Society of the plastics industry
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corporateBody
Society of the plastics industry
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Society of the plastics industry
米国プラスチック工業協会
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米国プラスチック工業協会
SPI
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SPI
Society of the plastic industry
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Society of the plastic industry
SPI Abkuerzung
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SPI Abkuerzung
S.P.I.
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S.P.I.
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Biographical History
The Society of the Plastics Industry was organized on May 11, 1937, by several engineers and salesmen connected with the manufacture of plastics feedstocks, finished products, and processing machinery. As a general trade association, the Society was somewhat unusual in that it represented both the giant chemical firms and small finishers and molders. In its early years, the Society was a loose organization which brought its members together for socializing and informal exchanges over dinner and on the golf links. While the activities of the Society have become more structured and sophisticated as the industry has matured, the social aspect is still a prominent feature of its annual meetings and expositions.
World War II increased the demand for plastics, particularly for the military and brought the society into the more active role of promoting the use of plastics in new applications and establishing industry-wide standards and specifications. With the appointment of William T. Cruse (1903-1993) as Executive Vice President, the society acquired its first full-time professional manager.
In the 1950s SPI members worked with one another and with regulatory agencies such as the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) to develop production codes and standards. Desire among member companies to promote public interest in the new products and materials and a concern with the public image of plastics led to an emphasis in SPI on public relations in addition to education and standardization. These concerns were underscored in 1959-60 by a crisis in public opinion over the issue of the safety hazard posed by polyethylene garment bags, which had been implicated in the suffocation deaths of a number of infants. SPI responded with a public relations campaign designed to inform the public of the proper use and disposal of these bags, thus preventing a total ban on their use.
In addition to studies of materials and product development, SPI began in the 1960s to commission studies of public opinion and to frame its scientific studies in terms of issues important to the public, such as flammability and workers' safety in the production process. In the 1970s this concern with public relations and outreach prompted SPI to focus its attention on environmental issues such as solid waste disposal. All of these issues continue to be central to SPI's public relations program today.
SPI has also nurtured contacts with representatives of the plastic industry in foreign countries. In addition to formal exchanges of information with other countries, including the exchange of delegates between the United States and USSR, SPI has maintained informal contacts with plastics businessmen and trade associations in Europe and Asia.
eng
Latn
External Related CPF
https://viaf.org/viaf/151024940
https://www.worldcat.org/identities/lccn-n81038524
https://id.loc.gov/authorities/n81038524
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Languages Used
eng
Zyyy
Subjects
Advertising
Bakelite
Celluloid
Chemical engineering
Chemical industry
Industrial design
Fire testing
Research, Industrial
Industrial safety
Pipe, Plastic
Plastic bottles
Plastic bottles industry
Plastic coating
Plastic containers
Plastic films
Plastic foams
Plastic garment bags
Plastic pipe industry
Plastics
Plastics
Plastics
Plastics
Plastics
Plastics
Plastics
Plastics
Plastics as art material
Plastic scrap
Plastics in agriculture
Plastics in building
Plastics industry and trade
Plastics industry and trade
Plastics in interior decoration
Plastics in medicine
Plastics in packaging
Plastics in plumbing
Plastics in the textile industry
Plexiglas
Public relations
Standardization
Testing
Trade associations
Trade shows
Nationalities
Americans
Activities
Occupations
Legal Statuses
Places
Convention Declarations
<conventionDeclaration><citation>VIAF</citation></conventionDeclaration>