PVC Formulation Specialist
Charles G. Reid, PhD
PVC Formulation Specialist Charles G. Reid, PhD
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Dr. Reid is a mechanical and materials engineer with more than 35 years of proven expertise in polymeric materials production, formulation, compounding, sales, processing and article applications in durable industries. His expertise in flexible PVC, polyolefins (PP, PE), ethylene elastomers (POE, EPDM), thermoplastic elastomers (TPE-S, TPV), and crosslinking of XLPE and other polymers. His knowledge is from beginning to end of polymeric materials; from reactor designs, catalysis, to formulation, compounding lines and end use applications.
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KEY TOPICAL AREAS
Polymers:
PVC, PE, PP, TPO, EVA, EBA, EEA, POE, EPDM, TPE, SEBS, TPV, XPLE, XLPO
Compounding:
High speed powder blending
Twin screw (co-rotating and counter-rotating), FCM, LCM
Buss kneaders
Banbury internal mixers
Applications:
Extruded articles: wire and cable, profiles, hose & tube, weather sealing, multi-
durometer materials.
Injection molded article: shot size from 2 oz to 30 lbs, multi-shot parts, soft over hard.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
2014 - Current
Manner Polymers, Inc, McKinney, Texas
Privately held company, supplier of flexible PVC compounds to several markets.
Vice President of Product Technology (2014-2024)
Senior Technical Advisor (2024- ) – part time role
Reporting to the president/owner. Manage all aspects of product formulation from raw material vendor selection through customer technical services. Provide internal support for manufacturing and quality control
2010 - 2013
Specialized Technology Resources, Inc (STR Solar), Enfield, Connecticut
Public company (NYSE:STRI), $95 million revenue; supplier of plastic encapsulant film to the solar energy market.
STR moved from private equity to public via IPO in Q4-2009.
Chief Technology Officer & Global Director of Engineering
Trusted member of the senior management team reporting to CEO. Collaborative contributor to the enterprise value. Directed and led global technology strategy, R&D, Technical Services, and Manufacturing Engineering for production of extruded films for solar module production. Production facilities in: Connecticut, Spain, Malaysia, and China.
2009 - Current
Manzanita Consulting (LLC, dba)
Principal: Technical and marketing consultant for clients in plastics applications at a single member LLC.
1999 - 2008
Solvay Engineered Polymers, Inc., Mansfield and Grand Prairie, Texas
Solvay is a €12 billion Belgium specialty chemical company. LyondellBasell acquired this division from Solvay in 2008.
LyondellBasell is a $45 billion chemical and plastic company, and is a member of the S&P 500 index.
Technology Manager, Specialty & New Business Development, 2006 - 2008
Directed strategic product development and marketing for new business development with targeted growth into new market segments. Products were formulated polypropylene composites (mineral and glass filled) and thermoplastic elastomers.
Business Manager, Automotive Interiors Business Unit, 2003 - 2006
Accountable for P&L, marketing, market research, sales and R&D of global business unit consisting of specialty compounded polyolefin alloys for automotive interior safety applications.
Development Manager, 2001 - 2003
Directed R&D teams (12 people) working on new polymer technologies and product development. Managed the interface between R&D and marketing for new product lines.
Senior Engineer and Group Leader, Specialty Products, 1999 - 2000
Managed a team for development of new reactively processed polymer alloys (TPV).
1989 - 1999
Union Carbide Corporation, Specialty Polyolefins R&D
Union Carbide, a globally based $10 billion integrated chemicals and plastics company, was acquired by The Dow Chemical Company in 2001.
1996 - 1999
Development Scientist and Group Leader, Wire & Cable Group
Project Leader for materials R&D group of 14, focused on polyolefin materials used for solid-dielectric insulated power cables rated 5-500 kV for the electrical utility industry.
1992 - 1996
Project Scientist
Managed projects to increase production capacity and improve quality of specialty compounded polyolefins and crosslinked polyethylene (XLPE, EVA, EEA, POE) for the global wire and cable market.
1989 - 1992
Senior Engineer
Developed improvements in existing products and assessed new technologies in extruded applications for wire and cable and pressure pipe. Worked both with high pressure tubular and Unipol polyethylene reactors.
EDUCATION
Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, polymer materials science emphasis, University of Colorado at Boulder
M.S., Mechanical Engineering, analytical mechanics emphasis, University of Colorado at Boulder
B.S., Physics / Liberal Arts, Lewis and Clark College, Portland, Oregon
INVITED SPEAKER
C.G. Reid, “UV Testing – 20 years of Data Showing Value for Extended UV Testing of Encapsulant Materials,” Solar Power International, Workshops on Bankability, Chicago, IL, October 2013.
CG. Reid, J. Bokria, and J. Woods, “UV Aging and Outdoor Exposure Correlation for EVA PV Encapsulant,”
Proceedings of SPIE, Vol 8825-08, Reliability of Photovoltaic Cells, Modules, Components and Systems VI, August 2013;
Polymers in Photovoltaics, AMI LLC, Philadelphia, PA, September 2013.
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
Society of Automotive Engineers: Member of the SAE Cable Committee.
Society of Plastics Engineers: Senior Member. Presented more than 10 papers at topical conferences for the Detroit and Automotive Sections, and at the Thermoplastic Elastomer special interest group (2000-09).
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers: Member, Technology Management Division, Power Engineering Society, Insulated Conductor Committee (ICC), Voting member, 1997-99. Presented papers at multiple PES-ICC meetings.
American Chemical Society: Member of Polymer Chemistry, Polymer Materials Science and Engineering, and Rubber Divisions. Participated at multiple national, regional and local meetings.
American Society of Mechanical Engineers: Member since 1988, participant in local sections.
International Photovoltaic Quality Assurance: Active participant on Task Force 5, UV aging. International team led by NREL in USA (2012-2014).
PATENTS, selected (inventor on six granted patent families)
K. Cai, H. Colvin, C.G. Reid, H. Tran, “Co-Agents for the Preparation of Thermoplastic Elastomeric Blends of Rubber and Polyolefins,” US Patent 6,890,990, granted May 10, 2005.
X. Zhao, H. Tran, C.G. Reid, “Melt Strength Thermoplastic Elastomers and Methods for Making Same,” US Patent 6,602,956, granted August 5, 2003.
C.G. Reid, N.M. Burns, “Cable Semiconductive Shield,” US Patent 6,086,792, granted July 11, 2000.
Assisted with writing, and prosecuting numerous additional patent applications by team members and direct reports.
PUBLICATIONS, selected (author/presenter for over 50 papers)
C.G. Reid, S. Ferrigan, I. Fidalgo and J. Woods, “Contribution of PV Encapsulant Composition to Reduction of Potential Induced Degradation (PID) of Crystalline Silicon PV Cells,” Proceedings of the 28th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference, 2013.
C.G. Reid, S. Bafna, K.G. Cai, and H. Pham, “Materials for Side Impact,” Proceedings of the SPE Automotive TPO Global Conference 2006, Sterling Heights, MI, 2006.
C.G. Reid, S. Bafna, K.G. Cai, and H. Pham, “Soft Polyolefin Materials for Automotive Interior Applications,” Proceedings of the SPE Automotive TPO Global Conference 2005, Sterling Heights, MI, 2005.
C.G. Reid, "Advantages of Managing Energy in Automotive Interiors using Compounded Polyolefin Based Materials," Body Engineering Journal, Spring 2005.
C.G. Reid, K.G. Cai, H. Tran, and N. Vennemann, “Polyolefin TPV for Automotive Interior Applications,” KGK Kautschuk Gummi Kunstoffe, Vol 57, Nr. 5, p 227, 2004.
C.G. Reid and H. Tavakoli, “Engineered Polyolefins for Non-Painted Automotive Interior Skins with Very Low Gloss and Mar Resistance,” Proceedings of the SPE Automotive TPO Global Conference, Dearborn, MI, 2003.
AWARDS
Best Paper Awards: Automotive Interior Session, Society of Plastics Engineers, Detroit Section, Automotive TPO Global Conference, 2002 and 2003.
Union Carbide Corporate Awards (1991-1999)
Polymers:
PVC, PE, PP, TPO, EVA, EBA, EEA, POE, EPDM, TPE, SEBS, TPV, XPLE, XLPO
Compounding:
High speed powder blending
Twin screw (co-rotating and counter-rotating), FCM, LCM
Buss kneaders
Banbury internal mixers
Applications:
Extruded articles: wire and cable, profiles, hose & tube, weather sealing, multi-
durometer materials.
Injection molded article: shot size from 2 oz to 30 lbs, multi-shot parts, soft over hard.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
2014 - Current
Manner Polymers, Inc, McKinney, Texas
Privately held company, supplier of flexible PVC compounds to several markets.
Vice President of Product Technology (2014-2024)
Senior Technical Advisor (2024- ) – part time role
Reporting to the president/owner. Manage all aspects of product formulation from raw material vendor selection through customer technical services. Provide internal support for manufacturing and quality control
- Managed the technical service organization to provide world class customer support with industry leading response times for recommendations and resolutions.
- Led technical group of engineers and scientist to develop and improve industry leading flexible PVC compounds that bring value to customers.
- Provide expertise on material selection to manufacturers of wire and cable for applications that require compliance and certification to NEC, UL, CSA, SAE and ISO cable specifications.
- Obtained agency listings and customer approvals for family of compounds that are registered NSF-51 for food contact, and NSF-61 for potable water applications.
2010 - 2013
Specialized Technology Resources, Inc (STR Solar), Enfield, Connecticut
Public company (NYSE:STRI), $95 million revenue; supplier of plastic encapsulant film to the solar energy market.
STR moved from private equity to public via IPO in Q4-2009.
Chief Technology Officer & Global Director of Engineering
Trusted member of the senior management team reporting to CEO. Collaborative contributor to the enterprise value. Directed and led global technology strategy, R&D, Technical Services, and Manufacturing Engineering for production of extruded films for solar module production. Production facilities in: Connecticut, Spain, Malaysia, and China.
- Guided decision-making process of management team and Board of Directors for R&D investment at STR Solar.
- Grew revenue from new products, 5% to 30%, due to increased investment in R&D from 0.3 to 5% of sales.
- Directed development of formulated products for major existing customer and to gain share in Asian region.
- Recruited senior technical staff and oversaw construction of new laboratory facilities in four countries.
- Expanded Technology group from 5 to 26 people and fostered cooperative teamwork between different locations.
- Managed annual budgets over $10 million and capital project budgets up to $5 million.
- Directed IP strategy and facilitated three patent application filings (USA and International) for new products.
- Created a culture of empowerment and fostered innovation and risk taking within the global R&D organization.
- Provided training, processes, and technical solutions to other departments, including sales, marketing, procurement, manufacturing, quality, and logistics.
2009 - Current
Manzanita Consulting (LLC, dba)
Principal: Technical and marketing consultant for clients in plastics applications at a single member LLC.
- Created revenue streams from four manufacturing customers within one year of forming the company.
- Developed and implemented several customized materials for injection molded and compression laminated components of roofing shingle integrated solar modules. SRS Energy launched this product in 2009.
- Established commercial sales of thermoplastic elastomers (TPE, TPV) as sales agent for Enplast Americas Inc.
1999 - 2008
Solvay Engineered Polymers, Inc., Mansfield and Grand Prairie, Texas
Solvay is a €12 billion Belgium specialty chemical company. LyondellBasell acquired this division from Solvay in 2008.
LyondellBasell is a $45 billion chemical and plastic company, and is a member of the S&P 500 index.
Technology Manager, Specialty & New Business Development, 2006 - 2008
Directed strategic product development and marketing for new business development with targeted growth into new market segments. Products were formulated polypropylene composites (mineral and glass filled) and thermoplastic elastomers.
- Led multiple application developments for new business projects with potential revenue of $30 million/yr.
- Accountable for innovation, new platform and product developments for new business with six direct reports in R&D.
- Developed processes for valuation and assessment of success for new market applications in medical devices, plumbing, food equipment, fuel systems, solar energy, and electrical and electronic applications.
Business Manager, Automotive Interiors Business Unit, 2003 - 2006
Accountable for P&L, marketing, market research, sales and R&D of global business unit consisting of specialty compounded polyolefin alloys for automotive interior safety applications.
- Increased revenue from $13 to $37 million (CAGR of 31%) through sales growth into new market segments.
- Improved contribution margin at CAGR of 36% through continuous cost improvement of the portfolio.
- Developed and drove projects based upon financial value and probability of success.
- Directed development of new TPO instrument panel grades and achieved the only approval by a non-Japanese company for use at a major Japanese automotive OEM in North America.
- Implemented bi-weekly, cross-functional team meetings between sales, R&D, and manufacturing.
- Improved focus at all business levels through segmentation into three key targets: automotive instrument panel and trim, automotive safety systems, and heavy truck interior.
Development Manager, 2001 - 2003
Directed R&D teams (12 people) working on new polymer technologies and product development. Managed the interface between R&D and marketing for new product lines.
- Implemented staged development process for major R&D projects.
- Directed technology development and manufacturing scale-up of product platforms for new business applications with TPO and TPE. Increased revenues from $2 to $25 million between 2001-07.
- Led an R&D team for development and commercial support of reinforced polypropylene (PP) based grades for thick sheet extrusion and thermoforming to replace engineered polymers in structural and decorative applications.
- Developed and commercialized scratch-resistant thermoplastic polyolefin (TPO) soft skins as replacement for PVC in for automotive and industrial use in thermoformed application.
Senior Engineer and Group Leader, Specialty Products, 1999 - 2000
Managed a team for development of new reactively processed polymer alloys (TPV).
- Established new product and process technology for dynamically vulcanized thermoplastic elastomers.
- Fostered innovation and teamwork for development of new product lines. Four patents were issued for this project.
- Key member of acquisition teams for technical and IP due diligence of acquisition targets for TPV business.
1989 - 1999
Union Carbide Corporation, Specialty Polyolefins R&D
Union Carbide, a globally based $10 billion integrated chemicals and plastics company, was acquired by The Dow Chemical Company in 2001.
1996 - 1999
Development Scientist and Group Leader, Wire & Cable Group
Project Leader for materials R&D group of 14, focused on polyolefin materials used for solid-dielectric insulated power cables rated 5-500 kV for the electrical utility industry.
- Directed research, product development, and technical service for a $100 million global product line. Managed project budgets of $500k/yr. Provided technical expertise and training for regional technical centers in Geneva, Tokyo, Taipei, Manila, and Sao Paulo. Worked in partnership with key raw material suppliers to deploy new technology opportunities, continuously improve quality, and remove product cost.
- Developed new products for export to European market and secured customer validation of power cables with these materials. This work helped to establish 30% European market share for power cable semi-conductive materials.
- Successfully defended patent applications in European patent court against opposition from Borealis.
- Translated and launched a new polymer product line from a Japanese JV into a USA based global-scale production plant. Earnings from this small specialty product line doubled the earnings for the segment portfolio.
- Requested by customers and internal management to create and implement high-level solutions for cross-organizational teams.
1992 - 1996
Project Scientist
Managed projects to increase production capacity and improve quality of specialty compounded polyolefins and crosslinked polyethylene (XLPE, EVA, EEA, POE) for the global wire and cable market.
1989 - 1992
Senior Engineer
Developed improvements in existing products and assessed new technologies in extruded applications for wire and cable and pressure pipe. Worked both with high pressure tubular and Unipol polyethylene reactors.
EDUCATION
Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, polymer materials science emphasis, University of Colorado at Boulder
M.S., Mechanical Engineering, analytical mechanics emphasis, University of Colorado at Boulder
B.S., Physics / Liberal Arts, Lewis and Clark College, Portland, Oregon
INVITED SPEAKER
C.G. Reid, “UV Testing – 20 years of Data Showing Value for Extended UV Testing of Encapsulant Materials,” Solar Power International, Workshops on Bankability, Chicago, IL, October 2013.
CG. Reid, J. Bokria, and J. Woods, “UV Aging and Outdoor Exposure Correlation for EVA PV Encapsulant,”
Proceedings of SPIE, Vol 8825-08, Reliability of Photovoltaic Cells, Modules, Components and Systems VI, August 2013;
Polymers in Photovoltaics, AMI LLC, Philadelphia, PA, September 2013.
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
Society of Automotive Engineers: Member of the SAE Cable Committee.
Society of Plastics Engineers: Senior Member. Presented more than 10 papers at topical conferences for the Detroit and Automotive Sections, and at the Thermoplastic Elastomer special interest group (2000-09).
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers: Member, Technology Management Division, Power Engineering Society, Insulated Conductor Committee (ICC), Voting member, 1997-99. Presented papers at multiple PES-ICC meetings.
American Chemical Society: Member of Polymer Chemistry, Polymer Materials Science and Engineering, and Rubber Divisions. Participated at multiple national, regional and local meetings.
American Society of Mechanical Engineers: Member since 1988, participant in local sections.
International Photovoltaic Quality Assurance: Active participant on Task Force 5, UV aging. International team led by NREL in USA (2012-2014).
PATENTS, selected (inventor on six granted patent families)
K. Cai, H. Colvin, C.G. Reid, H. Tran, “Co-Agents for the Preparation of Thermoplastic Elastomeric Blends of Rubber and Polyolefins,” US Patent 6,890,990, granted May 10, 2005.
X. Zhao, H. Tran, C.G. Reid, “Melt Strength Thermoplastic Elastomers and Methods for Making Same,” US Patent 6,602,956, granted August 5, 2003.
C.G. Reid, N.M. Burns, “Cable Semiconductive Shield,” US Patent 6,086,792, granted July 11, 2000.
Assisted with writing, and prosecuting numerous additional patent applications by team members and direct reports.
PUBLICATIONS, selected (author/presenter for over 50 papers)
C.G. Reid, S. Ferrigan, I. Fidalgo and J. Woods, “Contribution of PV Encapsulant Composition to Reduction of Potential Induced Degradation (PID) of Crystalline Silicon PV Cells,” Proceedings of the 28th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference, 2013.
C.G. Reid, S. Bafna, K.G. Cai, and H. Pham, “Materials for Side Impact,” Proceedings of the SPE Automotive TPO Global Conference 2006, Sterling Heights, MI, 2006.
C.G. Reid, S. Bafna, K.G. Cai, and H. Pham, “Soft Polyolefin Materials for Automotive Interior Applications,” Proceedings of the SPE Automotive TPO Global Conference 2005, Sterling Heights, MI, 2005.
C.G. Reid, "Advantages of Managing Energy in Automotive Interiors using Compounded Polyolefin Based Materials," Body Engineering Journal, Spring 2005.
C.G. Reid, K.G. Cai, H. Tran, and N. Vennemann, “Polyolefin TPV for Automotive Interior Applications,” KGK Kautschuk Gummi Kunstoffe, Vol 57, Nr. 5, p 227, 2004.
C.G. Reid and H. Tavakoli, “Engineered Polyolefins for Non-Painted Automotive Interior Skins with Very Low Gloss and Mar Resistance,” Proceedings of the SPE Automotive TPO Global Conference, Dearborn, MI, 2003.
AWARDS
Best Paper Awards: Automotive Interior Session, Society of Plastics Engineers, Detroit Section, Automotive TPO Global Conference, 2002 and 2003.
Union Carbide Corporate Awards (1991-1999)
- Union Carbide Corporate Fellows Technology Award, 1994. Selected out of 100 young R&D employees by Corporate Fellows.
- Union Carbide Corporate Special Recognition Awards, (annually) 1991-96.
- Union Carbide - Specialty Polyolefins Department Team Recognition Awards, 1993, '96 and '97.
- Union Carbide - Excellence Award, product improvement team, 1997-98.