Dri-Air scholarship helps build future leaders

You don’t necessarily have to be a big company to make a big impact on the future of the plastics industry.

Dri-Air Industries Inc., a small manufacturer of high-quality drying systems for plastics located in East Windsor, Conn., is proving that to be true.

Dri-Air was founded in 1985 by Charles Sears, who ran the company until he succumbed to cancer in 2018 at age 78.

A scholarship fund at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, launched at his death, has helped pay college costs for one recipient who graduated this year and another who is scheduled to graduate in 2023.

I think Sears, who had a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Northeastern University and a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, would approve.

The first recipient was Zubin Pinkham, who earned a master’s degree in plastics engineering. His bachelor’s degree was in mechanical engineering from UMass Lowell. Between earning the two degrees, Pinkham served five years as an infantryman in the United States Army and saw duty in Afghanistan. He was also recently named the Massachusetts National Guard Non-Commissioned Officer of the Year for 2022.

After graduating this past spring, Pinkham took a job as a plastics engineer at Trane Technologies in Minneapolis.

The second scholarship recipient is Ferry Irawan, a graduate student in plastics engineering at UMass Lowell. Here is how Irawan described his appreciation for the scholarship:

“I am very fortunate to be in the position where I could conquer my dream of becoming an engineer at UMass Lowell,” he said in a press release. “For someone who grew up in a less-privileged community and being raised by a single mother who never finished middle school, attending college was only a pipe dream for me. Scholarship opportunities such as this one opened the door for me to achieve the impossible and I am forever grateful for it.”

Irawan added that the Sears scholarship “has inspired me to give back to the community in the future. Hopefully, it will be in the form of scholarship to help other hard-working students who are in financial burden.”

The Sears scholarship fund currently has about $50,000 and is considered fully endowed, according to Jason Sears, Dri-Air president and son of the late founder. He said Dri-Air and family members make annual contributions, but there is no specific goal for the fund.

“As the fund gets larger, we will be able to give bigger scholarships and give scholarships to multiple students,” Sears said. “We want it to live on with his name attached to it and affecting the lives of people who are trying to get into this industry.”

Scholarship candidates must be a UMass Lowell student pursuing a master’s degree in plastics engineering who also received a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering at UMass Lowell, according to Sally Washburn, the school’s senior director of development for engineering.

Everyone knew Charles Sears as “Charlie.” He held several patents and was a recognized expert on drying plastics. He was also an active promoter of learning the trades. He was inducted into the Plastics Hall of Fame in 2020.

“The engineering curriculum was near and dear to him,” Jason Sears said.

Dri-Air started donating equipment and training expertise to the UMass Lowell plastics technology center in 2011, long before the elder Sears died.

“When he (Charles) passed, people asked about donating to a charity,” Jason Sears said. “We wanted to focus on education because that was something he really felt strongly about.

“My father worked his way through college,” Jason Sears said. “He came from a small farm in the Berkshires. He wasn’t given the opportunity a lot of people have nowadays like student loans or parents with a substantial amount of money. He did it all on his own merit.”

Sears said he encourages other companies — no matter how small they are — to look at opportunities to develop future leaders in the plastics industry.

“I think it is important for everybody to be involved,” he said. “You can’t just sit back and expect someone else to train your future leaders. That’s really who these scholarship recipients are going to become.

“Being active in your community is important,” he added.

Dri-Air does not publish revenue figures, but with about 30 employees it certainly qualifies as a small business. Yet it is investing more in the future of the plastics industry than many bigger companies.

It should serve as a great example for every company.

I knew Charlie Sears and I am absolutely certain he would agree.

If you would like to donate to the Sears scholarship, go to www.uml.edu/givenow, choose the “Other Fund Name” line and write in “Charlie Sears.”

Ron Shinn, editor

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