Expert Details
Polymers, Plastics, Composites, Plastic Pipe, Composite Pipe, and Failure Analysis
ID: 732222
Texas, USA
Expert's consulting service has completed over 250 projects for over 100 International and North American chemicals, plastics materials and plastics manufacturing companies. This service has written eight new product and installation standards at the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) and contributed to the revision and development of over 25 other standards at ASTM, The American Petroleum Institute (API) and the American Water Works Association (AWWA). These projects have covered a diverse variety of plastic materials and applications.
Expert is a Fellow of ASTM and recipient of the ASTM Award of Merit. He has also received the Paul Finn Award, two Special Service Awards and a Certificate of Appreciation Award from ASTM Committee F17 on Plastic Piping Systems. He is currently the Chairman of a committee, a technology and underground infrastructure committee, and past Chairman of Committee F17. Expert has also received the Honored Service Award from the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE). He is past Vice Chairman of API Subcommittee 15, Fiberglass and Thermoplastic Tubulars.
Expert's company has completed well over 200 single client market studies, market penetration analyses and acquisition analyses for a variety of North American and International clients.
He has been the president of a consulting service for 22 years, specializing in commercial, technical and expert witness consulting for the chemicals and plastics industries. Services have included failure analysis, market research, business development, strategic planning, market penetration analysis, market analysis, competitor analysis, new product introductions, acquisition analysis, start-up consulting, as well as R&D and technical consulting in plastic materials, processing, stabilization and expert witness consulting.
Expert deals in Consulting, Failure Analysis, Product Development, Application Development, Technical Services, Research & Development, Strategic Planning, Acquisition Analysis, Sales, Marketing, and Management. Extensive experience in expert witness and litigation consulting. Strong background in product development, emphasizing higher value-added products. Experienced business development and business analysis professional with excellent communications skills.
Education
| Year | Degree | Subject | Institution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year: 1980 | Degree: Ph.D. | Subject: Chemistry | Institution: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute |
| Year: 1968 | Degree: BS | Subject: Chemistry | Institution: Boston College |
Work History
| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
|---|---|---|---|
| Years: 2015 to Present | Employer: Undisclosed | Title: Partner | Department: |
Responsibilities:Providing commercial analysis, technical consulting and laboratory testing services on polymers, polymer analysis, plastic and composite pipe and fittings, plastic and composite pipe and fitting manufacturing, manufacturing audits, quality system analysis and implementation, codes and standards, standards development, regulatory affairs, product approvals and qualifications, acquisition analysis, technology assessments, business cost benefit analysis and failure analysis and litigation support.Among other achievements, Expert has: • Assessed the quality of over 70,000 feet of large diameter polyethylene pipe for a large oil and gas production company. Rejected over 2,000 feet of 36-inch diameter pipe due to manufacturing flaws and imperfections. Provided a report with guidance for the client to conduct its own inspections. • Conducted multiple manufacturing audits of manufacturers of polyethylene pipe for a large oil and gas production company. • Provided market analysis and consulting to evaluate a potential acquisition of a plastic piping manufacturer in Latin America for a financial investment firm. • Provided market analysis and consulting to evaluate a $225 M potential acquisition for a financial investment firm. • Analyzed and tested a sample of large diameter polyethylene pipe and found it to be fraudulent. • Conducted analysis and testing of abrasion resistance of polyethylene pipe. • Provided expert consulting for the failure of a polyethylene pipe system for irrigation. • Provided expert consulting for failures of polyethylene pipe and fittings in copper slurry transport. • Provided analysis and an expert report for a 48-inch diameter profile wall PVC drainage pipe that did not meet codes and standards. |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 1996 to Present | Employer: Undisclosed | Title: President | Department: |
Responsibilities:At his own firm, Expert provides commercial, technical and expert witness consulting for the chemicals and plastics industries. Services include failure analysis, market research, business development, strategic planning, market penetration analysis, market analysis, competitor analysis, new product introductions, acquisition analysis, start-up consulting, as well as R&D and technical consulting in plastic materials, processing, and stabilization. Among other accomplishments, he has:• Provided expert consulting and opinions for plastics failures and civil litigation in more than 70 cases. • Provided expert consulting and opinions for intellectual property, patent, and commercial litigation cases. • Developed new ASTM standards and revised existing standards for composite and plastic piping products. • Prepared the Business Plans for Chem-Tech Mexicana, Chem-Tech Panama and Chem-Tech Houston for the Phoenix Project in Mexico. This included a world class refinery in Panama and 13 secondary petrochemical production plants in Altimira Mexico. Petrochemicals to be produced included acrylonitrile, benzene, butadiene, butenes, ethylene, 2-ethyl hexanol, propylene, styrene, vinyl chloride, o-xylene, p-xylene and mixed xylenes. This was for a $2B investment. • Analyzed the U.S. polyethylene (PE) industry for a foreign company for a potential $600M investment. • Analyzed portions of the U.S. PE industry for a petrochemical company for a new $1,000M investment. • Analyzed the U.S. pipeline industry and markets for a company that made two acquisitions totaling $50 M. • Analyzed the U.S. plastic conduit industry for a company that made two acquisitions totaling $100 M. • Analyzed the N. American Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) pipe and fittings industry for potential acquisitions. • Conducted acquisition analyses of thermoplastic pipe and fittings manufacturers, rigid plastic container manufacturers, and thermoplastic elastomer producers. • Conducted an acquisition analysis of an ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMW PE) manufacturer. • Prepared a business plan and economic justification for a PVC pipe plant in Latin America. • Analyzed and prepared a plant design and request for quotations for a PVC pipe plant in Latin America. • Managed the bidding and contract procedures for processing machinery acquisitions for a PVC pipe plant. • Analyzed and prepared a plant design for an overseas HDPE pipe plant. • Analyzed the North American sanitary sewer and drainage piping industry and markets. • Analyzed North American trenchless technology and pipe rehabilitation industry and markets. • Analyzed the North American High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) industry and markets. • Analyzed the North American Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) pipe and fittings industry and markets • Analyzed the North American Polypropylene (PP) industry and market segments. • Analyzed the North American Chlorinated Polyvinyl Chloride (CPVC) industry and markets. • Analyzed the North American Crosslinked Polyethylene (PEX) industry and markets. • Analyzed the North American Polyethylene (PE) Pipe industry and markets. • Analyzed the North American polyolefin film and film additives industries and markets. • Analyzed the North American polymer compounding industry and markets. • Conducted market analysis of additives and additive demand in the polyolefins industry. • Conducted reviews of the U.S. high performance engineering polymers industry. • Conducted market penetration analysis for a new metallocene polypropylene material. • Conducted market penetration analysis for a new film material. • Conducted market penetration analysis for new plastic piping products. • Analyzed U.S. markets for thermoplastic olefins, elastomers, and vulcanizates. • Analyzed the reinforced and composite pipe industry for a large US chemicals manufacturer. • Developed a long-term growth strategy for a thermoplastic pipe manufacturer. • Surveyed and compared polyethylene pipe compounds and manufacturers for a major US gas utility. • Conducted assessments of new technologies for the trenchless pipe rehabilitation market. • Conducted market analysis for new additives for modification of the surface properties of plastics. • Conducted strategic analysis of business development options for an engineering plastics producer. • Consulted on the long term testing and product approvals for composite and plastic pipe products. • Consulted on the degradation and stabilization of plastics in general and plastic piping products in particular. • Worked on the development of a new test method for the chemical resistance of plastic piping products. |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 1993 to 1996 | Employer: The Plastics Institute | Title: Executive Director | Department: |
Responsibilities:Managed the operations of the trade association representing the North American plastic pipe industry. Acted as spokesperson for the industry and managed relations with federal and state regulatory agencies, national and international standards organizations, regional and national code bodies and independent certifying organizations.• Developed and introduced new divisional structures for the Plastic Pipe Institute that allowed membership growth, from 35 member companies in 1996 to well over 130 member companies currently. • Chaired the Hydrostatic Stress Board of PPI, an industry group that establishes standards and recommends listings for thermoplastic and composite pressure piping products. • Chaired the US Technical Advisory Group for Plastic Piping to The International Organization for Standardization (ISO). • Managed the PPI Task Group developing the Generic Butt Fusion Procedure for Joining PE Pipe. • Managed the PPI Task Group developing the Notched Constant Tensile Load Test for non-pressure pipe. • Created and implemented market development programs for polyethylene piping products. • Managed three personnel, an engineering manager, a technical consultant, and an executive assistant. |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 1980 to 1993 | Employer: Solvay Polymers, Inc. | Title: Marketing Specialist/Business Development | Department: Engineered Compounds Group |
Responsibilities:Responsible for the development, including profit and loss, of a small business unit, including strategic planning, budgeting, pricing, inventory, sales and marketing for four engineering plastics product lines, including IXEF polyarylamide (PARA) and PRIMEF polyphenylene sulfide (PPS). This business unit and these products are now part of Solvay Advanced Materials.• Identified and developed new applications with potential sales of more than $12 M in 12 months. • Developed marketing programs, publicity, advertising, press releases and technical literature. • Managed participation in industrial trade shows and developed direct mail marketing programs. Group Leader for Polypropylene Extrusion Applications – Product Development Dept. (1987-1990) • Developed and commercialized over fifteen new film, sheet and fiber compounds from 1987-1990. • Sales of PP for film and extrusion applications grew by 1250% to 130 M lbs. (>$50 M) in 1992 alone. • Discovered a potential patent infringement and reformulated all standard rheology fiber resins. Cumulative sales of these fiber resins have exceeded more than 1 B lbs. (>$500 M). • Managed nine personnel (5 professionals and 4 technicians) for product development and technical services for film, fiber, sheet extrusion, and thermoforming and specialty applications. Group Leader for Polyethylene Extrusion and Injection Molding – Product Development Dept. (1985-1987) • Developed and commercialized a product line of over 20 PE pipe grade compounds. Annual sales of these compounds, developed from 1983 to 1988, have exceeded 300 M lbs/year since the early 1990’s and cumulative sales of these PE pipe compounds now exceed 7 B lbs. and $5 B. • Managed the development, commercialization and technical support for PE injection molding compounds. Sales of molding compounds grew by 176% and were over 250M lbs. annually in 1992. Sales have been more than 300M lbs./year since the mid 1990’s and cumulative sales exceed 7 B lbs. and $5 B. • Developed and commercialized over thirty polyethylene compounds from 1984-1988. Sales of PE compounds grew by 535% from 1983 to 1989 and exceeded 225 M lbs. ($100 M) in 1992 alone. • Managed 8 personnel (2 professionals and 6 technicians) for product development and technical services for pipe, sheet, thermoforming, injection molding, rotomolding, and geomembranes applications. Senior Research Chemist - Polyethylene Pipe and Sheet Applications –Product Development Dept. (1984-85) Senior Research Chemist - Polypropylene Research and Development Department (1982-83) Research Chemist - Polypropylene Research and Development Department (1980-82) • Over fifteen new polypropylene resins were commercialized from 1980-1984 for multiple applications. • Annual sales for blow molding, sheet extrusion and thermoforming have been more than 200 M lbs. annually and cumulative sales of these compounds well exceed 3 B lbs. and $2 B in sales. |
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Government Experience
| Years | Agency | Role | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Years: 1994 to Present | Agency: Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration | Role: Associate Staff | Description: Education and training of Federal and State Pipeline Safety Regulators |
Career Accomplishments
| Associations / Societies |
|---|
| The American Chemical Society (ACS), Emeritus Member of the American Chemical Society Member, American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM); Vice-Chairman of the American Petroleum Institute (API) Member, American Chemical Society; Member, Composite Repair Users Group (CRUG) Member, Pipeline Rehabilitation Council; Associate Staff U.S. DOT – Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration; Chairman of the Hydrostatic Stress Board (HSB) of the Plastics Pipe Institute; Member of the Hydrostatic Stress Board of PPI; Chair of the U.S. Technical Advisory Group to ISO; Co-Chair of the 14th International Plastic Fuel Gas Pipe Symposium; Member of the Planning Committee for the 14th International Plastic Fuel Gas Pipe Symposium; Member of the Subcommittee for Plastic Pipe to the N. American Trilateral Standardization Forum; Member of the Plastic Pipe Industry Forum of the National Sanitation Foundation; Member of the North American Society for Trenchless Technology; Member of the North American Sanitary Sewer Contractors Association; Associate member of the Plastic Materials Committee of the American Gas Association; Affiliate member of the American Public Gas Association (94-96); Honored Service Member of the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE); Senior Member of the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE); Founder and Organizer of the Plastics Pipe and Fittings Special Interest Group of the SPE; Member of the Failure Analysis Special Interest Group of the SPE; Session Organizer for the SPE Annual Technical Conference (ANTEC); President of the South Texas Section of the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE); Member of the Board of Directors of the South Texas Section of the SPE; Member of the Education Committee of the South Texas Section of the SPE; Member of the Awards Committee of the South Texas Section of the SPE; General Chair for the International Conference on Polyolefins; Member of the Commercial Development Committee of the Polyolefins Conference; Plenary Program Chair for the SPE International Conference on Polyolefins; Technical Program Chair for the South Texas Section sessions for a Polyolefins Conference Technical Program Co-Chair for an International Conference on Polyolefins Co-Chair International Conferences on Polyolefins; Publicity Chair for the International Conferences on Polyolefins; Session Organizer and Moderator for the annual International Conference on Polyolefins; Exhibits Chair for annual International Conference on Polyolefins; Co-Chair for the Extrusion Division Minitech; Co-Chair for TX SPE and PMAD Topical Conference on FOAMS; Co-Chair for the South TX SPE and Thermoplastic Elastomer SIG Topical Conference on TPEs; Exhibits Chair for the South TX SPE and PMAD Topical Conference on FOAMS; Exhibits Chair for the South TX SPE and TPE-SIG Topical Conference on TPEs; Exhibits Chair for the South TX SPE “International Conference on Additives for Polyolefins”; Membership Chair of the South Texas Section of the SPE; Registration Committee Member for an SPE “International Conference Polyolefins X"; |
| Awards / Recognition |
|---|
| Elected Chairman of ASTM Committee F36, on "Technology and Underground Utilities" Reinhart Kuhlman Award from ASTM Committee F17, on “Plastic Piping Systems” Elected Chairman of ASTM Committee F36, on "Technology and Underground Utilities" Award of Appreciation from API for leadership in the development of API Standard 15S. Stanley A. Mruk Chairman’s Award from ASTM Committee F17, on “Plastic Piping Systems” Elected Chairman of ASTM Committee F36, on "Technology and Underground Utilities" Outstanding Service Award from the SPE International Polyolefins Conference Appointed to ASTM Committee and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) for Maintaining IEEE/ASTM SI SI10 - American National Standard for Metric Practice. Special Service Award from ASTM Committee F17, on “Plastic Piping Systems” Elected Chairman of ASTM Committee F17, on "Plastic Piping Systems" Recipient of the Award of Merit from the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) Fellow of the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) Certificate of Appreciation from ASTM Committee F17, Plastic Piping Systems Special Services Award from the South Texas Section of the Society of Plastics Engineers The Paul Finn Award from ASTM Committee F17, Plastic Piping Systems Honored Service Member Award from the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) |
| Publications and Patents Summary |
|---|
| He has 53 publications and presentations. ASTM Standards Developed as principal author/contributor: 8 ASTM Standards revised as principal author/contributor: 10 ASTM Standards revised with significant contribution: 13 ASTM Standards under development as a contributor: 1 ASTM International Awards: 5 PPI Technical Reports written or revised with significant contributions: 4 Presentations to the hydrostatic stress board of PPI: 17 |
Additional Experience
| Expert Witness Experience |
|---|
| Expert has garnered extensive experience in failure analysis, expert witness and litigation consulting since 1996. Testimony/Trial: 22 cases Deposition & Expert Reports: 40 cases Expert Consulting: 69 cases |
| Training / Seminars |
|---|
| Associate Staff/Instructor for The Department of Transportation, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) for: General Introduction Course on Plastic Pipe and Fittings for the Transport of Natural Gas; Introduction to Plastic Gas Piping; Failure and Failure Analysis in Plastics; Oil and Gas Pipelines; Bimodal HDPE; Failure Analysis and Fracture Mechanics for Plastic Gas Pipelines; Spoolable Composite Pipes; and Evaluating Composite Repair Products for Pipelines. He also teaches the Pipeline Rehabilitation Council Seminar course on Trenchless Technology. Continuing Education Courses: Plastics Testing and Failure Analysis (SPE Seminar) (16 hours) 2008 Environmental Stress Cracking of Plastics (SPE on-line seminar) (2 hours) 2007 Failure Analysis of Plastics (South Texas Section of SPE Seminar Series) (8 hours) 2007 Thermoplastic Elastomers (SPE Seminar Series) (8 hours) 2006 Crystallization and Mechanical Behavior of Polymers (SPE Seminar Series) (8 hours) 1999 Formulation of PVC Compounds (SPE Seminar Series) (16 hours) 1999 Training to Teach Outplacement seminars-“Job Search Skills” (Dawson & Dawson) (40 hours) 1996 Total Quality Management and Facilitation Skills Training (Society of Plastics Industry) (40 hours) 1995-96 Team Building Training (Solvay Polymers) (24 hours) 1993 Consultative Sales Training (Baker Communications) (32 hours) 1992 Industrial Marketing Seminar (Wake Forest University) (24 hours) 1991 Facilitator Training (Solvay Polymers) (50 hours) 1991-1992 Computer Training in Database, Spreadsheet and Word Processing Programming (56 hours) 1991 Interviewing Training Seminar (Swan Seminars) (24 hours) 1991 Plastic Design Seminar (Plastic Design Magazine) (32 hours) 1990 Underwriter's Laboratories Seminar - Testing of Plastics (UL) (24 hours) 1990 Training in Engineering Polymers (Solvay Central Labs) (80 hours) 1990 Total Quality Management and Statistical Process Control Seminars (48 hours) 1989-1990 The Management of Technology (Holland & Davis-Consultants) (40 hours) 1988 Introduction to Management Seminar (Rice University) (16 hours) 1987 Training in Polyethylene Pipe Applications (Solvay Central Labs) (40 hours) 1986 Thermoforming and Blowmolding Seminars (SPE Seminars) (32 hours) 1982 Training in Polyolefin Thermoforming (Solvay Central Labs) (24 hours) 1981 Thermoforming Seminar (McGraw-Hill Seminars) (24 hours) 1981 Communication Skills Training (Holland & Davis-Consultants) (24 hours) 1980 |