PolymerOhio’s Purchasing And Shared Services (PASS) Program includes United Shippers Alliance, a non-profit organization that leverages collective purchasing of trucking charges so that smaller organizations can ship less than a truckload at competitive prices. Working together with MESCA Freight Services, United Shippers is poised to assist Ohio’s plastics industry as it re-energizes and continues its amazing growth, even during the waning economic downturn. “Working together, United Shippers and MESCA have significant buying power that we enable for the hundreds of small-to-medium-size companies that belong to our program,” said Gene Graves, Executive Director, United Shippers. “Using a transportation management system access through a secure website, we can view industry-wide pricing, rate-shop, and schedule to optimize the charges and delivery options for our members…” (which includes companies accessing this service through the PASS Program).

Two weeks after opening its production facility at the National Composite Center (NCC) in July 2009, NanoSperse was shipping product to its customers. “Speed to market is a hallmark of NanoSperse’s success,” said NanoSperse President and CEO, Art Fritts. Fritts said there’s a tremendous interest from numerous business sectors in using nanocomposites in new or existing products. NanoSperse’s focus is to offer these companies the ability to design and develop new materials specific to their needs; then transition them quickly to market.