Mentorship program nurtures plastic industry's emerging leaders

By Karen Hanna 

As a child, Robert Render got a lot of special attention from his father. Now a father himself, he looks back fondly at the times his dad took him to work at the family’s recycling business.  

“I was really fortunate because there were four of us in my family, and I was probably the more troublesome of the four, so mischievous, etc., so, I got to hang out with him in the summertime, and, so, I actually watched him do business when I was like, 6, 7, 8 years old,” Render said.  

Those early experiences —    usually accompanied with a hot dog — were his first exposure to the importance of mentoring and networking. After stints at his family’s business, he’s now the business development manager for sustainability for the Ravago Recycling Group, based in Belgium, and has worked with a number of people as a mentor himself, including several introduced to him through the Plastics Industry Association’s (PLASTICS) Future Leaders in Plastics (FLiP) organization. 

“I have been fortunate to have several mentees and each experience has been different, which just shows the diversity of approach and breadth of the industry. This program really helps both parties keep pace with change, but also with what core principles still work,” Render said, in a quote used in a brochure promoting the program, which typically pairs young professionals with more-experienced people over a period of 6-8 months. 

With plastics plants, like other companies, struggling to fill positions, mentoring provides an avenue to attracting and retaining workers. Members say participation in FLiP gives them access to opportunities and industry veterans, such as Render, sure to aid them as they build their careers.   

As this year’s chairman of FLiP, 37-year-old Jon Smalling knows firsthand the impact of networking in a career. By participating, members can gain leadership skills, industry knowledge and new friends. Smalling’s mentor this year is Tad McGwire, the CEO and owner of Industrial Heater Corp., Cheshire, Conn., who’s currently serving as the chairman of PLASTICS’ board of directors. 

“I feel like involvement in FLiP makes a person’s involvement in the plastics industry more ‘sticky’ ” — meaning the member is more inclined to stay and cultivate a career, explained Smalling, who in August was working as the director of sales for NAS Nalle Automation Systems, Knoxville, Tenn. 

While working for a previous employer earlier in his career, Smalling considered leaving a job he loved because he saw no way to grow.  

But his boss didn’t want to lose him.  

“He talked me out of that at the time and asked, ‘What else do you want?’ I said, ‘I need a career path, I need leadership development, I need more involvement, I need more responsibility, because frankly, I’m getting a little bored,’ ” Smalling said. “It was his idea is to let me tag along with him.” 

That experience — in which Smalling first got involved with PLASTICS — changed everything.

“FLiP and involvement in the industry is a good way to create organically that career path, even though there’s not those options available in some smaller companies,” Smalling said. 

Besides its mentoring program, FLiP offers opportunities for members to interact with one another. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, face-to-face meet-and-greets have become rare in recent years, but meetings online give members a chance to vent, talk through problems and grow as professionals.  

“We’re building that network from a friend standpoint first, and then we try and improve ourselves professionally, learn more about the industry,” said Smalling, a member of FLiP since 2018.

Hannah Coombs, talent development manager at Westminster Tool, Plainfield, Conn., said she’s taken part in the group’s book club and TED talk video series.  

“The best thing about the book club is that it’s really hard for young, emerging leaders who are already really rising and grinding … to make time to reflect and better themselves,” she said.  

That opportunity —  both as a participant of the book club, as well as in FLiP's other events and programs — is what Coombs likes most about the group. At 28, she's also a member of the American Mold Builders Association’s Emerging Leaders program

According to Leslie Jutte, 32, PLASTICS’ staff liaison for FLiP, the organization includes around 130 young professionals who represent all sectors of the industry, including companies that deal with equipment, materials and part production, with titles that run the gamut. Members include company owners, presidents, VPs, directors, managers and coordinators, and work in roles dealing with manufacturing, regulations, sales, marketing, engineering, sustainability and other segments.