SPI South -- Distinguished Service Award Winner 2003

Previous Recipients

2001 - Norman
2000 - Averette
1999 - Thorne
1998 - Bennett

FOURNIER RECEIVES SPI SOUTH SERVICE AWARD

CHARLESTON, SC (April 16, 2003) - Paul Fournier, former vice president and partner of Litek Corp. and retired vice president of Witt Plastics, Inc., recently was presented the SPI South Distinguished Service Award by the Southern Regional Office of The Society of the Plastics Industry, Inc. (SPI), the Washington, DC-based plastics trade association.

The award was presented at a dinner held in conjunction with the SPI South and Molders Division Joint Conference, earlier this month in Charleston, SC. Now in its fifth year, the prestigious award recognizes outstanding dedication to the promotion of the plastics industry in the South. Fournier was singled out for the honor based on his long-time active participation in industry trade associations and his community.

Fournier's accomplishments include leadership roles with the SPI Sheet Producers Division (SPD), where he served on the executive committee and was a founding member and Chairman of the Division's Environmental Affairs and Recycling Committee. Under his leadership, the committee sponsored a number of workshops and panel discussions addressing important environmental and regulatory compliance issues facing sheet producers.

Shortly after the formation of the SPI Southern Region, Fournier was tapped to serve on its Board of Directors, where he was actively involved in the region's Annual Conference Committee. His participation on the Advisory Board of the University of Florida's Polymer Properties and Processing Center helped to provide the academic community with insight into the plastics industry and served to enhance the University's technical education programs. Fournier began his industry career in 1946 at Dow Chemical's converting and extrusion plant in Cleveland, OH. In 1959, he joined in the opening of the Dow plant in Finley, OH. He later moved to Florida to work as a plastics distributor for Knight Paper Co.'s Supreme Product Division, and then went on to become a plastics manufacturers representative at ProCom. In 1973, Fournier began his decade-long tenure as vice president and partner at Litek Corp., before joining Witt Plastics, now KPA/Witt Plastics, Inc., as vice president. Fournier is retired from Witt Plastics, and is still active in industry organizations.

"Paul has always been a person who others in the industry can count on to give generously of his time and talents, to either chair or serve in other key leadership roles on various boards and committees, and in just about any pursuit or cause that would benefit the plastics industry and its reputation in the governmental and public eye," said John Witt, a colleague of Fournier and former President and CEO of Witt Plastics.

SPI South serves the plastics industry in the states of Arkansas, Alabama, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. For more information, visit www.spisouth.org.

Founded in 1937, The Society of the Plastics Industry, Inc., is the trade association representing one of the largest manufacturing industries in the United States. SPI's 1,300 members represent the entire plastics industry supply chain, including processors, machinery and equipment manufacturers and raw materials suppliers. The U.S. plastics industry employs 1.5 million workers and provides more than $320 billion in annual shipments. For more information, visit SPI on the Web at www.plasticsindustry.org. Join SPI in Chicago June 23-27, for NPE 2003, the World's Plastics Showcase. The triennial event, sponsored by SPI, features innovations and technological breakthroughs from more than 2,000 exhibitors serving all facets of the industry, including automotive, appliance, medical, packaging and more. For more information, link to the Web at www.npe.org.