Expansion at W&H, cybersecurity and PLASTICS' young leaders program: Machinery Minutes, Jan. 6, 2025

On today's Machinery Minutes podcast, Senior Reporter Bruce Geiselman briefs you on an expansion at Windmöller & Hölscher's North American headquarters in Rhode Island; advice on ransomware remediation from the CEO of OnSecurity, as hackers ramp up their use of artificial intelligence; and the 10th anniversary of Future Leaders in Plastics (FLiP), a program for young professionals in the Plastics Industry Association.

Transcript

Welcome to Machinery Minutes, where at the beginning of each week I share with you three things you need to know in about three minutes. You can read the complete stories on plasticsmachinerymanufacturing.com. 

No. 1 – Windmöller & Hölscher is expanding its North American facility in Lincoln, Rhode Island, with expansion of its warehouse and office spaces. 

The warehouse, which is expected to be completed in February, adds 12,000 square feet, which will double the space for storing and processing spare parts, ensuring faster service, according to the company. 

The second phase of the project will add 5,600 square feet of office space, which is expected to be ready by late spring, followed by renovation of the current office space.  

The company is also adding photovoltaic panels to power nearly all its electricity needs. 

Look on the PMM website for our story headlined “Windmöller & Hölscher expanding North American facility,” and check out the link to a company video showing the most recent developments. 

No. 2 – The number of ransomware attacks has more than doubled over the last 12 months, according to a recent report from Microsoft, which reports up to 100,000 scams occurred per day in 2024. 

Businesses need a remediation strategy in the event of a ransomware attack, Conor O’Neill, CEO and co-founder of OnSecurity, a leading penetration testing vendor, writes in a guest article on the PMM website. Security concerns are growing as artificial intelligence is now used to create more effective cyberattacks, he writes. 

“A ransomware remediation strategy allows you to respond quickly and efficiently to minimize damage and enable a faster recovery,” writes O’Neill. 

He advocates companies have a data backup and recovery plan, an incident response plan, a business continuity plan, employee awareness training, and support from a cybersecurity firm. 

Learn more by reading the item headlined “Ransomware remediation: How is it evolving, and why do businesses need it?” 

No. 3 – The Plastics Industry Association in the new year is celebrating the 10th anniversary of FLiP, the Future Leaders in Plastics program, which is designed to cultivate the next generation of leaders in the plastics industry. 

The program saw an impressive 80 new members join in 2024, bringing total membership to 264, PLASTICS reports in a contributed article. It helps members cultivate skills, while learning about topics including leadership, productivity and sustainability. 

Look for the headline: “PLASTICS: FLiP celebrates growth and impact in 2024.” 

Here’s a bonus tip for you, get caught up on significant stories over the past year that you might have missed by checking out our top 10 stories of 2024 on the PMM site.  

Those are my Top 3 items you need to know for this week. We have a new list every Monday.