TPi January 2008

plast ics focus on . . . plast ics focus on. . .

Photo – Pixargus GmbH, see page 63

“Plastics offer it all.” Because the Society of the Plastics Industry (SPI) was founded in 1937, that unabashed declaration might seem like the exaggeration of an old-timer. But it is the simple statement of a stark fact. Plastics do offer it all: light weight, durablility, weatherability and chemical resistance, premium thermal and insulating properties, design flexibility, parts consolidation — and much more besides. Plastics are such a familiar presence in our public and private spheres, and we have come to take them so much for granted, it is difficult to imagine life without them. That is probably just as well, since a world without plastics would be an unaccommodating, uncomfortable, and uninviting place. As well as the world of tubes and pipes, these remarkable materials figure just as prominently in a host of areas, among them aeronautics, transportation, building and construction, packaging, home appliances — again, the list has no obvious stopping-point.

The Society of the Plastics Industry may be charged with partiality. But not with exaggeration.

Truly, plastics offer it all.

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