News & Updates

Jim joined Smart Plastic Technologies after spending a few decades using his graphic arts skills in the print and packaging industries. As our Product Sales Specialist, Jim brings these decades of print experience to the team and has extensive knowledge in converting and plastic materials.

Jim uses his previous plastic materials and packaging experience to bring new ideas and solutions to the table at Smart Plastic HQ. His current professional goals include growing commercial sales for SPTek additives and products while increasing our customer’s knowledge of SPTek technology. Educating our customers is an integral part of Jim’s job; He wants to ensure customers have extensive knowledge of the technology and the SPTek solutions available to communicate with their clients confidently.

Starting his career in sheetfed printing, Jim has moved through various levels of leadership positions. A few roles include procurement, sourcing, operations management, and sales management. At one time, he was an estimating instructor for the Print Industry of Illinois too. Jim has become passionate about polymer sustainability after working in the industry, in various roles, for years. Jim is an experienced group fitness instructor, cyclist, and two-time Chicago Marathon finisher with a love for German Shepherds, music, and Jeeps.

We believe in the power and capability future generations have in creating a better world for everyone, and we are thrilled to help foster those individuals’ passions and experiences through our internship program. Let’s introduce one of our interns right now!

Chelsea Ganzman will be a senior at Temple University this fall where she is studying Environmental Studies, Political Science, and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). With a strong passion and interest in environmental studies, Chelsea is hoping to start her career in corporate sustainability or CSR.

This summer Chelsea is our Project Support Intern. She will be working on various projects including conducting fundamental research, collaborating on project management tasks, and ensuring daily tasks with Smart Plastic employees are completed.

“I have been looking forward to this summer internship for months, and I am so happy that it is finally time to work for such a great company whose impacts are large and significant in the environmental and economic realm. I am most excited to learn more about the plastics-related field, specifically, the technology and additives used, as well as how SPT's plastics are such a sustainable alternative and the way of the future. The company's goals and accomplishments have motivated me to not only learn more about the plastics' related sector but to learn how I can be of significance and importance to this company and how we can learn from each other.”

We are thrilled to have Chelsea on board as an integral member of our team!

As a true advocate for the health of our planet and its inhabitants, Tim has endeavored to build a strong leadership team that will take Smart Plastic to new heights. In 2022, Tim will establish and lead the Smart Foundation, which will sponsor scholarships to students pursuing an education in sustainability studies.

Since Smart Plastic’s founding, Tim has led the management team in developing a global market presence. Different from management, leadership cannot be taught, although it may be learned and enhanced through experience. Honed through the challenges of business throughout the decades, Tim has developed and demonstrated strong leadership skills. He manages under the belief of leading by example, rolling up his sleeves, and inspiring others to engage in achieving a goal.

In addition to his sustainability work, Tim is a strong supporter of child advocacy and has received numerous awards as both a child advocate and philanthropist. He established the Second Chance Foundation and Second Chance Ranch, a home for teenage boys who are victims of abuse and neglect. Tim and his wife, Leslie, adopted a child from the Foundation and currently reside in Knoxville together.

Tim's entrepreneurial experience spans more than 50 years, ranging from decades in real estate development, launching the first consumer VOIP network prepaid calling card company in the US, to founding Smart Plastic Technologies in 2016. A true visionary, analytical thinker, and problem solver who enjoys an international reputation as an ethical and reliable businessman, Tim will establish and lead the Smart Foundation, which will sponsor scholarships to students pursuing an education in sustainability studies.

In 2022, Tim will establish and lead the Smart Foundation, which will sponsor scholarships to students pursuing an education in sustainability studies.

Smart Plastics Technologies is pleased to announce the addition of Bill Flynn as a new Sales Specialist. Bill shares the corporate mission and passion for environmental sustainability and is ready to work alongside the Smart Plastic team to transform how our world uses and discards plastic.

As a Sales Specialist, Bill will be focusing on generating commercial sales of ECLIPSE™ Stretch Film. For the remainder of 2022, Bill hopes to meet and surpass his own personal business goals, while intimately studying, and potentially selling, the complete line of SPTek polymer additives.

Bill’s previous experience includes the founding of his own Manufacturers Representative Agency with a concentration on flexible packaging where he engineered the building of a global buy/sell platform for PPE products. In keeping with his entrepreneurial spirit, Bill also founded a boutique consultancy firm that originated and placed debt and equity positions for startup companies and Joint Venture Partnerships.

Bill’s additional experience includes distribution sales in paper and commercial printing on a national and global level while creating a profitable and ongoing book of business with a major blue-chip distributor based out of NYC and New Jersey. Bill is centrally located in Chicago just outside the Smart Plastic corporate headquarters in Buffalo Grove, IL.

Marty is focused on West Coast sales for Smart Plastic and prides himself on being a market educator in addition to his sales role. He also plays a pivotal role in Smart Plastic’s Market Development for both additives and bio-based resin opportunities.

Marty has three main goals for the remainder of 2022; establish an extensive ECLIPSE™ Stretch Film end-user customer base, find three new product opportunities for SPTek additives, and expand his knowledge and participation in closed-loop and PCR solutions for the recycling market.

Marty is dedicated and passionate about the development of new packaging solutions and has been fortunate to be a part of several packaging organizations in senior sales positions including All American Containers and Diablo Valley Packaging.

Marty currently resides in northern California where his care and concern for the environment overlaps with his many hobbies including fishing, gardening, hiking, and working with livestock.

To reach out to Marty, please visit our Contact page.

In his role, Mariano will help align the strategic vision across all fronts of the business, develop and institute a long-term strategic plan along with its shorter-term milestones, and design a methodology to prioritize growth opportunities.

In 2022, Mariano’s focus will be on raising growth capital for key technology commercialization and capacity expansion. This will include plant, equipment, and infrastructure expansions for biobased polymer development. Investors who are looking for more information on Smart Plastic should connect with Mariano to discuss all available opportunities.

Contact Mariano

About Mariano Gonzalez

Over the past 20 years, Mariano Gonzalez has held executive positions in Investment Banking, Corporate Development, Strategic Planning, and Private Equity across the US, Europe, and Latin America. He currently serves on the Board of Learning Upgrade, a San Diego-based EdTech remote learning company and winner of the 2019 X-Prize foundation competition. Gonzalez is a member of YPO’s NY Liberty chapter and recently served as CEO of Project Laundry, a PE-backed company in the New York area. Gonzalez received his MBA from Kellogg in Chicago and was a Sloan Fellow at London Business School where he received a Masters's in Leadership and Strategy. He is currently a member of the Board of Rising Ground, a 190-year-old education foundation in New York. He is fluent in English, Portuguese, and Spanish and enjoys fencing, basketball, soccer, and participating in Circular Economy initiatives.

Ahead of a busy year, Smart Plastic has tapped Consumer Products Executive Michael Scanlan to head strategic partnerships for the company. This hire comes on the heels of a successful 2021 where the company experienced record growth across all metrics.

Scanlan will be responsible for managing the Company’s key strategic partnerships which have been formally developed from several years of intense development work. In this role, Scanlan will be leading the sales and business development efforts in support of Smart Plastic Technologies’ three mission-critical cornerstones: ECLIPSE™ bio-assimilation technology, bio-based resin systems, and closed-loop recycling programs. Scanlan will be working collaboratively with strategic partners to help them achieve their sustainability goals by reducing the environmental impact of plastic.

“We are thrilled to have Michael join the Smart Plastic team. Michael brings a wealth of leadership and expertise in both B2B and B2C brand development. Michael will lead and guide our strategic partner programs nationally and globally, and immediately gives Smart Plastic a west coast -- Los Angeles -- base of operations.” - Jay Tapp, President & COO of Smart Plastic Technologies.

About Michael Scanlan

Michael Scanlan has enjoyed a fast-paced career partnering with various consumer products companies to build brands, transform relationships, and delight consumers. With leadership experiences ranging from ground floor start-ups to global multi-nationals, Michael’s executive experience includes SVP of Sales at Diamond Wipes Intl. Inc., VP of Sales for Advanced Bio Development Inc., Global Team Lead at Nestle Waters, and Director of Sales for the Sweet Leaf Tea Company.