On October 1, 2025, SPE signed the Letter of Intent with PLASTICS. On October 1, 2026, we signed the Asset Transfer Agreement.
Apparently, we like a good bookend on our years.
It's been an interesting year. I've had opportunities to participate in events with both SPE and PLASTICS, meet people I might not otherwise have crossed paths with, and get a better feel for what's happening across the broader industry. One thing that keeps coming up is how much common ground we have. We're working on many of the same challenges, talking about the same workforce issues, and trying to figure out how to get the right knowledge into the right hands. We just haven't always been doing it in the same room.
That's one of the things I'm most excited about as we move forward. Not because combining organizations magically solves everything, but because there are opportunities here worth exploring. We don't need to reinvent SPE. We need to figure out where working together makes us better at what we're already trying to do.
ANTEC@NPE2027 is a big example. Bringing SPE's technical programming to NPE gives us a chance to put that expertise in front of a broader audience and connect with people who may not know what SPE has to offer. There's a lot to coordinate between now and then, but I'm excited to see it come together.
And in the meantime, our events schedule hasn't exactly slowed down. The Injection Molding Innovation Summit is coming up October 22, the Automotive Innovation Awards Gala is November 4, and Vinyl Week takes place December 8–11. From technical conferences to industry recognition and educational programming, our calendar is still full of the work that brings people together and keeps knowledge moving through the industry.
There's still work ahead, and we'll need to be thoughtful about how we bring these organizations together. But after a year of meetings, events, and getting to know the people involved, I'm ready to see what we can do with all this common ground. The agreement is signed. Now we have to make it count.
