NJ Congresswoman Speaks at Opening of 'Cutting-Edge' Celluloid Plant

U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill recognizes the value of a new pilot plant in her New Jersey district that will modernize munitions development through the production of foamable celluloid.

The 16,000-square-foot plant in Fairfield, N.J. is run by the Polymer Processing Institute (PPI), which is based on the campus of New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark. PPI and NJIT are partners in the Joint Munitions Manufacturing Technology Group (JMMTG) that also includes the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Armaments Center, based at Picatinny Arsenal. 

Through new processes and machinery, JMMTG aims to produce high-quality munitions and components more safely, quickly and efficiently. The pilot plant becomes the sole source of foamable celluloid in the U.S. and is expected to help slash the cost of producing disruptive energetics by hundreds of millions of dollars.

“In New Jersey we have all the ingredients we need to make ourselves the defense innovation hub for the Northeast,” said Sherrill, speaking during an opening ceremony at the plant, which is in her district. “We have fantastic companies that are pushing the boundaries on everything from advanced energetics for munition to aerospace controls.

“We have some of the top research institutions in the world, including … NJIT. And we have Picatinny Arsenal, which is such a crucial pillar of the U.S. military’s modernization efforts.”

Sherrill added that the pilot plant is “exactly what I’m talking about – a new cutting-edge research institution that is working in conjunction with the [Department of Defense] to innovate.”

Also speaking at ceremony were NJIT President Joel S. Bloom; NJIT professors Costas Gogos and Donald Sebastian, both of whom serve on the PPI Board of Trustees; PPI President Ming-Wan Young; U.S. Army Brig. Gen. William Boruff, the program executive officer for the Army Joint Program Executive Office and armaments and ammunition commanding general at Picatinny Arsenal; Picatinny Arsenal Executive Director Dave Castellano and Charlie Martin, president and general manager of Leistritz and a PPI trustee. 

For Bloom, the plant exemplifies a core service mission of NJIT and its nonprofit corporation, the New Jersey Innovation Institute (NJII).

“NJII was formed with the idea of, if you are a business or industry, if you are an arsenal, if you are a governmental agency, you have this organization called New Jersey Institute of Technology, a public polytechnic university, that can serve a local community, serve an arsenal, serve a business and serve an industry,” Bloom said.

That assistance, he added, takes the form of everything from sharing science and technology knowledge to conducting research and preparing the workforce.