Plastics News named two Mack Molding leaders, Trudy Hood and Tracie Jones, to its Women Breaking the Mold Class of 2026.
Since 2015, the program has recognized women reshaping the plastics industry, from engineers and plant managers to founders and CEOs. This year’s 50 honorees include Trudy and Tracie. They took very different paths to the same result: making Mack, and the people around them, better.
Trudy Hood, Director of HR, Mack South
Trudy came to plastics after 12 years in textiles. On her first compression molding plant tour, the size of the presses and molds stopped her in her tracks. That awe ultimately grew into a lasting appreciation for an industry that never stops evolving.
At our Inman, S.C., facility, Trudy leads human resources, environmental health and safety, workers’ compensation, benefits, hiring, onboarding and training. Above all, she treats HR as a strategic partner to operations, engineering, quality and leadership. Her biggest impact shows in the people she mentors and the responsibility she gives them.
She earned her business administration degree with honors from Limestone College while working full time and raising a new child. Trudy also holds PHR and SHRM-CP credentials. The mold she aims to break: the idea that individual achievement defines success. To Trudy, success instead means how many people you help grow.
Read Trudy’s full Women Breaking the Mold 2026 profile in Plastics News.
Tracie Jones, Purchasing Materials Manager, Mack North
Tracie directs roughly $50 million a year in commodity material purchases, primarily resin, from intent to purchase through delivery. Year after year, she beats her cost-savings goals through market intelligence and long-term supplier relationships, directly strengthening our competitiveness.
She started in plastics in high school, handling inventory and bills of materials for a local company. She later took on inventory control, finance and customer service. That hands-on foundation still guides her work.
Today, lead times and pricing swinging as they did during the pandemic. Tracie anticipates risk, keeps suppliers and internal teams aligned, and limits the impact on our operations and customers. She also aims to keep growing with Mack and help build a world-class purchasing organization.
Read Tracie’s full Women Breaking the Mold 2026 profile in Plastics News.
Building on a Women Breaking the Mold tradition
Trudy and Tracie join past Mack honorees Dwalin DeBoer and Ann Wedell. When Plastics News honored them, Dwalin led a 13-person business unit managing accounts, programs and customer service. Ann, as materials manager, drove on-time delivery through tighter planning and better use of our ERP system.
Both have since stepped into bigger roles: Dwalin now leads sales and engineering as vice president, and Ann serves as director of master scheduling.
Celebrating Women Breaking the Mold in Nashville
Plastics News honors Trudy and Tracie this week at the Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum, two days of keynotes, panels and networking for women in plastics and rubber, Oct. 14–15 at City Winery in Nashville, Tenn.
Congratulations, Trudy and Tracie, and thank you for the example you set for your teams and the next generation of women in plastics manufacturing.
