Month: May 2024

Eastman

KINGSPORT, Tenn. and WICKLIFFE, Ohio, May 14, 2024 /3BL/ – Eastman and Lubrizol have successfully partnered on improving adhesion strength of thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs) overmolded onto Eastman Tritan™ copolyester TX1501HF. The collaboration stemmed from a mutual recognition of overmolding’s importance in manufacturing while delivering improved product performance and aesthetics in consumer goods when using Eastman’s sustainable material, Tritan™ Renew, and Lubrizol’s ESTANE® ECO, renewably sourced TPU.

The companies researched how specific processing variables impact the adhesion strength of overmolded samples produced through 2K injection molding. The study’s findings are believed to be applicable across various TPE and substrate combinations. This is of particular interest when mechanical interlocks cannot be used, and material changes are not feasible but improvements in adhesion strengths are desired.

By optimizing key TPE processing variables like mold temperature, pack and hold time, and TPE barrel temperature, the research team achieved a notable 124% improvement in adhesion strength compared to values obtained using non-ideal processing conditions. An additional improvement in adhesion strength was observed when Lubrizol’s ESTANE® ECO 12T80E and 16T85 TPU grades were used. These grades displayed the highest peel strength values (> 310 N) of all TPEs evaluated in this preliminary study.

“This was a unique opportunity for two leading material companies to leverage sustainable multi-material solutions that enable customer innovations and expand the limits of consumer product experiences,” said Vince Haas, Lubrizol’s engineered polymers senior business director.

“This effort has advanced our understanding of overmolding and TPEs, providing valuable guidance for engineers and manufacturers looking to improve overmolded product strength,” said Courtland Jenkins, Eastman’s commercial director for engineered solutions. “These findings open doors for new and innovative product designs, particularly when using recycled content.”

For a detailed view of the study, access the white paper here.

NPE2024 attendees are invited to visit Lubrizol’s booth #S35017, May 6-10 in Orlando, Fla., to see Tritan™ Renew materials overmolded with ESTANE® ECO technology and can also gain deeper insights through a joint webinar hosted by UL Prospector at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, June 12. Webinar registration link here.

About Eastman

Founded in 1920, Eastman is a global specialty materials company that produces a broad range of products found in items people use every day. With the purpose of enhancing the quality of life in a material way, Eastman works with customers to deliver innovative products and solutions while maintaining a commitment to safety and sustainability. The company’s innovation-driven growth model takes advantage of world-class technology platforms, deep customer engagement, and differentiated application development to grow its leading positions in attractive end markets such as transportation, building and construction, and consumables. As a globally inclusive and diverse company, Eastman employs approximately 14,500 people around the world and serves customers in more than 100 countries. The company had 2022 revenue of approximately $10.6 billion and is headquartered in Kingsport, Tennessee, USA.

About The Lubrizol Corporation

The Lubrizol Corporation, a Berkshire Hathaway company, is a specialty chemical company whose science delivers sustainable solutions to advance mobility, improve wellbeing and enhance modern life. Founded in 1928, Lubrizol owns and operates more than 100 manufacturing facilities, sales and technical offices around the world and has more than 8,000 employees. For more information, visit www.Lubrizol.com.

Media contact

Jacob Teetzmann 
1-423-494-3673 
jteetzmann@tombras.com

Media contact

Laura Hall 
1-440-943-4300 
laura.hall@lubrizol.com

KFC Foundation

The KFC Foundation is awarding $250,000 in grants to 25 community-based non-profit organization projects focused on education and training. Kentucky Fried Wishes, one of the KFC Foundation’s community giving programs, invites non-profit organizations to apply for a grant to fund a project on their wish list. This year, the KFC Foundation will fund $1 million in Kentucky Fried Wishes to 100 non-profits nationwide, with 25 grants awarded quarterly based on different project categories.

This cycle’s grant recipients span over 20 different states and support a variety of causes and communities, including:

Boolean Girl, located in Arlington, VA, works to address the declining number of girls and women in STEM fields by engaging girls, grades 3-8, with meaningful, hands-on instruction and sustained exposure to computer science and engineering in a collaborative and welcoming environment. The Kentucky Fried Wishes grant will allow the organization to purchase 67 laptops to support 7 new schools, reaching over 400 students.Gateway Regional Arts Center, located in Mt. Sterling, KY, promotes, enhances, and contributes to the educational, artistic, and cultural lives of those living in Central and Eastern Kentucky. The Kentucky Fried Wishes grant will go towards the organization’s Pottery for Change program, which provides six months of art therapy-based pottery classes for justice-involved foster youth at the Gateway Children’s Services facility in Mt. Sterling, KY.The INN Between, located in Salt Lake City, UT, provides medical respite and end-of-life care to those experiencing homelessness. The Kentucky Fried Wishes grant will allow the organization to develop a life skills training program for individuals receiving their care to allow them to transition to independent living and continue on a path toward autonomy.

Kentucky Fried Wishes, Cycle 1, grant recipients:

Boolean Girl (Arlington, VA)

Captain Planet Foundation (Atlanta, GA)

Children’s Museum of Acadiana (Lafayette, LA)

Creekside Christian Montessori (De Pere, WI)

Des Moines Public Library Foundation (Des Moines, IA)

Dove Center (Oakland, MD)

Down Syndrome Innovations (Mission, KS)

Drive To Thrive Mentoring Program(Vicksburg, MS)

Gateway Regional Arts Center (Mt. Sterling, KY)

Giraffe Laugh (Garden City, ID)

Girls on the Run Las Vegas (Las Vegas, NV)

Hoke County Reading-Literacy Council (Raeford, NC)

I Would Rather Be Reading (Louisville, KY)

Junior Achievement of Delaware (Wilmington, DW)

Lumity (Chicago, IL)

Norwich City School District (Norwich, NY)

No Wrong Door for Support and Recovery (Franklin, NC)

Roscommon Elementary School (Roscommon, MI)

SPARC (Yorktown Heights, NY)

Team Read (Seattle, WA)

The INN Between (Salt Lake City, UT)

Totally Adaptive (East Longmeadow, MA)

Tutwiler Community Education Center (Tutwiler, MS)

West Clermont School District (Cincinnati, OH)

World Services for the Blind (Little Rock, AR)

Kentucky Fried Wishes is just one way the KFC Foundation supports, empowers, and serves joy to KFC restaurant employees and communities. The KFC Foundation also provides programs focused on education, financial literacy, and hardship assistance for KFC restaurant employees, as well as a food donation program to fight hunger and food waste.

The next Kentucky Fried Wishes grant cycle will run from May 1-31 and focus on improving health and wellbeing. Non-profit organizations seeking funding for a project within that scope can learn more and apply for a grant at kfcfoundation.org/wishes.

Originally published on DICK’S Sporting Goods Sideline Report

From working as a part-time teammate to being the community and experience director at DICK’S House of Sport in Katy, Texas. Former Minor League Baseball player Ruperto Rojas called his journey with DICK’S Sporting Goods an incredible ride.

Rojas was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 2017 MLB June Amateur Draft. That same year, he started working as a part-time operations associate at DICK’S Sporting Goods near his home in Lakewood, Colorado.

“My wife told me I had to go out and make a little extra money during the offseason,” Rojas said. “There was a DICK’S right across the street, so I went over and applied.”

He immediately hit it off with Store Manager John Varner. “He became my mentor, and he continues to impact me to this day,” said Rojas.

Rojas worked at DICK’S every offseason. When his playing days ended in 2021, Rojas said Varner encouraged him to stick with it.

“Working with him, you could just see his passion for both his teammates and the athletes,” said Varner.

Rojas discovered he had a real passion for helping athletes chase their dreams, and likened working for DICK’S to playing baseball. “It’s all about the team,” Rojas said.

Within a year and a half, Rojas worked his way up from part-time operations associate to store manager. Then in April 2023, Rojas got the chance to move back to his hometown of Houston. He was offered the role of community and experience director at the DICK’S House of Sport in nearby Katy.

“He leads people the way he would like to be led,” Varner said of Rojas. “He is a true people first leader who has the common purpose at the center of what he does every day.”

As community and experience director, Rojas is responsible for integrating DICK’S House of Sport into the community and overseeing internal and external events. He also works to develop and maintain partnerships in the community.

“This role allowed me to combine my two passions: giving back to the community and sports,” Rojas said.

A few years ago, Rojas said when he thought about what he’d do with his life, retail was never in the picture. “Now?” Rojas said, “I can’t see a future without DICK’S Sporting Goods.”

Do you think you would be a good fit at DSG? Apply here!

Installation further advances company’s multi-provider strategy that collectively 
quadruples its fleetwide bandwidth overall

MIAMI, May 14, 2024 /3BL/ – Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK), the world’s largest cruise company, today announced that 100% of its ships across the global fleet are equipped with Starlink’s high-speed, low-latency global internet connectivity.

The completed installation further enhances Carnival Corporation’s onboard experience for its guests and crew to provide even faster service, greater capacity, and more reliable Wi-Fi on its fleet of 90-plus ships across its portfolio of world-class cruise brands. The roll-out of Starlink is the latest in a series of innovations and investments from Carnival Corporation that have collectively quadrupled its fleetwide bandwidth since 2019 through its industry-leading connectivity strategy.

The upgrade rivals on-land connectivity experiences, enabling guests and crew to stay connected anywhere in the world, including sharing pictures and videos, scrolling on social media, streaming live content, and working remotely. The added bandwidth also boosts each ship’s operational and communications capabilities with more continuous onboard equipment monitoring and real-time connectivity and data sharing between ship and shore teams, along with the enhanced versatility to more quickly roll out new guest services and features, even while at sea.

“Starlink has been a game-changer for the onboard connectivity experience our cruise lines deliver to their guests, and we’ve already seen a surge in guest satisfaction and positive feedback from the super-fast and reliable Wi-Fi service we provide onboard,” said Josh Weinstein, CEO of Carnival Corporation. “We see this technology as a win-win-win – it provides our guests with more flexibility to stay as connected as they’d like on vacation, it allows our crew to stay in touch with friends and loved ones, and it enhances our onboard operational systems.”

Carnival Corporation began its fleetwide roll-out of Starlink in December 2022 with Carnival Cruise Line and AIDA Cruises ships, before expanding to the company’s other world-class cruise brands, which include Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, Seabourn, P&O Cruises (Australia), Costa Cruises, P&O Cruises (UK) and Cunard.

The Starlink expansion further advances the company’s multi-provider strategy to deliver the same reliable, high-speed Wi-Fi service available on land while on board its global fleet of 90+ ships visiting more than 800 ports worldwide. Designed to support a variety of constantly moving vessels that sail all over the world, the company’s system leverages technologies from a diverse range of suppliers and is capable of dynamically routing internet traffic and optimizing network speeds to provide a consistent experience to guests across every brand and itinerary.

###

About Carnival Corporation & plc 
Carnival Corporation & plc is the largest global cruise company, and among the largest leisure travel companies, with a portfolio of world-class cruise lines – AIDA Cruises, Carnival Cruise Line, Costa Cruises, Cunard, Holland America Line, P&O Cruises (Australia), P&O Cruises (UK), Princess Cruises, and Seabourn.

Additional information can be found on www.carnivalcorp.com, www.aida.de, www.carnival.com, www.costacruise.com, www.cunard.com, www.hollandamerica.com, www.pocruises.com.au, www.pocruises.com, www.princess.com, and www.seabourn.com.

For information on Carnival Corporation’s industry-leading sustainability initiatives, visit www.carnivalsustainability.com.

Carnival Corporation Media Contacts:

Amber Hastings, Carnival Corporation, amhastings@carnival.com

Lucy Colonnetta Clifton, LDWW, lucy@ldww.co

Ying Ying Yang migrated to Australia from China with qualifications as an electrical engineer, and confronted a challenge that many new migrants do: a language barrier.

“I studied Russian because my hometown was next to Russia,” she says. “I studied Russian until I finished university!”

She decided studying a course in English would help and enrolled in an IT Certificate course at TAFE New South Wales.

“I remember when I started in the Certificate III class, and I had a teacher who looked at me as though she was thinking ‘you even can’t speak English, how are you going to pass the subject?’ But I think I’m thinking, you know, you don’t know whether I can pass it or not, but I know I can pass it, so that’s how I got through, initially,” she says.

Falling into IT

“I had no intention to do IT, it was just by opportunity,” says Ying Ying. “Possibly you don’t have confidence to do things, but as long as you stick to it, you work hard towards it, eventually you can get some good results.”

Ying Ying did get those results. After passing her Certificate III, she started a Certificate IV course that included Cisco Networking Academy curriculum, and she was hooked, going on to get CCNA and CCNP certifications.

“I think the Cisco Networking Academy has got the best courses, especially when you’re just starting in IT, because they don’t just teach for their product,” she says.

“A lot of other vendors have an academy, but they focus on their product, but Cisco Networking Academy is really good for someone who has no IT background because it provides courses at different levels, and they actually give you knowledge which you need to know.”

“All the modules are well-organized, so easy to follow,” she adds, “and also the labs are really good.”

Change of direction

“I always encourage the students to do the fundamental courses, because IT is so big,” she says, suggesting that students can then decide what area of IT work they would like to get involved in.

For Ying Ying, that was teaching.

“My teacher really helped me a lot, and because she thought I was a good student she recommended me to my boss. They said, ‘we want you to join the instructor training.’ I didn’t think I could become a teacher!”

“My teacher changed my life, and I want to do the same for others,” she says.

“Some students really like to talk to me about their worries, and things that have happened in their lives and get advice. I feel that is something meaningful. Sometimes I’m really tired but I walk into the classroom, and I feel just like I had two coffees, and immediately I’m back to the work mode,” she says. “I just feel, just by chance, I found what I’m right at.”

Volunteering with refugees

Ying Ying’s determination to help others has extended to volunteering her time to help with a project with Community Corporate to train refugees with Cisco Networking Academy.

“The learners may have some background knowledge but because of the new environment, they are a bit shy to ask the questions to know where to start,” she says. “When it comes to the new environment, I just use my own experience and to encourage them, to give them some idea, because I’m an immigrant to Australia too.”

“Cisco provides a fabulous English course, English for IT,” adds Ying Ying. “We decided to give the students access to the course. It has a focus on IT terminology. I think that course is really good, and I review it to learn the words in the IT work environment to communicate with others. It is a good course!”

At home in Australia

Thanks to enrolling in that initial IT Certificate course, Ying Ying has found a new career, and is grateful to call Australia home. “I always tell students—especially when we have international students—the thing I really love in Australia is that we have opportunity,” she says.

“You can change your career at any point as long as you want it. My students include taxi drivers, accountants, and dentists. At some stage of their lives they decided to change to IT. I use them as role models to encourage other students. That’s how I started!”

Explore more inspiring Networking Academy Success Stories

Ready to begin your learning or teaching journey? Explore all Networking Academy courses to get started.

View original content here.

Inflation continues to be a pain point for business owners, and with the likelihood of interest rate cuts still held in the balance, this has only made the economic environment more uncertain for small business owners. In fact, KeyBank’s 2024 Small Business Survey found 37% of small business owners anticipate that inflation will slightly increase their operating costs, and 27% expect a significant increase in operating costs in the next 12 months.

Often the first to feel the effects of inflation and economic volatility, small businesses are grappling with stability and anticipate fluctuating sales/revenue (35%), delayed payments from clients/customers (29%), and high overhead costs (28%) as the top challenges they will face this year. Yet despite concerns, 65% of small business owners feel confident they could fund their operating expenses for one month with their cash reserves, if an unexpected need arose – pointing to the notion that more small businesses have built up emergency funds.

To help navigate today’s economic landscape, banks have become lifelines for business owners who have turned to their financial partners for advice on cash flow and business operations. The top three pieces of advice business owns have received include: Cut costs by reducing discretionary spending (34%); Establish an emergency fund (22%); and Diversify revenue streams by introducing new products or services (20%).

“Banks are at a pivotal moment to provide small business owners with the tools and resources they need to navigate economic volatility and help their business run better,” said Mike Walters, Head of Business Banking at KeyBank. “KeyBank is dedicated to providing small businesses and local communities with resources to help them remain financial resilient for long-term success.”

KeyBank, a top SBA lender1, has provided more than $4.5 billion in small business loans and lines of credit. Most recently, KeyBank received their 11th consecutive “Outstanding” rating from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) on its most recent Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) exam.

Moreover, KeyBank is dedicated to supporting low-to-moderate income (LMI) communities as well as providing community investments to bring access to capital to local businesses. In 2023, KeyBank provided $267.7 million in small business lending to LMI communities and, in 2020 and 2021, processed 69,000 loans through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), providing more than $11.2 billion in critical funding to small and mid-size businesses.

Learn more about KeyBank’s opportunities and programs for your small business by visiting key.com/small-business. KeyBank offers a range of tools, including the KeyBank Small Business Check-In, KeyBank Small Business Financial Review and the Business Cash Flow Calculator.

Methodology

This survey was conducted online by Survey Monkey. 1,983 respondents, ages 18-99, located in the United States, who own or operate a small-to-medium size business with an annual gross revenue of less than $10 million, completed the survey in March 2024. Learn more about KeyBank’s opportunities and programs for your small business by visiting key.com/small-business. KeyBank offers a range of tools, including the KeyBank Small Business Check-In, KeyBank Small Business Financial Review and the Business Cash Flow Calculator.

CFMA #240508-2592778

This material is presented for informational purposes only and should not be construed as individual tax or financial advice. KeyBank does not provide legal advice. All credit products and SBA Loans are subject to approval, terms, conditions, and availability and subject to change. Key.com is a federally registered service mark of KeyCorp. ©2024 KeyCorp

1Source: Statistics released by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) October 2023 for total approved loans through the SBA’s 7(a) lending program during the federal fiscal year ending 10/2023.

We’d like to extend our sincere gratitude to the courageous men and women who have served and continue to serve our country. As a proud Veteran employer, it’s an honor to work alongside our employees who have served, some of whom are recognized in this post representing colleagues throughout GP. Thank you.

Based in Atlanta, Georgia-Pacific and its subsidiaries are among the world’s leading manufacturers and marketers of bath tissue, paper towels and napkins, tableware, paper-based packaging, cellulose, specialty fibers, nonwoven fabrics, building products and related chemicals. Our familiar consumer brands include Quilted Northern®, Angel Soft®, Brawny®, Dixie®, enMotion®, Sparkle® and Vanity Fair®. Georgia-Pacific has long been a leading supplier of building products to lumber and building materials dealers and large do-it-yourself warehouse retailers. Its Georgia-Pacific Recycling subsidiary is among the world’s largest traders of paper, metal and plastics. The company operates more than 150 facilities and employs more than 30,000 people directly and creates approximately 89,000 jobs indirectly. For more information, visit: gp.com/about-us . For news, visit: gp.com/news

View original content here.