But in those visits, ACMA uses the report card to illustrate the need for infrastructure investment. Now, this year's visit was a virtual visit because of COVID-19. Every year, ACMA organizes what's called an infrastructure fly-in to Capitol Hill, where a group of ACMA members go to DC to advocate for legislation and funding that will help spur the use of composites. And you mentioned in your question, ACMA and how it uses the report card. It's, infrastructurereportcard, all one. And if anyone is interested in learning more, I'll just mention the website. And there's a lot of valuable information, not only on the federal level, not only on the national level, but there's also information for each state. The report card is an incredible resource. The overall grade for our nation's infrastructure is a very disappointing C minus. Unfortunately, it's not the kind of report card that you want your kids to go home with. So you've got the 2021 Report Card, hot off the presses, the last one was in 2017. The most recent one just came out last month. And actually, it's issued every four years. JF: The report card is really a major undertaking for ASC. Can you tell us more about the report card and why it's so important. And the ACMA you know, relies on this report card to kind of guide its efforts to target composites toward infrastructure applications. And I know ACMA relies heavily on the American Infrastructure Report Card, which of course, is getting a lot of attention these days, given some of the legislation that the federal government is contemplating for beefing up the American infrastructure, but you know, most people maybe don't know that the American Infrastructure Report Card is issued by the American Society of Civil Engineers or as see every year. JS: So you mentioned ACMA, and IACMI, and I know you've been working for a few years with, with both now to integrate composites into infrastructure applications. And so when INEOS purchased the composite polymers division, it was actually a better fit, I think, for that division. Specifically, in the last five or six years, they've really moved towards specialty chemicals for things like pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics and personal care. But over the last 15 years, they really have transformed the company from an oil company into a specialty chemicals company. When I first joined it, it was Ashland Oil. Ashland really transformed itself during my career there. JF: Well, the short answer is, I think it was a very good thing for the composite polymers division. But I'm wondering how it was to you to be so long associated with Ashland and to have a have it evolve the way did? And maybe it's just my resistance to change.
I mean, it seems like as long as I've been in the industry Ashland has been around I'm very involved in to have it morph, the way it did is a little jarring. I'm I'm wondering if that was how you feel about that. JS: Before we talk about your current work, you spent a lot of years at Ashland, of course, Ashland, as you noted, no longer exists as Ashland. And with that in mind, I've stayed very active in two organizations focused on composites, ACMA, the American Composites Manufacturers Association, and IACMI, the Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation. I retired last year, I have formed my own consulting business FX Consulting because I want to stay active in the specialty chemicals and specialty materials industries. For the last 13 years of my career at Ashland, I was in their composite polymers division, which was actually acquired by INEOS at the end of 2019. And I served in technical, managerial and business development roles. And Ashland sells thermosetting resins that are used for a wide variety of applications, things like adhesives, and specific to this conversation composite resin. I then moved to Ashland and spent the next 25 years working for Ashland chemical and their performance materials division in Dublin, Ohio. I spent 13 years at Sohio and BP, working mostly on catalysts for Sohio and ceramics for British Petroleum. I started my career in Cleveland, with Standard Oil of Ohio, or Sohio at the time, which was acquired by British Petroleum in the mid '80s and we became BP America. And I have spent 40 years in the specialty chemicals and specialty materials industries. I have a PhD in chemistry from Penn State. Joe Fox (JF): I am a chemist by training. What's your background? And how did you come to the composites industry and composite materials? Jeff Sloan (JS): Let's start with just an introduction of who you are. Transcript of Joe Fox interview with CW Talks Dustless, mobile solution for on-site wind turbine blade repurposing
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