HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Cindi Marsiglio, vice president of merchandise execution services and U.S. manufacturing for Walmart’s U.S. operations, will headline a plastics market industry briefing, Monday, May 7, 2018, which will be hosted by IHS Markit (Nasdaq: INFO), a global business information provider. Marsiglio is responsible for delivering on Walmart’s $250 billion commitment to increase sourcing of U.S. made products through 2023, a time that coincides with a period of unparalleled growth and prosperity for U.S. plastics producers.
“We are delighted Ms. Marsiglio will join us at the NPE industry briefing hosted by IHS Markit and PLASTICS, since Walmart is the world’s largest retailer, and her comments will be of great interest to many of the 65,000 producers, molders, designers, engineers, buyers and other industry professionals who attend the show,” said Nick Vafiadis, vice president of plastics for IHS Markit. “Walmart has made a tremendous commitment to expand its U.S. product sourcing and that commitment is very exciting for U.S. plastics manufacturers who are eager to continue to invest in U.S. jobs and leverage the windfall of price-advantaged polyethylene being produced domestically.”
Vafiadis, along with Bill Carteaux, president and CEO of PLASTICS, will welcome Marsiglio to this year’s NPE event, which is scheduled for Monday, May 7 through Friday, May 11, at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla. The Monday, May 7, Plastics Industry Insights — IHS Markit briefing will start at 9:30 a.m. in the West Level 4, Room W415A of the Convention Center.
Marsiglio is responsible for managing a centralized team in Walmart U.S. Merchandising focused on complex, cross-category project implementation. She also leads Walmart’s merchandising communications, supplier administration and supplier-inclusion efforts. Marsiglio joined Walmart in 2007, after working for the Florida Chamber of Commerce and serving as a Deputy Secretary for the State of Florida’s Department of Management Services. She has more than 20 years of government, retail and manufacturing experience, and is a graduate of Florida State University. Marsiglio is actively involved with Walmart’s Women’s Officer Caucus, the Presidents’ Inclusion Council, WAL-PAC, and is an executive board member of the Florida Retail Federation.
In addition to Marsiglio’s discussion of Walmart’s merchandising strategy and U.S. sourcing, the industry briefing will feature an in-depth look at the global economy presented by Perc Pineda, chief economist, Plastics Industry Association. In addition, Vafiadis and the team of IHS Markit plastics experts will provide an in-depth market outlook for the key plastics including polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), PET and engineering resins.
Willem Sundblad, CEO of Oden Technologies, will give an update on the current Industry 4.0 technology, which now enables plastics manufacturers to quickly and easily collect and analyze data from existing machines and sensors, enabling them to monitor all valuable metrics, together, in real time. He will discuss the solutions that exist to help increase operational efficiency and value, and will present specific examples of how this technology can help processors improve production, eliminate waste, and make better products for their customers.
“The global polyethylene industry, which is the world’s most used plastic, has experienced an unprecedented record run of prosperity,” Vafiadis said. “Global demand for PE has been robust and integrated margins have remained at elevated levels for several years, despite record new additions of cost-competitive capacity being added in North America and elsewhere. It is this robust demand growth, combined with production constraints, that continues to drive tight PE margins, but one of the questions we will explore during the briefing is how long this wave of prosperity will last.”
According to IHS Markit, global demand for polyethylene in 2017 more than totaled 96 million metric tons (MMT), with demand in 2018 expected 100 MMT. By 2022, global polyethylene demand is expected to reach 120 MMT annually. What Vafiadis finds so amazing is the rapid pace of change, in terms of PE demand growth. “In 1999, global demand for polyethylene was 50 million metric tons per year, and by 2017, demand exceeded 96 million metric tons.” That is an astounding rate of PE demand growth and China is the key driver of that growth. China accounts for about 60 percent of new global demand growth for plastics resins such as PE.”
The rapid growth of online shopping trends, along with China’s recycling ban on plastics trash, are helping increase the demand for virgin PE material, Vafiadis said, but other influencers are also playing a key role and his team will explore those issues more fully during the briefing.
“The issue of sustainability is perhaps the most critical influencer for the plastics industry as a whole, both today and in the future,” Vafiadis said. “Many communities across the globe are exploring plastic bag bans, but marine waste is an issue that the industry must take a leadership role in addressing because the industry has learned it must be a cooperative, multi-organizational approach that brings all the stakeholders together to solve such a very complex problem. Based on our discussions with industry leaders, that challenge is something they are committed to addressing.”
The full agenda for the Plastics Industry Market Briefing can be found here. Seating for the industry market briefing is limited, so attendees are encouraged to register for the briefing quickly by visiting the registration link for the NPE event, and selecting: Plastics Industry Insights — IHS Markit. The cost of the briefing is $100.
Media Attendance: Credentialed media who have successfully registered for the NPE are welcome to cover the industry market briefing. To register as media for NPE, please visit media registration to request media credentials. Registered media can then register to attend the market briefing by visiting the following registration link and selecting: Plastics Industry Insights — IHS Markit. There is no cost for registered media to cover the industry briefing.
To speak with Nick Vafiadis, or for questions about media attendance during the briefing at NPE, please contact Melissa Manning at melissa.manning@ihsmarkit.com.
About IHS Markit (www.ihsmarkit.com)
IHS Markit (Nasdaq: INFO) is a world leader in critical information, analytics and solutions for the major industries and markets that drive economies worldwide. The company delivers next-generation information, analytics and solutions to customers in business, finance and government, improving their operational efficiency and providing deep insights that lead to well-informed, confident decisions. IHS Markit has more than 50,000 business and government customers, including 80 percent of the Fortune Global 500 and the world’s leading financial institutions. Headquartered in London, IHS Markit is committed to sustainable, profitable growth.
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