There is little doubt that Georgia Gulf is holding its own in a very tough market. The company continues to show significant progress in its integration strategy, but it has been faced with many challenges.

During the second quarter of 2007, Georgia Gulf posted sales of $851.9 million compared to $602.2 million of sales in the second quarter of 2006. The increase is attributable to the acquisition of Royal Group. The company reported a net loss from continuing operations of $1.9 million, or $0.05 per diluted share, compared to earnings of $39.4 million, or $1.15 per share in the same quarter a year ago.

 

“We delivered a substantially improved bottom line compared to the first quarter of the year, but did fall short of our goal of net profitability,” stated Ed Schmitt during the company’s second quarter earnings conference call, held on August 9, 2007.

 

An in-depth review of the 2^nd quarter financial performance, as well as an update on the Royal Group acquisition, will be featured in the Fall 2007 edition of Elements. Click here to listen to the conference call.

It may come as a surprise to you that one of vinyl’s strongest advocacy voices today is Dr. Patrick Moore, one of the founders of the original Greenpeace. Yes, that’s right...Greenpeace. In fact, as the leader of many campaigns, Dr. Moore was a driving force shaping policy and direction while Greenpeace became the world's largest environmental activist organization. In recent years, Dr. Moore has been focused on the promotion of sustainability and consensus building among competing concerns.

 

Dr. Moore has studied vinyl’s entire life cycle, and concludes that it is extremely useful and environmentally friendly. “One of the main materials we use in our daily lives in our civilization is plastic, and vinyl is a very special form of plastic,” says Moore. “The anti-vinyl activists have made a lot of crazy accusations about the effects of vinyl,” he adds. Dr. Moore goes on to discuss the inaccuracies in the activists’ claims on products ranging from baby toys to shower curtains. 

 

Dr. Moore also discusses the many uses of vinyl in the healthcare industry. “(These products) are made of vinyl because it is easy to clean and maintain in an antiseptic way,” he observes, “and also because it is a very good barrier to germs.”

 

“On the environmental side, vinyl uses less energy than the other types of plastic in its manufacturing,” says Dr. Moore. This, coupled with its use of fossil fuels as feedstock, makes vinyl more environmentally friendly than other types of plastic, according to Moore. In addition, its durability and recyclability make it a valuable and sustainable product.

 

Dr. Moore’s video is a very effective pro-vinyl piece based on real science. We encourage all Georgia Gulf employees to take about four minutes to watch the video by clicking here. It is both factual and entertaining, and it will help arm you with the tools you need to protect our industry against baseless attacks.

 

Hot Topic #2: Worker Safety

Like almost all manufacturing processes, the production of vinyl involves the use of materials that can be hazardous if improperly handled. In day-to-day operations, however, the vinyl industry has amassed an outstanding record of safe operation. Today, the entire vinyl production process is essentially a closed one, with most activities taking place in closed vessels. Not only does this maximize production efficiencies, it also reduces environmental emissions and minimizes potential worker exposure to VCM.

 

In the 1970’s, a link was made between extremely high, prolonged exposure levels to VCM among vinyl production workers and a rare form of cancer, angiosarcoma of the liver. Angiosarcoma has also been linked to thorium dioxide given medically, arsenic given medically and, perhaps, to the use of anabolic steroids. Some 198 VCM-related angiosarcoma cases have been recorded worldwide since the link with exposure to VCM was made — all in VCM/PVC plant workers.

 

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued strict regulations in 1975, limiting workplace exposure to 1 part per million (ppm) averaged over eight hours. There have been no documented cases of angiosarcoma of the liver among vinyl chloride manufacturing plant workers whose careers in the industry began after the new regulations took effect.

 

In addition, the OSHA standards for working with VCM also:

 

Any violations must be promptly reported to government authorities and are a matter of public record.

 

Source: http://www.aboutbluevinyl.org/safety.asp

For more information on vinyl, please visit www.vinylinfo.org.

With the glorious days of summer coming to an end, children and parents alike are focusing their attention on returning to school. The Chlorine Chemistry division of the American Chemistry Council has launched an exciting resource to provide teachers, students and home-schoolers with resources to help improve the way scientific and environmental issues are discussed in the classroom. The Chlorine Science Center features great lesson plans, classroom activities, articles and downloadable coloring books.  There is also streaming video to help guide the lessons and provide additional information.

 

Students will find these activities fun and helpful ways to learn science. We encourage you to look through the site and find ways to use the activities with your children. Please feel free to forward the information to your child’s science teacher so that they can access this wonderful resource, as well.

Known for her positive attitude and hard work, Becky Plemmons is Royal Mouldings’ Marketing Administrator. Hired nearly 18 years ago, Becky credits her success to always giving it her all. “I am dedicated to the success of our company, and I am loyal. I believe in what we do and want to do my part to help make it happen,” says Becky.

 

Prior to joining Royal, Becky earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a concentration in marketing. While her formal education was a plus, it has been Becky’s willingness to learn new things and take on new responsibilities, even if it is outside her “comfort zone” that has made her successful. Becky recalls, “I had little computer graphics training when I joined Royal. When I first started at Royal Mouldings (then DG Mouldings/Marley Mouldings), we had a need for in-house graphic design. So, with self- training, some software classes/conferences, guidance from outside sources and lots of patience with our print companies, I learned this new skill, which was beneficial to the company.”

 

This is only one example of the many times Becky has taken on new challenges. “I feel that taking on new challenges helps you grow as a person and an employee. If asked to help on a project, I am eager to contribute all I can to the good of the company. I strive to be a kind, dependable and honest person in my work and personal life,” she adds.

 

In her time away from work, Becky is actively involved with family and working with charitable organizations, such as Relay for Life and the March of Dimes. “I love to go camping with my husband and son. For us to be together, away from T.V., chores, telephones, etc. is rewarding. We’re not distracted and can enjoy each other and make great memories,” notes Becky. Becky is also the organist at Grosses Creek Baptist Church in her hometown.

 

“If I could give advice to my fellow co-workers, I would say to always do the best you can at what you do for your company. It’s important to work with a positive attitude, honesty and integrity. We are all the same, with just different levels of responsibility. Treat others like you want to be treated, and life will be good and our company will prosper,” adds Becky.