Nashville, Tennessee - At the 2011 Technical Conference of the US Center for the Polyurethanes Industry Lee Salamone, senior CPI director, told Urethanes Technology International that there are signs of a "slow movement towards economic recovery" in the US.
Salamone said that CPI's 2011 End Use Survey on the US polyurethanes sector, carried out by IAL Consultants Ltd, which will be launched at the closing session of the event, Wednesday 28 Sept, would provide data to back up this assertion for the PU sector, as would some of the presentations at the conference.
CPI expects getting on for 800 delegates at the three-day event in Nashville, with 723 already registered by 25 Sept, and more expected to register on site.
At the opening session the organisation presented the three candidates for its 2011 polyurethanes innovation award.
One finalist is Dow Chemical Co.'s polyurethanes division for its Pascal technology of fast curing PU rigid foam systems, tailored for use in an innovative vacuum-assisted production technology for refrigerators, jointly developed with PU machinery experts Cannon SpA.
Cannon itself is also a finalist for the innovation award, for the novel equipment technology it has developed to turn the vacuum-assisted technology into a reality. The route gives cost effective eco design, with superior energy savings, says Cannon.
Albemarle completes the awards finalists, offering its "breakthrough colour-stable spray coating technology with Ethacure 90." The material allows use of a fully aliphatic polyurea technology giving good UV resistance, offering durable and colour stable coatings for arduous uses, such as the high speed rail systems being developed in China.
Salamone said CPI's annual event offers some 60 technical presentations on PU topics ranging from energy efficiency to automotive developments to construction and footwear applications. A table-top exhibition room was sold out, Salamone noted, while many poster exhibits would also help attendees discover more about new developments in the urethanes business.
See a full report on the CPI event in the next issue of Urethanes Technology International.
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