PA Plastics SourceNet Symposium
Mr. Roger C. Kipp
Mr. Roger C. Kipp is vice president of marketing and engineering at McClarin Plastics, Inc., Located in Hanover, PA, McClarin Plastics is a leader in heavy gauge thermoforming and fiberglass molding. His contributions to the plastics industry include hands-on development of tooling innovation, processes and procedures, furthering education initiatives, and developing successful business models.
Kipp became a board member of the Society of Plastics Engineers' Thermoforming Division. Since then, he's maintained an active role in the organization by serving as conference chairman (1996), conference treasurer, division treasurer (2000-2002), chairman (2003-2006), and past chair (2006-2008). He also served as a division director from 1997 to 2000 and is currently a division councilor (2007-2010). In 2002, the SPE Thermoforming Division honored Kipp with the Outstanding Achievement Award. Additional recognition was given in 2003 with the Lifetime Outstanding Achievement Award and again in 2008 with the Honored Service Member Award.
Kipp also serves as a member of the Plastics Manufacturing Center's Advisory Board at Pennsylvania College of Technology, an affiliate of Penn State University. Through them, he is active with the Pennsylvania Plastics Initiative and was instrumental in the conception and development of the Thermoforming Center of Excellence.
Most recently, Kipp accepted a position on the board of directors of MANTEC, a Pennsylvania Industrial Resource Center. His passion and interest toward the future of manufacturing can be seen in his affinity for education. Shortly after receiving his BS in manufacturing engineering, he accepted a part-time, associate professor position teaching manufacturing processes at his alma mater, Miami University in Oxford, OH.
Kipp's fervent belief in the teaching of tomorrow's worker also made him instrumental in supporting McClarin's aggressive programs focused on area high school students. These programs, which include job fairs; internships; and hand-on projects, are designed to spark interest in the industry and expose students to opportunities within the field. Students active in the program receive early exposure to the manufacturing arena and access to Kipp's extensive knowledge and experience in the plastics industry.
For over 25 years, Kipp devoted his attention to the construction of aluminum tooling. He developed innovative processes that improved heat transfer, developed techniques for forming undercuts, designed molded-in inserts, and improved overall cast tooling quality. His many years of working with captive forming and molding operations led to a growing interest in developing new plastic components that extended beyond tooling. He capitalized on his knowledge of various metals with regard to their values and limitations. Utilizing his tooling engineering expertise, he turned his attention to the expansion of large part thermoforming applications and markets with an emphasis on metal-to-plastic conversion.