# Summer 2004

# Last Modification Date: May 19, 2010

### Trade & Industry Development Magazine

![](https://www.tradeandindustrydev.com/sites/tradeandindustrydev.com/files/trade_and_industry_development/nodes/2004/226/issue_Summer_04_AnimCover.gif) 

Determining your company’s needs and finding places or solutions to satisfy them is a daunting task. Hopefully this edition of *Trade & Industry Development* will help the decision making process. A good place to start is our two-part “Special Report,” where experts offer excellent advice in assessing your company’s needs, both internally and externally. Once you determine to take the process further, look to our “Feature” articles for solutions in the plastics and manufacturing sectors. If you are considering expansion and need a cost effective way to do it, look to the federal government. In the article entitled ‘Get in the Fast Lane,’ many options are available to companies needing efficient space and a qualified workforce. Finally, for an overview of the plastics and manufacturing sectors, look to the “Industry Outlooks” provided by SPI an NAM. These national associations provide unique perspectives on the economic recovery for their respective industries.

[View other issues ](https://www.tradeandindustrydev.com/issue-list.md) <a href="" target="_blank"> Click here for digital version </a>

## In this issue

###  [Mississippi: A Polymer Revolution in Mississippi](https://www.tradeandindustrydev.com/region/mississippi/mississippi-polymer-revolution-mississippi-420.md) 

BY:  [ Leland R. Speed](https://www.tradeandindustrydev.com/tid-author/leland-r-speed-90.md) In the heart of the Mississippi pineland, high school students work diligent on a donated, 85-ton press. In addition to the regular courses of reading, writing and arithmetic, lessons in plastics materials, CAD, mold making, RTV silicone casting and injection molding are being taught at Petal High School near Hattiesburg, Mississippi. A new generation of polymer experts is being born through the school’s Polymer Technology Center, a two-year vocational program that grooms students for careers in polymer science and plastics manufacturing. [more....](https://www.tradeandindustrydev.com/region/mississippi/mississippi-polymer-revolution-mississippi-420.md)

Features

1

[Get in the Fast Lane](https://www.tradeandindustrydev.com/industry/manufacturing/get-fast-lane-414.md)

2

[Making the Best of Location Decisions in the Plastics Industry](https://www.tradeandindustrydev.com/industry/plastics/making-best-location-decisions-plastics-industry-415.md)

Outlooks

1

[Plastics Outlook](https://www.tradeandindustrydev.com/industry/plastics/plastics-outlook-416.md)

2

[Manufacturing Industry Outlook](https://www.tradeandindustrydev.com/industry/manufacturing/manufacturing-industry-outlook-417.md)

Special Reports

1

[Building Logistics: Planning for Facility Expansion Needs](https://www.tradeandindustrydev.com/industry/logistics-warehousing-distribution/building-logistics-planning-facility-expansion-422.md)

2

[Location Strategic Planning](https://www.tradeandindustrydev.com/industry/logistics-warehousing-distribution/location-strategic-planning-423.md)

Spotlights

1

[Pennsylvania: Hot Spot for the Plastics Industry](https://www.tradeandindustrydev.com/region/pennsylvania/pennsylvania-hot-spot-plastics-industry-418.md)

2

[New York: A Growth Area for Technology Firms](https://www.tradeandindustrydev.com/region/new-york/new-york-growth-area-technology-firms-419.md)

3

[Mississippi: A Polymer Revolution in Mississippi](https://www.tradeandindustrydev.com/region/mississippi/mississippi-polymer-revolution-mississippi-420.md)

4

[Missouri](https://www.tradeandindustrydev.com/region/missouri/missouri-421.md)

## Video

- [Start with the American Dream.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dPZJzA7f5M)