PA Plastics SourceNet Symposium
Roger C. Kipp
An Innovator and Visionary Helping to Expand an Industry
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.
Roger C. Kipp joined McClarin Plastics in Hanover, Pennsylvania, as Vice President of Marketing and Engineering in 1994. McClarin manufactures large thermoformed plastic and fiberglass reinforced plastic components providing production throughout the Midwest and East Coast. As a member of senior management, Kipp has focused on value added contract manufacturing featuring lean principles. In his role as vice president, he oversees those responsible for the process of a project from the sales and marketing to design to project engineering to tooling engineering to quality assurance.
Kipp's passion, contributions, and innovations for the plastics industry began however in the late '60s while a partner in a non-ferrous foundry in Cincinnati, Ohio. Looking at the benefits of value added operations, he saw an opportunity to become a one-stop source for plastic process tooling by combining pattern making with foundry and machining skills. This vision produced the groundwork in 1968 for Kipp to develop the first cast-to-form aluminum injection mold for a major Cincinnati manufacturer. Shortly thereafter, the venture expanded to include tooling heavy gauge sheet thermoforming, rotational molding, compression molding and numerous other processes.
From 1967 through 1983, Kipp partnered with his father and brother to grow their pattern and foundry business in Cincinnati. As operations manager and treasurer, he focused on business development with the expansion of a permanent mold division and the creation of a plastics tooling division. In 1983 spun off the plastics tooling division from the family foundry.
For over 25 years, Kipp devoted his attention to the construction of aluminum tooling. He developed innovative processes which improved heat transfer, developed techniques for forming undercuts, designed molded-in inserts, and improved overall cast tooling quality.
As the industry evolved, so did Kipp's focus. 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.
In 1987, Kipp directed the start-up of vacuum forming and rotational molding facility in Sidney, Ohio. While he continued to oversee tooling construction, this position saw Kipp's first foray into the sales and marketing aspects of the industry. It was in this capacity that he developed millions of dollars of new plastics applications by introducing plastics innovation to numerous markets, including waste management, agriculture and construction equipment, sound systems, air handling, and playground equipment. Kipp moved to Pennsylvania, accepting his current position at McClarin Plastics seven years later.
Kipp makes it a priority to be involved in strategic and functional initiatives to further McClarin Plastics, as well as the plastics industry through affiliation with various professional organizations. In 1992, he 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).
As a member of the Society, he has served as the Communications Committee Chair (2007-2009), Communications Committee Member (2009-2010) and on the Foundation Executive Committee (2007-2010). He is also currently serving as a committee member on the Corporate Outreach Committee (2008-2010).
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.
Adding to his activities with the Society of Plastics Engineers, Kipp also servers 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 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 Bachelor of Science in Manufacturing Engineering, he accepted a part-time, associate professor position teaching manufacturing processes at his alma mater, Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.
Since then, Kipp has assisted in the development of numerous industry-wide educational programs as well as a comprehensive, in-house program as McClarin Plastics. The McClarin program offers its 200 employees about 40 classes with content that covers such topics as blueprint reading, lean certification, metrology, and economics.
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.
He and his wife Sandy currently reside in Hanover, PA. They have three children and five grandchildren. Mr. Kipp is an alumnus of Miami University and has volunteered in their Alumni Recruiter Organization.