Mark Your Calendar for First-Ever Global Plastics Summit
Editorial
Event brings together every link of the supply chain to address the opportunities and challenges of 'coming renaissance' in North American plastics.
November 4-6, 2013 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Chicago. That’s when and where decision makers from the oil, natural gas, petrochemical, plastics, and OEM sectors will get together for the first-ever Global Plastics Summit.
The event is co-produced by Society of the Plastics Industry (SPI) and HIS Chemical, a global market-research firm (ihs.com). The broad-based, three-day event brings together every link of the supply chain to address the opportunities and challenges of a “coming renaissance” in North American plastics, one the organizers say is being triggered by the shale gas boom, the “re-shoring” of business from overseas, and other transformational developments.
“As the industry leader in delivering the world’s most comprehensive chemical insight, market information, and consulting services, IHS is pleased to join with such a respected organization as SPI to offer this event to the industry,” says Dave Witte, senior v.p. and general manager of IHS Chemical, which is based in Englewood, Colo. “Our combined practical industry knowledge and insight makes it possible for us to build a stimulating, timely, and strategic program to help America’s manufacturers reposition their companies for the future.”
“The abundant feedstock of shale gas is changing the global landscape of plastics manufacturing,” adds William R. (Bill) Carteaux, president and CEO of SPI (plasticsindustry.org). “Plastics manufacturers must understand the implications of plentiful feedstock, along with other pivotal developments that are on the Global Plastics Summit agenda, in order to capture new opportunities in domestic and international markets.”
The North American plastics industry is on the cusp of a new wave of expansion, according to Nick Vafiadis, senior director of global plastics at IHS Chemical. “Manufacturers here are positioned to become global suppliers at a level we’ve not seen before,” he states. “These are exciting times for the industry, and the Global Plastics Summit will be an unparalleled collaborative experience.”
Concurrent workshops on commodity, engineering, and bio-based resins will take place on the first day of the Global Plastics Summit, followed by two days of presentations and discussions on upstream and downstream expansions in the industry, shifting regional competitive advantages, emergence of new technologies, demand for greener manufacturing, and the price, supply, and demand outlook for the major polymers in key producing regions.
The program features more than 20 speakers, among them Steve Kline Jr., director of market intelligence for Gardner Business Media, the Cincinnati-based parent company of Plastics Technology magazine. Key industry players such as Milacron, Husky, Dow, LyondellBasell, Borealis, Milliken, Clariant, and Kraiburg will also be on the program.
More information, registration details, and conference/workshop specifics are available at globalplasticssummit.com. I recommend that you go there and check things out. Hope to see you there.
