SPE honors Robert Porsche as 2017 Thermoformer of the Year.
Press Release Summary:
The Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) Thermoforming Division will be honoring Robert Porsche as SPE’s Thermoformer of the year 2017 during 26th SPE Thermoforming Conference, September 24-26, 2018 at the Omni Fort Worth Hotel and the Fort Worth Convention Center. Porsche graduated from Southern Illinois University with B.S. in marketing and management. He started his career in 1975 in sales for Profile Plastics. In 2014, Robert was awarded with Wisconsin Manufacturer of the Year.
Original Press Release:
SPE Names Robert Porsche Thermoformer Of the Year
In an award presentation that was postponed from 2017 because of Hurricane Irma, The Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) Thermoforming Division this September will honor Robert Porsche as the 2017 Thermoformer of the Year.
The presentation will take place during SPE’s Thermoforming Awards Dinner, held in conjunction with the 26th SPE Thermoforming Conference, September 24-26, 2018 at the Omni Fort Worth Hotel and the Fort Worth Convention Center. The dinner will take place on Tuesday, September 25, at AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys.
The 2017 conference, scheduled for Orlando, was cancelled because of the hurricane.
Mr. Porsche began his thermoforming industry career working in sales for Profile Plastics in 1975. In 1987, Mr. Porsche purchased General Plastics, Inc., where he remains president and owner. When Mr. Porsche first purchased the company, General Plastics had eight-full-time employees housed in an 11,000 square-foot facility. Under Mr. Porsche’s leadership, General Plastics now has over 70 full-time employees, and expanded its facilities to a 93,000 square-foot building. Their modern facility contains a complete collection of the newest single station, rotary, and twin sheeting formers, as well as two 3 axis and six 5 axis CNC routers and the most advanced fully robotic trimming equipment.
Located in Milwaukee, WI, General Plastics is an ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certified, full service custom plastic thermoformer. General Plastics also houses some of the largest forming equipment in the industry, allowing the company to address a diverse range of product demands. The company provides solutions for point of purchase and OEMs in the bus, rail, truck, marine, office, lavatory, medical, health and wellness, gaming, arcade, food and beverage, construction, and machine guarding industries.
In 2014, General Plastics was presented with the Wisconsin Manufacturer of the Year Award in the small business category and was nominated for the award again last year. General Plastics was also named as a finalist for the 2016 Plastics News Processor of the Year Award. The company has received numerous awards for its contributions to the SPE Thermoforming Division’s Annual Parts Competition over the years as well.
An active member of SPE, Mr. Porsche has served in many leadership roles as an SPE Thermoforming Division Board Member where he chaired the Finance, Machinery and Processing Committees in addition to two SPE Thermoforming Conferencesâ. Mr. Porsche is a prior Division Outstanding Achievement Award Winner and has served as a heavy gauge technical session presenter and moderator. He is also active in a variety of local Milwaukee-area business and civic nonprofit organizations.
Mr. Porsche graduated from Southern Illinois University with B.S. in marketing and management.
“Last year, members of the SPE Thermoforming Division Board of Directors were extremely disappointed at losing the opportunity to present Bob with a much deserved honor,” said Eric Short, SPE Thermoforming Division Chair. “His lengthy list of accomplishments and contributions to our industry deserve proper recognition, and we’ll do that this year in Fort Worth. The Division will resume its search for the next Thermoformer of the Year in 2019.”
Past recipients of the Thermoformer of the Year Award may be found on the SPE Thermoforming Division website at http://thermoformingdivision.com/awards-recognitions/thermoformer-of-the-year/past-winners/.
More information is available at http://thermoformingdivision.com or by contacting Lesley Kyle at 1-914-671-9524 or lesley@openmindworks.com.
THE SPE THERMOFORMING DIVISION is a technical division of the Society of Plastics Engineers, based in Bethel, CT. The Thermoforming Division’s mission is to facilitate the advancement of thermoforming technologies through education, application, promotion and research. The Division hosts an annual educational conference and publishes an award-winning technical journal, SPE Thermoforming Quarterlyâ. The Division has also funded over $275K in equipment grants and tens of thousands of dollars in undergraduate scholarships since it was first formed. For more information, please visit http://thermoformingdivision.com.
