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Techmer PM Shows Support of Education, Materials Design at RSA-US Student Design Awards

Company Sponsors First Annual Bill Moggridge Award

CLINTON, Tenn., May 7, 2014 – Representatives from Techmer PM, a leading producer of value- added colors and additives for the plastics and fiber industries, were in New York City recently to present several high-profile design awards at the Royal Society of Arts (RSA) United States Student Design Awards (SDA-US).

Techmer PM sponsored the first annual Bill Moggridge Award for Interdisciplinary Design, which was awarded to Leslie Greene and Sam Bertain of California College of the Arts. The award, named in honor of the late Bill Moggridge, IDEO founder, design visionary, and a former SDA winner, was presented by Karin Moggridge, Bill’s wife of 46 years. Greene and Bertain’s winning project was “Air Kinetic Knee-brace.”

The Bill Moggridge Award is one of several funded by SDA-US founding sponsor Techmer PM. David Turner, vice president, Techmer PM, and Rich Manuck, corporate training manager, Techmer PM, were both on hand to represent Techmer PM at the awards ceremony in New York.

Greene and Bertain, along with Lucy Jones of Parsons The New School for Design, also received the Techmer PM award for Design Innovation.

“Techmer PM is committed to supporting education through awards, sponsorships, and other efforts that promote the advancement and innovation of materials design,” said John Manuck, chairman and CEO of Techmer PM. “We see the potential of the US Student Design Award winners and are excited to recognize them early in their careers as part of Techmer PM’s overall emphasis on fostering a community that drives materials design forward.”

The RSA introduced the Student Design Awards in London 90 years ago. Notable past SDA recipients include Jonathan Ive, Apple Inc.’s senior vice president of design and the innovator behind numerous products, including the iPhone, iPad, iMac, and MacBook Air. Richard Clarke, global vice president of design at Nike, Inc., who won an RSA award while at Berkshire School of Art and Design, credits the award with “changing his life.”

“The award provided me the opportunity to work for one of the world’s greatest brands,” Clarke said. “I’ve been with Nike for the past 17 years where I’ve held the position of footwear design director, global innovation director, global category creative director, and now global vice president DTC design.”

Other 2014 SDA-US winners include Andrew Lam of The Cooper Union: Techmer PM Award for Designcraft; Yiqi Xia, Parsons The New School for Design: Techmer PM Award for Designcraft; Sam Ridge, Carolyn Lieberman and Cody Tucker of the University of Oregon: Techmer PM Award for Sustainable Design; and John Langa, Miles Ray, and their team at Syracuse University: Techmer PM Awards for Sustainable Design & Materials Science. For a full list of winners, please visit the SDA-US website.

About Techmer PM

Techmer PM, LLC, is a major producer of value-added masterbatch and engineered compounds for the plastics and fiber industries. The company manufactures and sells masterbatch under its Techmer PM brand and engineered thermoplastic compounds through Techmer ES. The company has worldwide manufacturing capabilities focusing on high-performance applications where quality, technical support, and problem solving are critical. This year Techmer PM was recognized by Plastics News on its “Best Places to Work 2014” list. Learn more about the company by visiting techmerpm.com.