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With the second successful  going on as I write this, processors that engage with Plastics Technology might want to plan for our some or all of our next activities. Let me please act as your tour guide.

• Top Shops 2023: Executive Editor Tony Deligio heads up this annual benchmarking survey of injection molders. As he put it in a recent blog on the ptonline.com website, “It’s one thing to have a handle on your company’s performance within its four walls, it’s another to see how that performance stacks up outside your own ´óÏó´«Ã½.”

The Top Shops survey is intended to do just that. Now in its seventh year, Top Shops is a benchmarking and recognition program designed to help molders understand, measure and assess how their ´óÏó´«Ã½ compares with similar ´óÏó´«Ã½es. All U.S. molding operations, regardless of size, industries served and location, are encouraged to participate.

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The in-depth survey measures a variety of manufacturing metrics for the facility reported, including scrap rate, order lead time, capacity utilization, on-time delivery rate, quality, capital spending, customer retention, sales per employee, sales growth, profit margin, inventory, machine uptime, wages, labor turnover, supply-chain practices, marketing practices, certifications and more. The survey also asks, among other things, profile questions like industries served, as well as materials, processes, tooling types and inspection technology used.

Your clicking finger will need to be in shape to keep track of the activities Plastics Technology has in store for the rest of 2023. (Photo: Getty Images)

Each shop that completes the survey receives a customized report showing responses they entered along with anonymous responses from other participating shops. This relative read indicates how other shops are performing, often providing evidence that higher levels of performance are attainable. The report also indicates which metrics stand out for a shop so they can be sure to maintain their strengths.

The clock is ticking, as the survey closes April 30. Take the survey today and see, as Tony put it, how in shape your shop is. Head to . Look out also for direct links to the survey on our website and in our e-newsletter.

• Molding 2023: We’re keeping Tony busy, since he runs this event as the technical program chair. The Molding 2023 Conference is being held August 29-30 in Minneapolis at the Hyatt Regency. Widely recognized as the most important forum for technical information and networking ​in injection molding, Molding 2023 is where attendees will learn tips, techniques, and best practices to implement at their shops from the industry’s top minds. Maybe you’d like to present? Get in touch with Tony at tdeligio@ptonline.com before he ties a bow around the program.

Tony is assembling the program as I write this. You can point your browser to and sign up to receive email notifications of any updates to this event.

• Extrusion 2023 Conference: I’ve got stuff to do too. will be held Oct. 10-12 in Indianapolis at the Hyatt Regency. I’m the technical program chairman, and this year’s event will focus on sustainability. That is, all presentations will have a sustainability focus, in keeping with a trend that is taking the plastics processing industry by storm.

The Extrusion Conference has been a staple event since it was launched in 2015. As has been the case from the start, this will be a two-and-a-half-day event in which morning sessions will focus on topics of interest to all types of extrusion operations, followed by afternoon talks that hone in on specific processes: film/sheet; pipe/profile/tubing; and compounding.

Email me at jcallari@ptonline.com if you’d like to be considered as a speaker.