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The Partnership
for Plastics Progress (American Plastics Council), perceived
by many as a vehicle of and for the major resin companies,
may not have been born at all if not for the efforts of one
processor.
H. William Lichtenberger,
the group's former chairman and outgoing president of Union
Carbide Corp., whispered in the ears of his chief-executive
counterparts at other resin companies and is credited widely
with having the vision to begin PPP.
But whispering
-- sometimes shouting -- in Lichtenberger's ear was George
A. Makrauer, president and chief executive officer of Amko
Plastics Inc. in Cincinnati.
Makrauer has made
his influence felt far beyond that of executives of most mid-sized
film extruders.
As chairman of
the Degradable Plastics Council` and president of the Plastic
Bag Association, he has been out front on several key image
issues facing the industry. His most recent -- and potentially
most significant -- role involved promoting the brainchild
that became PPP.
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'To
me, the creation of the partnership is a reflection
of supplier companies at their most senior levels genuinely
listening to their customers and their customers' customers.'
George
A. Makrauer
Amko Plastics Inc.
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In interviews
with Makrauer, Lichtenberger and other plastics industry observers
familiar with the partnership's formation, a picture of Makrauer
emerges as the key, behind-the-scenes player in organizing
the industry to bolster its poor public image.
In late 1989,
Makrauer began contacting his major resin suppliers to show
them the research he had compiled detailing the paper industry's
attempts to discredit plastics in the public arena. He charged
that paper manufacturers orchestrated a widespread campaign
to undermine plastics.
On Oct. 23, 1990,
he flew to Danbury, Conn., to present his two-hour program
to Lichtenberger and several other top Union Carbide Corp.
executives. Duly impressed, Lichtenberger asked Makrauer if
the Amko chief would be willing to repeat his presentation
for other top resin company officials.
In a recent interview
recounting that meeting, Makrauer said he told Lichtenberg:
"You name the date, time and place, and I'll be there."
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His timing could
not have been better: One week later, Nov. 1, 1990, Makrauer
heard on the 6 am. news that McDonald's restaurants would
jettison the polystyrene foam clamshell in favor of a "paper"
wrap for its hamburgers.
His first call
was to Lichtenberger, who had not heard the news yet.
The following
week, Makrauer said, he returned to Danbury to make his pitch
again, this time to a group of Lichtenberger's peers that
included Philip W. Matos (CEO) of Mobil Chemical Co., H. Eugene
McBrayer (CEO) of Exxon Chemical Co., Ronald Yokum (CEO) of
Quantum Chemical Corp., and Lee A. Shobe (Dirctor of Public
Issues Management) of Dow Chemical Co.
Several months
later, Lichtenberger began putting the partnership together,
and slightly more than one year later, on Nov. 21, 1991, PPP
showed itself in public for the first time.
"George has
probably done more and worked harder on this whole issue,
and if 1 were to credit any person for getting me excited
about the problem, it was George," Lichtenberger said
of Makrauer in an interview last month. "Hardly a week
goes by where George and I don't talk about what's happening
in his end of the industry that helps guide my actions in
P-Three," which is how the Carbide official refers to
PPP.
Lichtenberger,
who stepped down as PPP chairman Jan. 13, has been named chairman
and chief executive officer of the company to be formed by
spinning off Union Carbide's industrial gases business.
For Makrauer --
who has taken plenty of heat in the industry, especially for
his stand on degradables -- PPP's advancement represents a
satisfying accomplishment.
"I am gratified
that at the same time there are people in the industry who
have viewed me as a crank, there is a group that views what
I have said as reflective of industry points of view that
deserve support," he said recently.
"To me, the
creation of the partnership is a reflection of supplier companies
at their most senior levels genuinely listening to their customers
and their customers' customers."
Above all, Makrauer's
key achievement seems to have been relaying tales from the
battle front to top-level resin company executives, many of
whom have been many layers removed from such seminal events
as the papervs.-plastic grocery-bag wars.
"The partnership
clearly reflects the issues of immediate and longterm impact
on processors," Makrauer said.
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