PLASTIVAN™ SCIENCE PROGRAM TO VISIT CHICAGO AREA SCHOOLS
NOVEMBER 13-15 TO PROMOTE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION

Two Local Companies Sponsor Educational Outreach Aimed at Boosting
Student Interest in Chemistry and Engineering Careers

CHICAGO, IL (November 7, 2006) -- According to a U.S. Government Accounting Office report issued on May 6, 2006, the percentage of U.S. students obtaining degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics has steadily declined since 1994, even as post secondary education enrollment has increased. PlastiVan™, a traveling scientific education program, aims to halt this trend and will visit three Cook County schools on November 13-15, 2006. The internationally acclaimed PlastiVan™ program teaches students about the chemistry, history, processing methods and environmental issues involved with plastics.

The PlastiVan will visit Jane Adams Jr. High School in Schaumburg on November 13, Ridgewood High School in Norridge on November 14, and the University of Illinois (Chicago Campus) on November 15. Illinois Tool Works Inc. (http://www.itwinc.com), a manufacturer of highly engineered components and industrial systems headquartered in Glenview, is sponsoring the November 13 and 15 visits. Thermal Care (http://www.thermalcare.com), a manufacturer of process cooling equipment located in Niles, is sponsoring the program on November 14. The Society of the Plastics Industry, Inc. (SPI) provides financial assistance in the form of matching funds to its members who sponsor the PlastiVan. The cost is $1,500 a day for one PlastiVan school visit.

“The GAO report’s findings concerning the decline in degrees obtained in science and engineering areas means that competition in the U.S. for the limited new wave of skilled labor will be fierce,” said SPI President and CEO William Carteaux. “To attract the next generation of U.S. workers to careers in science and engineering, SPI is proud to support the PlastiVan program. One of the young students that this program touches might turn out to be the next great innovator in our industry.”

A product of the National Plastics Center (NPC) in Leominster, MA, the PlastiVan program travels throughout the United States teaching nearly 50,000 students a year about the science of plastics. The primary mission of the PlastiVan is to create and inspire a new generation of scientists and innovators. Additional information can be found online at http://www.plasticscenter.org/e-van-plastivan.php. For further information, contact the NPC’s Marjorie Weiner at (978) 840-1950 or mweiner@plastics.com.

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Founded in 1937, The Society of the Plastics Industry, Inc., is the trade association representing one of the largest manufacturing industries in the United States. SPI's members represent the entire plastics industry supply chain, including processors, machinery and equipment manufacturers and raw materials suppliers. The U.S. plastics industry employs 1.4 million workers and provides nearly $310 billion in annual shipments. For more information, visit SPI on the Web at www.plasticsindustry.org.