PlastChicks

PlastChicks Lynzie Nebel and Mercedes Landazuri host David Routsis, President, and Hannah Donnellan, Sales and Marketing Associate, Routsis Training, LLC. They discussed identifying training needs in the plastics industry, addressing the challenges of capturing specific staff manufacturing knowledge before they retire, producing training content in six languages, keeping training current, visiting plants to identify training needs, using training to help everyone speak the same language and get on the same page with manufacturing processes, the power of certifications, bridging the gap from other areas into plastics engineering, and contact lenses for chickens.

Watch the PlastChicks podcast on the SPE YouTube Channel.

PlastChicks is sponsored by SPE-Inspiring Plastics Professionals. Look for new episodes on the first Friday of every month.

PlastChicks Lynzie Nebel and Mercedes Landazuri host Tuan TranPham, "the most-followed person in 3D printing," and President of the Americas and Asia Pacific at Anisoprint. They discuss the evolution of his career in 3D printing and the plastics industry, his desire to educate and inspire about the reality and potential of 3D printing, the benefits of sharing what you know to build collective knowledge in the industry, combining 3D printing with traditional manufacturing techniques, how the convergence of different technologies leads to innovation, how 3D printing may achieve its peak in 2032, the micro-factory of the future, the cloudification and localization of manufacturing, using AI to unleash and democratize the creation of content that could be 3D printed in the cloud, and evaluating the potential success of a 3D printing industry company.

Watch the PlastChicks podcast on the SPE YouTube Channel.

PlastChicks is sponsored by SPE-Inspiring Plastics Professionals. Look for new episodes on the first Friday of every month.

On this special PlastChicks Scholarship episode, PlastChicks Lynzie Nebel and Mercedes Landazuri receive an on-air surprise! Eve Vitale, Gina Grady, and Brian Grady announce a new endowed PlastChicks Scholarship Fund to award scholarships forever to deserving plastics students. Thanks to Gina and Brian Grady for their generous support!

Next Lynzie and Mercedes host their Third Annual PlastChicks Scholarship Award Winner, Claire Marble, a sophomore at University of Wisconsin-Stout. Claire discusses how she became interested in plastics and manufacturing engineering, her early experience at an injection mold base shop, approaching problems from an engineering perspective, community building and teamwork, the value of service and volunteering, injection molding, and 3D printing.

Watch the PlastChicks podcast on the SPE YouTube Channel.

PlastChicks is sponsored by SPE-Inspiring Plastics Professionals. Look for new episodes on the first Friday of every month.

PlastChicks Lynzie Nebel and Mercedes Landazuri host Sean Petterson, CEO of Supersede.

They discussed the founding of Supersede, marine and construction material manufacturing, the process for using recycled plastics, logistics management, the challenges of green solutions and carbon-reduction initiatives, designing cost-competitive systems to outperform alternatives and be profitable with a positive environmental impact, the impact of plastics-related regulations and legislation, upcoming initiatives, boat material safety, and building materials for skateparks.

Watch the PlastChicks podcast on the SPE YouTube Channel.

PlastChicks is sponsored by SPE-Inspiring Plastics Professionals. Look for new episodes on the first Friday of every month.

PlastChicks Lynzie Nebel and Mercedes Landazuri host Kohei Shinohara, Senior Vice President at Sodick, live from the Innovation and Emerging Plastics Technologies Conference at PennState Behrend, June 11-12, 2025.

They discussed injection molding machine design, medical and precision micro-molding, use of the V-Line® two-stage plunger injection system, selecting technologies to showcase at industry events, challenges around micro-molding and feedback systems, automation, industry career advice for young people, the next great areas of advancement in injection molding, and developing the company's role as a networker of high value-added product and services.

Watch the PlastChicks podcast on the SPE YouTube Channel.

PlastChicks is sponsored by SPE-Inspiring Plastics Professionals. Look for new episodes on the first Friday of every month.

PlastChicks Lynzie Nebel and Mercedes Landazuri host Lisa van der Vorst, Senior Sales Director-North America at Mold-Masters Ltd., live from the Innovation and Emerging Plastics Technologies Conference at PennState Behrend, June 11-12, 2025.

They discussed the state of the industry and future of hot runners, her career journey leading to injection molding, lessons learned from living in different countries, the importance of emotional intelligence, career advice for engineering students, mentoring a Net Impact Circular Plastics Challenge finalist team, local and global challenges with recycling and waste management, advances in circular recycling, and career risks that led to greater opportunities.

Watch the PlastChicks podcast on the SPE YouTube Channel.

PlastChicks is sponsored by SPE-Inspiring Plastics Professionals. Look for new episodes on the first Friday of every month.

PlastChicks Lynzie Nebel and Mercedes Landazuri host Dr. Shilpa Manjure, Global Technical Leader at Northern Technologies International Corporation/Natur-Tec and SPE's Bioplastics and Renewable Technologies Division Chair. They discussed how her interest in plastics and biopolymers developed, the global approach to find solutions for plastics pollution, the definition of bio-based and compostable materials, developing an empathetic leadership style that helps bring the best out of everyone, sustainable alternatives, developing bio-based and compostable materials that can run on current plastics manufacturing lines, the mission of SPE's Bioplastics and Renewable Technologies Division, and igniting the spark of interest in the next generation of students to explore the difference they can make in the world in STEM fields and manufacturing.

Watch the PlastChicks podcast on the SPE YouTube Channel.

PlastChicks is sponsored by SPE-Inspiring Plastics Professionals. Look for new episodes on the first Friday of every month.

PlastChicks Lynzie Nebel and Mercedes Landazuri host Dr. Jennifer Hoffman, Director of Project Management for Eurofins | EAG Laboratories. They discuss her journey in materials science, her role as a "technical therapist," determining the best approach to address varying client needs, most common issues in plastics, deformulation/reverse engineering of materials, helping companies make smart business decisions based on scientific data, trends in plastics, sustainable materials, favorite tools, her role with SPE-Inspiring Plastics Professionals, student mentorship and activities, and advice to new scientists entering the field.

Watch the PlastChicks podcast on the SPE YouTube Channel.

PlastChicks is sponsored by SPE-Inspiring Plastics Professionals. Look for new episodes the first Friday of every month.

PlastChicks Lynzie Nebel and Mercedes Landazuri host April Brown, Applications Engineer at Moldex3D. They discuss her professional journey to a plastics industry career, injection molding simulation projects, reducing manufacturing cost and optimizing processes while reducing waste and considering sustainability, being more inventive and efficient in the workplace, creating a sustainable future for everyone in the plastics industry, using AI to compile years of simulation data to help optimize a new part design, using simulation to predict defects before production and reduce necessary trials and tooling modifications, Moldex3D's Moldiverse cloud ecosystem, and future predictions for simulation and AI in plastics manufacturing.

Watch the PlastChicks podcast on the SPE YouTube Channel.

PlastChicks is sponsored by SPE-Inspiring Plastics Professionals. Look for new episodes the first Friday of every month.

PlastChicks Lynzie Nebel and Mercedes Landazuri host Dr. Andy Francis, Vice President of Marketing at Q-Lab Corporation. They discuss the big forces of plastics weathering, the arch nemeses of plastics, the difficulty of service life prediction, techniques and equipment for testing the effects of weathering on plastics, common misconceptions about plastics durability, plastics failure methods due to weathering, and the future of materials testing.

Watch the PlastChicks podcast on the SPE YouTube Channel.

PlastChicks is sponsored by SPE-Inspiring Plastics Professionals. Look for new episodes the first Friday of every month.