COMPOSITES 2012 Preview

Under the theme “It’s All About Tomorrow’s Business,” the American Composites Manufacturers Assn. (ACMA, Arlington, Va.) will present COMPOSITES 2012: The Composites Exhibition and Convention, in Las Vegas, Nev., at the Mandalay Bay Hotel. Expecting more than 220 exhibitors at this year’s event, ACMA says it will draw attendees from more than 40 countries worldwide, and it has assembled more than 100 technical, business and marketing education sessions. The education program and exhibition will run concurrently, Tuesday, Feb. 21 through Thursday, Feb. 23, 2012.

View from the racetrack

On Tuesday morning, Rusty Wallace, a noted driver on the NASCAR auto racing circuit and now a successful businessman and ABC/ESPN sports commentator, will share what ACMA calls a “behind-the-wheel perspective on the use of composite materials in racing” during the event’s keynote address.

Wallace’s keynote will be preceded by ACMA’s assessment of the state of the composites industry, with predictions about what the future holds in a variety of markets in a world that still isn’t sure if it has escaped the Great Recession.

 

Focus on diversity

The technical sessions this year are identified by market focus, session type (executive/business, marketing, manufacturing, etc.) and, where applicable, end-market, to emphasize ACMA’s wide diversity of topics and markets and to better inform attendees about the content of presentations. The International Cast Polymer Alliance (ICPA, Arlington, Va.) will weigh in with several sessions in the bath/kitchen and related markets. Notably, the Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering (SAMPE, Covina, Calif.) will bolster ACMA’s coverage of aerospace and other high-performance composites-related arenas by sponsoring three technical sessions on Wednesday, Feb. 22. 

Styrene status

At 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, a special panel will provide a “New Styrene Occupational Exposure Level (OEL) Update.” In the wake of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) decision to put its official weight behind a recent report that declares styrene a cancer risk in the industrial workplace, panelists will discuss the issues surrounding styrene and the composites industry today, including the new recommended OEL from the Styrene Information and Research Center (SIRC). ACMA chief of staff Tom Dobbins and ACMA’s senior director of government affairs John Schweitzer will be on hand to explain how ACMA is advancing the industry’s position. Other topics will include options for managing workplace exposure, with an emphasis on process and chemistry changes and job rotation; reducing exposure through ventilation design; and effectiveness of respiratory protection options. Other panelists will include Dr. George Cruzan, president, ToxWorks (Bridgeton, N.J.); Dr. Rob Haberlein, president, Engineering Environmental Consulting Services (Annapolis, Md.); Bob Lacovara, president, Convergent Composites (Perkasie, Pa.); and Scott Shinn, technical service specialist, 3M Engineered Products and Solutions (St. Paul, Minn.). In the meantime, check out CT editor-in-chief Jeff Sloan’s report on the status of styrene (this issue, p. 25).

University involvement

ACMA is making a special effort to encourage participation of the many universities and colleges that now support research and offer curricula related to composites and that partner with private industry on development projects. The academic presence will be felt through research presentations in technical sessions, breakout sessions and show floor exhibits. ACMA also plans to underscore student and university research during the Poster Session, a new feature at COMPOSITES 2012. The posters will be accompanied by students for three hours on the first day of the conference, then the posters will be moved into the Exhibit Hall on days two and three.

Networking nexus

At COMPOSITES 2012, ACMA will place an emphasis on networking opportunities. On Tuesday, Feb. 21, the Opening Welcome Reception will be open to all attendees so they can reconnect with former colleagues and old friends as well as network with new contacts and customers. On Wednesday, ACMA’s annual Awards Luncheon will honor companies and individuals for outstanding innovations and contributions to the industry. New this year are Specialized Industry Networking Receptions, Wednesday evening, that will allow people who are interested in the same topic to meet in smaller, more intimate settings. Receptions will be held for the following arenas: Cast Polymers, Emerging Markets, Pultrusion, Infrastructure/Corrosion, Building/Construction/Architecture and International. Attendees with a Full Conference Registration will be admitted to the Opening Welcome Reception, Awards Luncheon and Specialized Industry Networking Receptions at no cost. For more information, visit the ACMA Web site: www.acmanet.org.
 

COMPOSITES 2012 Exhibitor List

(Based on information available Jan. 12, 2012.
Booth locations subject to change by ACMA.)

A 
A.P.C.M. Manufacturing LLC    1142
ACMA Central    665
ACS International    920
The Adhesive & Sealant Pavilion    656, 657, 661
Advanced Plastics Inc.    914 
Airtech International    823
Akzo Nobel Functional Chemicals    807
Albion Engineering Co.    659A
Allied Custom Gypsum    541
American Colors Inc.    1266
AOC LLC    605
Arkema Inc.    837
Ashland Performance Materials    1153
ATC Formulated Polymers Inc.    1023
Auburn University    1164
AXEL Plastics Research Labs Inc.    407

B 
B/E Aerospace    454
Baltek Inc., a division of 3A Composites    747
Bayer Material Science    757
Beijing Partnerworld International Exhibition Co. Ltd.    649, 651,
653, 750, 752
BRComposites    453/3
BYK USA Inc.    841

C 
CCP Composites    329 
Cerex Advanced Fabrics Inc.    758
Changzhou Topweaving New Material Tech Co. Ltd.    332
Chem-Trend LP    819
Chemique Adhesives    564
China National Building Materials & Equipment
Import & Export Corp.    213
CHOMARAT North America    737
Chongqing Polycomp International Corp.    559
CMS North America Inc.    315
Colbond Inc.    328
Composites Europe Lounge    461
Composites Innovations Centre Manitoba Inc.    228
Composites One    528
Composites One - The Lean Mean Closed Mold Machine    629
CompositesWorld/Composites Technology    956
Continental Diamond Tool    1139
Controx – Neuhauser    1057
Crane Composites Inc.    740
Creative Pultrusions Inc.    539
CTG International (North America) Inc.    551
Cutting Edge Composites    1264

D 
Dassault Systèmes Americas Corp.    447
De-Comp Composites Inc.     1115
DIAB Sales Inc.    664
Diacel (U.S.A.) Inc.    1150
Diatrim Tools Ltd.    1154
Diversified Machine Systems    206
Dixie Chemical Co.    1270
DuraPlate Products Group    738
Dustcontrol Inc.    1140

E 
Eastman Machine Co.    929
Elliott Company of Indianapolis Inc.    646
Endurance Technologies    1050
Engineered Fillers International    918
Engineered Syntactic Systems    465
Entec Composite Machines    347
Entropy Resins    1135
Eurovac Inc.    925

F 
Fiber Glass Industries    836
Fiber-Line Inc.    547
Fiberlay     753
Flow International Corp.     247
Frees Inc.    412 
Freudenberg Nonwovens    928

G
Geis Companies    359
General Plastics Manufacturing Co.    951
Gibco Flex-Mold Inc.    1034
GIE Media    216 
Gruber Systems    840
GS Manufacturing    450

H 
Hawkeye Industries Inc.    815
Henkel Corp.    907
Hennecke Inc.    1007
HK Research Corp.    421
Hodogaya Chemical (USA) Inc.    851
Hollingsworth & Vose Co.    1128
Horn    314
Huber Engineered Materials    715

I 
InnoVoc Solutions    355
INOAC Corp.    959
Interplastic Corporation/North American Composites    619
Intertape Polymer Group    950
Intertek    349
IPS Weld On Corp.    615
ITW Finishing Equipment Americas    935
ITW Insulation Systems    208
ITW Plexus    955
ITW SprayCore    1037
ITW WindGroup    859

J 
Jensen Industries Inc.    313
Jiaxing Sunny FRP Industries Co. Ltd.    1054
JRL Ventures Inc.    847
Jushi USA    915

K 
Kenrich Petrochemicals Inc.    1015
KMT Robotic Solutions    338
KNF FLEXPAK Corp.    1124
Knowlton Technologies LLC    1041
Krauss-Maffei Corp.    453/2

L
Lindau Chemicals Inc.    1114
Litek Composites .    947

M
Magnum Venus Plastech    229, 523
Martin Pultrusion Group    316
MCC Equipment & Service Center    965
McClean Anderson    365
McLube Division/McGee Industries Inc.    1019
MDC Mould & Plastic Co. Ltd.    934
Mektech Composites Inc.    1146
METYX Composites    557
Micro Air    1012
MIT-RCF    334
Momentive Specialty Chemicals Inc.    307
MultiCam Inc.    746
Myers Engineering Inc.    756

N
Nantong Power Plastic & Rubber Co. Ltd    964
Nederman Inc.    855
Nexeo Solutions    207
Norton Abrasives    339
NRC Automotive    1056

O 
Olympus    440
Owens Corning Composite Materials    321

P 
Parabeam BV    1165
Performance Minerals Corp.    916
Plascore Inc.    1053 
Plasticolors Inc.    941
PPG Industries Inc.    441
PPG-Devold    853
Precision Drive Systems    224 
Precision Quincy Corp.    1047
PRO-SET Inc.    438

R 
R.J. Marshall Co., The    517
Reichhold Inc.    506
Rexco Mold Care Products    516
RS Hughes Co.    659B

S
SAERTEX USA LLC    415
Saint-Gobain ADFORS    741
Scott Bader Inc.    446
Sika Corp.    1029
Smart Tooling    1046
Smooth-On Inc.    364 
Sogel Inc.    865
SP-High Modulus, the marine business of Gurit    852
Specialty Products Co.    946
spheretex America Inc.    453
Stiles Machinery Inc.    1013
Structural Composites Inc.    330
SWORL, div. of Prairie Technology Group Inc.    642
Syrgis Performance Initiators Inc.    641
System Three Resins Inc.    243 

T 
Taconic    1246
TCR Composites Inc.    930
Tech Systems LLC    1059
Technical Fibre Products Inc.    952
Technology Marketing Inc.    212
Teijin Aramid USA Inc.    340
Tiodize Co. Inc.    1127
Toho Tenax America Inc.    546
TR Industries    543
Tricel Honeycomb Corp.    909
Tyvarian International LLC    1119
21st Century Chemical    1051

U
Unicomposite Technology Co. Ltd.    341 
United Soybean Board    647
Universal Star Group Ltd.    223
University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB)    1065 
University of Mississippi    1170 
University Pavilion    1064

V
Valspar    637
Vectorply Corp.    638
Ventilation Solutions    1156
Virginia Economic Development Partnership    1006

W
Warm Industrial Ovens    416 
Watkins & Associates Inc.    413 
Westech Aerosol Corp.    565
Winona State University    1071 
Wisconsin Oven Corp.    1147 
Wm. T. Burnett & Co    1033

X
Xamax Industries Inc.    320