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Michigan Jobs Commission to Hold Town Hall Meeting Focusing on Plastics

19 March 1998

Michigan Jobs Commission to Hold Town Hall Meeting Focusing on Plastics

    LANSING, Mich., March 18 -- Chrysler Corporation's
concept car, the CCV (Composite Concept Vehicle), whose body is made from the
same material as recyclable pop bottles, will be featured at the Technology
and Plastics Town Hall meeting, 8 a.m. Friday, April 24, at Central Michigan
University, in Mt. Pleasant.
    Doug Rothwell, CEO and Department Director of the Michigan Jobs
Commission, said the plastics industry is a key contributor to the state's
economic growth.
    "The plastics industry has grown more than 31 percent in Michigan since
1991, and ranks third in the nation in employment."  Michigan has nearly 1,400
plastic companies that are responsible for $19.4 million in shipments,
according to the Society of the Plastics Industry, a national trade
association.
    The low cost (one third the cost of conventional construction methods),
light weight (210 pounds), high durability, and safe vehicle will be on
display, and executives from Cascade Engineering in Grand Rapids will describe
how it developed the all-plastic-body car.  Cascade Engineering received
Chrysler's coveted Technology Role Model Award for its work in creating the
car.
    In addition to sessions on the CCV, the Town Hall meeting will feature
discussion on the future of plastics, its applications, and the virtual
college that is being planned for the plastics industry.  Experts from Dow,
Ferris State University, Central Michigan University, and the National Center
for Manufacturing Sciences will provide information on careers in plastics,
and industry technology and its application.  Tim Quinn, Quinn and Associates,
who was key in the development of the Michigan Virtual Auto College, will
discuss the potential for a Virtual Plastics College.
    The Town Hall meeting is sponsored by Central Michigan University, the
Michigan Jobs Commission, and the Michigan Plastics Industry Roundtable.  The
Plastics Industry Roundtable consists of executives from more than 100
Michigan companies.  It is a partnership with state government, designed to
make the industry more competitive and create jobs.
    A second Plastics Town Hall meeting is set for October 8, 1998, in Oakland
County or Wayne County, with a Summit on Plastic Technology scheduled for
Lansing in May 1999.
    For more information about registering for the Mount Pleasant Town Hall
meeting, contact the Michigan Jobs Commission's Customer Assistance office at
517-373-9808.

SOURCE  Michigan Jobs Commission