley barn, homes and stores and it even became necessary to add sidewalks and sewer systems.
American Zylonite was forced to leave the Berkshires due to a patent dispute between Spill who granted Brown the licensing rights and the company Spill worked for at one time. Spill lost his patent, consequently Brown loss his licensing rights.

Plastics came back to Berkshire County in Pittsfield through General Electric Company when it found that plastics was an excellent insulation for the electrical equipment they manufactured. General Electric eventually introduced a new phenolic resin in 1928 called Genal. The manufacturing sight was located near Silver Lake in Pittsfield and was discontinued only as recently as the 1970s. It was General Electric's participation in the molding of plastics that was the primary reason plastics is so dominant in this county. GE decided to discontinue the manufacturing of product made from plastics and concentrate on being a resin manufacturer only. As a result of this, trained mold makers, mold designers and molding processors were let go from GE. Some of the companies that started up as a result of GE's change of business and the furlough of people are still here today. We know them as Marland Mold, Moldmaster Engineering and Modern Mold and Tool.

In the 1950's Dan Fox, working for GE, found a high-impact polymer that could resist extremely high temperatures. He gave it the name LexanÒ polycarbonate. This material is one of the most used resins in the world.

Today the plastics community is primarily represented by the Berkshire Plastics Network (BPN) whose membership includes 97% of all the plastics companies in the county. There are forty three principal members who, collectively, employee over 2,000 people with sales of over $180,000,000 annually. These companies are primarily made up of manufacturers such as mold making companies, injection molders and extrusion molders. Additionally, there are mold design companies, a resin formulation company and a materials testing company. The BPN has the distinction of being the oldest network in the state, perhaps the U.S., and it is constantly being sought after by newly formed plastics alliances in other states and around the world to share their success strategy.

A study conducted by the City of Pittsfield showed that the plastics industry was growing at 10% per year. It also noted that should this trend continue the plastics industry will be the largest employer in the county and the primary basis of manufacturing. In recent years many of the manufacturing companies have grown in excess of 20% annually. This is evident by the many expanding companies who have moved into the Rose and Stearnsville Industrial parks such as Marland Mold, Pittsfield Mold and Tool and Hi Tech Mold and Tool. Additionally, there are several companies who have exceeded their present space capacities and are warehousing at off site locations until they can plan and execute future expansions.

The future of plastics in Berkshire County is very bright. The continued development of new resins and applications for those resins by manufacturers such as Dow Chemical, General Electric and Monsanto will help insure the use of plastics for generations to come. These companies spend hundreds of millions of dollars annually on research and development to insure their position in the market. This results in replacements or enhancements to existing resins which then results in the use of these resins in new products that need injection or extrusion molds built. And finally, the product needs to be molded.

The industry in Berkshire County is not without some challenges, however. The plastics
industry is hampered by growth due to the shortage of trained, experienced help. Locally and throughout the United States, companies cannot expand as rapidly as they need to due to labor shortages. There are several reasons. First is due, in part, to a poor public perception of what the facility is like. For instance, people still think that a mold making company is in a dark, dingy setting with puddles of oil, metal chips and dirt everywhere and they have messy, antiquated hand-operated equipment. The same goes for injection molders. The fact is that many of these mold making companies are very clean facilities with tile floors, white ceilings and they use the most sophisticated equipment and software in the world. Much, if not most of the plant's machines cost over a quarter million dollars. Some injection molders have clean rooms that well exceed hospital cleanliness. This inaccurate perception influences parents of young people to look at other possible career choices.

Secondly, there is a perception that plastics related jobs are not high paying jobs. According to a study done by the University of Minnesota and the American Mold Builders Association, a mold maker can expect to make more money than a mechanical engineer throughout his or her career. Additionally, the plastics industry employs highly paid mold designers/engineers, process engineers, automation technicians, controllers, and sales engineers.

Locally and throughout the U.S., industry and education are now working more closely than ever before to develop curriculums and career paths that will prepare an individual to enter the job market in a technical position. Recently, the Berkshire Applied Technology Council was formed. This organization was formed to create, manage and support an integrated regional system for technical learning in order to supply employers with a stream of qualified candidates for the local labor market. Plastics companies have increased their investment in local trade schools. Taconic in Pittsfield and MCann in North Adams have benefited immensely by donations of machinery such as injection molding machines, milling machines and surface grinders. Having two technical schools in this small geographical area continues to have a positive impact on the local plastics industry.

Berkshire County is very unique in that we have a high concentration of plastics companies in a small area. This will be the basis of what the plastics community believes to be the dominant industrial base in Berkshire County. Should we modestly project only a 10% growth, annually, for just five years, we will have more then 3,200 people employed. Continue this projection to 10 years and it is over 5,000 people. As long as local industry continues to invest in themselves by purchasing new equipment, software, and training their employees in technology and quality assurance systems such as ISO (International Standards Organization), the Berkshires will prove to be home to world class companies that employ thousands of people for many years to come.