Annual Report 2010 - Plastics New Zealand

Baekeland AwardDr PeterPlimmerThe BaekelandAward is madeperiodicallyby PlasticsNew Zealand for outstandingcontributions to the plastics industry.It is an award made in recognitionof exceptional work usually in thetechnical, commercial or educationand training fields, but is notnecessarily limited to these areas.As the notes on the first 50 years ofPNZ record, the Baekeland Awardis the individual award most highlyprized in the Society. Only fivesuch awards have been made in thehistory of the Society.Previous recipients have been DougMillar (1977), Ken Fletcher (1981), BillConolly (1991), Morris Watson (1995)and Gordon Wyatt (1998).At the Annual Conference &Auckland Branch 50th JubileeDinner in June 2009 a sixth awardwas given to Dr Peter Plimmerin recognition of his outstandingenthusiasm and dedication to thesuccess of the Plastics Centre ofExcellence, his willingness to sharehis knowledge and experiences andhis contributions to the Upskilling &Training of the Industry nBranch ActivitiesAucklandBranch ReportEddie Devine(Simaplas Ltd)President Auckland BranchPlastics New ZealandThis year has been a very interesting year,where we have seen a real battening downof the hatches by most Member companies.The recession has forced companies torelook at their business model. This haslead to changes in restructuring of staff,running down of stocks, and doing withoutto ensure an at least breakeven result forthe year.But at the time of writing this report, themarket has appeared to have bounced back,with most Members getting back towardsthe capacity they were operating at prior tothe recession.During the year, Auckland Branch hascontinued with their focus of facilitatingalterrnate social and technical eventsthroughout the year.These have included;• Annual Golf Tournament• EMS Grivory Presentation (Andre Suiter)• Annual AGM – Rachel Barker (F&PHealthcare) appointed as Vice President• Sponsorship of PAMPITO Course• 50th Golden Jubilee• Matrix Presentation (Don Campbell)• Annual Go Karting• Energy Savings Presentation (SimonWilkinson)• Christmas DinnerThe highlight of the year was the celebrationof Auckland Branches 50th Golden Jubilee.This took place on the night of the AnnualPNZ Conference, which enabled friends fromother parts of the country the opportunity tojoin in on the celebrations.The night started with a parade and photosession of the 12 Past Presidents, that wherein attendance, and apologies of others.Two PNZ awards were then presented to DrPeter Plimmer (The Bakerland Award), and toDavid Brittian (The PNZ Life Membership).There was then a tongue in cheek presentationabout Auckland, and the changes that haveoccurred during the past 50 years. This thenlead to our Guest Speaker Morris Watsongoing back down memory lane about someof the moments he was involved in during histime with the Auckland Branch.The night concluded with dancing to thegreat band RSB, and catching up withfriends in the Industry.I would like to thank those who have attendedevents during the year, and hope that youhave enjoyed them as much as we have.Special thanks to those companies that havecontributed via way of sponsorship.We are continuing to boost our ranks atthe committee level, and welcome anyonewho would be keen to become involved atthis level.Thank you for your support during 2009, wehave already penciled in some of the morepopular events to repeat again, and added insome new and exciting events in which welook forward to seeing you at next year.From the lessons learnt through this past year,I hope that you all enjoy a more prosperousyear in 2010 nCORPORATE ACTIVITYANNUAL REPORT 2010IPLASTICS NEW ZEALAND11