All of us here at iD Additives can’t believe it is the end of 2023! A lot of exciting and big changes for us this year. We are so excited for what is to come. Here is an overview of what iD Additives was up to this year:
Tradeshows
PLASTEC West 2023- Anaheim, CA- February 7th-9th
Our President, Nick Sotos and Account Manager, Rob Young took on the West Coast in February for this awesome show. We love catching up with your CA industry friends. We will be at PLASTEC West 2024!
NPE Space Draw- Orlando, FL- February 28th
Nick Sotos and our Sales and Marketing Coordinator, Carolyn Young headed out to Orlando to select our booth for NPE 2024. We are so excited for this show. It is coming up fast!
Make sure to visit us at NPE 2024 on May 6th-10th, 2024 at booth # S32033
PTXPO 2023- Rosemont, IL- March 28th-30th
This is a great show because it is so close to our corporate offices. All three Technical Managers, Bryan Whitaker, Dave Denzel, and Ron Bishop were able to attend along with Rob Young.
Injection Molding & Design Show- Novi, MI- September 20th-21st
Our cart made an appearance at the show and our Technical Manager for the Preventative Maintenance Cleaning System gave a presentation on Implementing best practices for maintaining and cleaning mold cooling lines.
MAPP Conference 2023-Indianapolis, IN- October 4th-6th
Our Technical Managers, Ron Bishop & Dave Denzel along with our Logistics Manager, Heather Vitullo took on our favorite show of the year in October. They learned so much and had a great time!
Compounding Show- Cleveland, OH- November 15th-16th
For the last show of the year, Rob Young and Bryan Whitaker took on Cleveland. Overall, we had many successful shows in 2023!
Zoom Chats with iD Additives
Zoom Chat/OpenHouse
On April 19th we hosted an Open House at our Aurora, IL warehouse. Bryan Whitaker did a demo with the Eco-Pro 360. We live streamed the presentation for our out of town customers and we had local customers come to the warehouse to watch it live. We also had our Industry friend guests, Tuskin, Wisconsin Engraving, and PCS Company. It was a huge hit and we thank everyone who came out to the event.
Watch Bryan’s demo on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOcxobv9fSQ
https://youtube.com/watch?v=QfMq5ILwUpI%3Fautoplay%3D0%26mute%3D0%26controls%3D1%26origin%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.idadditives.com%26playsinline%3D1%26showinfo%3D0%26rel%3D0%26iv_load_policy%3D3%26modestbranding%3D1%26enablejsapi%3D1%26widgetid%3D1
We did one other Zoom Chat this year on June 15th with Dave Denzel on How to Effectively and Efficiently Purge. We have seen so much success with doing these Zoom Chats
Click here to watch the presentation on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfMq5ILwUpI
Milestones/ Events
Back In March, our Director of Administrative Operations, Lindsay Hosanna, SHRM-CP passed her test and becoming a SHRM Certified Professional (SHRM-CP). We are all so proud of you and know it took a lot of work & studying to get here. iD Additives loves to see our employees grow and learn!
On May 12th, it was a big day for the iD Additives team: we closed on a building for our corporate office in La Grange, IL. We have been working on renovating the building all year and we are moving in very soon. Our team is excited to start the new year in a new space and that we are able to grow in this kind of way.
Our Sales and Marketing Coordinator, Carolyn Young was chosen as one of Plastics News Rising Stars of 2023. The whole team is proud of all your hard work and congratulations on this awesome achievement!
On May 16th, The iD Additives team spent the morning with BEDS Plus Care in La Grange, IL helping with their garden and we donated $1,000 to their organization. They help local homeless people start anew. A great charity and we had a blast helping them get their garden going for the season!
Click here to learn more about BEDS Plus Care: https://beds-plus.org/
SPE Central Indiana knows how to throw a great event. Carolyn & Rob Young got to spend the day at the Indy 500 track. It was a great experience and fun to hang out with Industry friends.
In August, some of the iD Additives team celebrated Accurate Color & Compounding, Inc 30th anniversary. Nick and Jay have been doing business together for more than 20 years. Congratulations to our industry friends big achievement! We appreciate all you have done for us throughout the years.
In August, SPE Chicago hosted an awesome event at Rivers Casino in Des Plaines, IL. Special shoutout to Paul Calhoon for doing all the planning. This was a great event and we will be at it again!
The week of September 13th was Truck Driver Appreciation Week and it was our third year in a row giving away goodie bags to the truck drivers who visited the warehouse in Aurora, IL. We appreciate all the hard work the drivers do throughout they year!
We celebrated work anniversaries this year as well:
Heather Vitullo (Logistics Manager)- 6 years
Lindsay Hosanna (Director of Administrative Operations) – 10 years
Jeff Chierici (Warehouse Manager) – 3 years
Carolyn Young (Sales & Marketing Coordinators) – 8 years
Nick Sotos (President) – 18 years
Rob Young (Account Manager) – 2 years
Dave Denzel (Technical Manager) – 3 years
Bryan Whitaker (Technical Manager)- 5 years
Ron Bishop (Technical Manager)- 18 years
Paiton Powell (Warehouse Coordinator)- 2 years
John Sotos (Operations Manager) -17 years
We had a few blog posts this year for iD Additives. Check them out!
April 11th was National Pets Day so we wrote a blog on all the pets of iD Additives!
Carolyn Young had a chance to interview Danielle Fresca, the Director of Trade Show Services for the Plastics Industry Association. We got to ask all questions relating to NPE 2024 and got some great information!
As we all have heard by now, YELLOW Freight (YRC, USF Holland) has filed for bankruptcy and are closing their doors after almost 100 years in business. They were the 3rd largest carrier in the freight industry and while we may not be feeling the impact this will have on the freight industry just yet, it is coming. YELLOW Freight closing is going to have a major influence on delays for LTL and Full Truckload freight. Here are some tips and tricks iD Additives is doing to help our customers and suppliers during this time and making sure we are taking into account transit times for our materials. Carolyn Young and Heather Vitullo wrote a blog to with tips and tricks on how to navigate freight during these times.
This year, we asked everyone on the iD Additives team to share three words that described their 2023 and why along with pictures:
3 words that best describes 2023 year and why?
I am blessed!!
I am blessed to have a job that I have a passion for, I am blessed to be working with such a talented group of people.
Last but not least, I am blessed to be married to my best friend.”– Ron Bishop, Technical Manager for Chemical Foaming Agents
Educational:
Going to Washington DC with the In-Laws was one of the best highlights of the year. Visiting the Capital and Arlington Cemetery were the highlights. We got to see the Senate floor as well. We learned more of the History of our Nation, Constitution, etc. Everyone should go at least once, but make sure to do it in 3-4 days. Too much to see in a couple of days.
Travel:
Spent more time traveling to Customers and Prospects. Was able to perform many more trials especially in the Blow Molding and Extrusion processes. As of the end of November we picked up 33 new purge customers with many more prospects still in trial mode.
Thankful:
Thankful to spend more time with family, travel to different places, golfing, getting new siding on the house as well as a new car. The best time had to be Rhonda surprising me with a trip to New Orleans for my 60th Birthday in February and not knowing Mardi Gras was going on. Didn’t realize it ran from January 6th to Fat Tuesday.- Dave Denzel, Technical Manager for Purging Compounds
Silver: I celebrated my 25th wedding anniversary this year. It feels like yesterday that my wife Donna and I walked down the aisle. It is amazing how fast time goes by with the right person. We have experienced and accomplished so much together, all while having fun, laughing and enjoying each other’s company.
Travel: I did a lot of traveling this year. My wife & I went on an anniversary vacation to Punta Cana and visited family in both North Carolina and South Carolina. We also checked off another MLB ballpark in Cincinnati, where we got to see a surprise Lady A concert after the game. It was awesome, as both my wife & I love country music! I was fortunate enough to go on several golf trips with friends, two in Arizona and one in Wisconsin.
Relocation: iD Additives bought a new building to house our offices this year after renting for the past 20 years. The building was in desperate need of fixing up and updating. The second half of the year was spent on the renovations and moving our offices. Although we are not yet completely in our new offices, we will be moved in by the end of the year. It has been a stressful yet rewarding labor of love.– John Sotos, Operation Manager
Certified because I passed the SHRM exam for HR certified professionals in January 2023 (after months of study & prep!).
Celebrated because I hit the decade mark in employment here at iD Additives and my amazing colleagues surprised me with celebratory decorations when I passed my HR exam!
And Grateful because I am always especially thankful this time of year for the many continued blessings in my life. Watching my kids get another year bigger is the greatest blessing of them all. Grateful for all we saw & experienced this year, and the promise of a new year on the horizon!- Lindsay Hosanna, Director of Administrative Operations
Experiences
This past year I was able to knock off a few bucket list items that really made this year memorable. Back in April, I attended the Masters Tournament down in Augusta, GA. I was able to walk the greenest and most beautiful golf course in the country. It was a bonus to see my favorite golfer, Rory McIlroy as well. The other major bucket list item was flying over the pond to vacation in London, Edinburgh, and Dublin. The sights were beautiful, and the culture was so much fun to take in.
Accomplishments
We had our best year when it came to selling Purge. This was a big goal for me coming into this year and feels great to accomplish. Can’t wait to grow off it in 2024 and keep pushing forward. We also closed on our own building and have been working to move everything in.
Anticipation
I’m very excited to see what 2024 holds. This year has been a lot about preparation for the NPE Show next May, which will be my first time experiencing it. I can’t wait to be at the biggest plastics show in Country and grow relationships with the people we meet and see there.- Rob Young, Account Manager
Grateful. Proud. Growth.
These are my defining words for 2023, and in more ways than just one. Not only am I grateful for the love and support of my family, I’m also proud to call them mine. As our little one continues to experience new things (obviously we love to see), there’s a lot to be said about my wife and I’s growth, learning how to be the best parents we can, which I’m very proud of. I thoroughly enjoyed our first full season with our camper, as we explored Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan, so I’m grateful to work for a company that allows me the time to do so. I’m going to presume my wife will be read this at some point, so just want to say thank you for allowing me to build things and play with tools, new and old. This year, I built a board game table (proud of), which I hope will bring many years of memories for family and friends.- Bryan Whitaker, Technical Manager for Preventative Maintenance Cleaning Systems
Healing: this year has been focused on healing, for me. I’ve grown in a lot of ways personally that I’m very proud of. I’ve realized how important friends and chosen family are in terms of healing and have been holding those close to me and relying more on the kindness of friends to help me heal mentally from a tough 2022 and it’s changed my life forever.
Positivity: I would say I was quite the pessimistic person in the past, given some of the hardships I’ve gone through in life, I didn’t see much to be positive about until this year. Saying yes to doing more things with friends, taking on more responsibilities here at iD Additives with open arms, and just speaking nicely to and about myself has been amazing for my mental health. Positive affirmations really can change your outlook on life.
Cat: I struggled with finding my third word for the year, but cat has to be up there seeing as how I made a new buddy and iD Additives mascot in this cat that wandered up to me one day after leaving work! He has come in almost everyday for the past 2 months and I love coming into work to see him everyday! I call him Mr. Man because I have no idea what else to call him but he’s made almost everyone in the warehouse fall in love with him!- Paiton Powell, Warehouse Coordinator
Swiftie: I got to kick off the summer by sitting second row at the Taylor Swift Eras Tour. It was an experience I will never forget and I got to do it with one of my best friends Monica. I met her in 2009 at camp and we bonded over our love for Taylor Swift and we finally got to go to a show together. It was such a blast.
Adventurous: This year I traveled a ton. I went to the Outer Banks and then my husband and I went on a huge Europe trip to London, Edinburgh, and Dublin. Edinburgh was our favorite out of the three places we went on the trip. The Outer Banks of North Carolina was also a special trip because I went with my husband’s family. We got to spend a whole week soaking up the sun and just enjoying each other’s company. Every trip was full of laughs, fun, and great memories were made.
Confidence: This is something I struggle with a lot. I tend to overthink, second guess my ability to do something, and question myself in a lot of situations. This year had a lot of that, but I am happy to say I did a lot of work towards bettering myself in that way. I have overcome some big obstacles I have been struggling with and it has made me more confident in myself. I am really excited to see what 2024 has in store for my family. – Carolyn Young, Sales and Marketing Coordinator
Health
Dedication
Gratitude
This year my husband Paul and I decided to participate in a mental toughness program. We each learned so much from it, and I’m so grateful I had someone to do it with me. We each lost some weight, read several books, biked and walked most trails in IL, and learned we could do anything we set our minds to. The best part is our children are seeing our progress and are interested in getting more active and organized as well. – Heather Vitullo, Logistics Manager
Renovations – We totally renovated our condo in the city. It was a 6 month project that was completed right after Thanksgiving. Jean did a great job of picking all the design elements and decorating our place in a really vibrant and fun way. Also, while we were doing all the renovations at home, John was renovating our new offices that we will be moving into over the next couple of weeks. John did a great job of overseeing the project and getting things done.
Recharging – This year Jean and I took the longest vacation that I have ever taken since I was a kid. New Mexico is one of my favorite spots to relax and recharge. This year we spent over 3 weeks in Santa Fe and Taos. The last two times we went to New Mexico, we went in May/June timeframe. This time we decided to go in late August into September. The weather was great and we had a great time. Even Dottie loves New Mexico. Maybe we will do Thanksgiving in New Mexico one of these years.
Rededication – I am using this move to the new offices as a hard line break and I am rededicating my myself to my sales efforts going into 2024. With NPE2024 right around the corner, I want to set our company up for success for many years to come. – Nick Sotos, President
Adventure: My family and I took vacations to places we hadn’t previously been. We made our way to Cincinnati and saw the Zoo and a Reds game. After that, we headed down to Louisville, KY and took in the Louisville Slugger Museum, and Churchhill Downs, both of which were absolutely stunning in different ways. This summer, we traveled to Colorado. The scenery and clean air alone was worth the trip. Coors Field and a trek to downtown Boulder were the highlights. It made such an impression on us that our son now wants to attend The University of Colorado.
Bittersweet: It was a whirlwind month of November this year. I learned of the dire health situation of a close family friend, and within days, he had passed away. About a week later, my newest Nephew and Godson, Luca, was born. Then, less than 2 weeks after that, our beloved family dog, Marshall, took a terrible turn health wise and passed away. It’s a lesson to keep moving forward. Every day can bring something new and unexpected, both happy and sad.
Triumph: The Chierici family had quite a few victories this year. I will start with my Son, Dante, winning his school spelling bee and making it to the Regional competition. As a 6th grader, he was competing against 7th and 8th graders, and he was able to take the crown. Hours and hours of studying and practice really paid off.
My daughter, Viviana, and her cheerleading squad, the Mighty Tigers, took 1st place at the state competition in Dekalb. These girls are truly unbelievable. The athleticism and determination they displayed every practice and competition was a site to behold. Special shoutout to My wife, Colleen, who was one of the cheer coaches.
And finally, My 16 Inch Softball team, Pickle, won 3 league championships this summer and fall. As a former athlete in my younger days, the competitive juices still flow, and this is a perfect way to keep that alive, while having some fun and drinking some beers with the boys. – Jeff Chierici, Warehouse Manager
Overall, the iD Additives Team had a great year in our professional and personal lives. We are so grateful for all the things we did this year and our Customers/ Suppliers that make it possible. Cheers to a great 2023 and to a bright 2024! We wish you all a Happy Holidays with your friends and family.
