UW receives grant to boost Wisconsin’s plastics industry

UW–Madison has received a $600,000 research grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to help enhance sustainable economic growth in the state’s plastics industry cluster.

At a time when original equipment manufacturers are increasingly outsourcing to suppliers in foreign countries, this grant for a university-industry partnership is designed to help Wisconsin increase its competitive advantage in global markets.

Wisconsin ranks 10th in the nation for employment in the plastics industry, totaling more than 53,500 jobs, and ranks 12th in the nation for plastics shipments, totaling $9.9 billion in 2001, according to Plastics Data Source.

“This university-industry-government partnership will drive industrial innovation in ways that will create a sustainable competitive advantage for the Wisconsin plastics industry,” says Raj Veeramani, director of the Wisconsin E-Business Institute and professor in the College of Engineering and School of Business.

The grant from NSF’s Partnership for Innovation Program will be used for research, education and outreach activities to drive innovative plastics product development, foster collaborative innovation networks through e-business, and enhance industrial competitiveness through technology transfer of new polymer materials, processes and tools.

The partnership will be led by the UW Polymer Engineering Center and the UW E-Business Institute, in partnership with the state, other UW System campuses, the state’s technical colleges and corporations in the state’s plastics manufacturing cluster.