SPE Adds New Categories for Thermoformed Parts Competition

The Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) Thermoforming Division has announced a call for entries in its annual Parts Competition, including two new categories that will feature the latest advances in thermoforming design and application. The submission deadline is August 16, 2019.

Competition entries will be displayed on the exhibit hall floor during the 27^th SPE Thermoforming Conference, which will be held September 9-11 at the Wisconsin Center and Hilton Milwaukee City Center Hotel in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Awards for winning parts will be presented at the SPE Thermoforming Awards Dinner on Tuesday, September 10, at the Hotel.

Competition entrants may submit parts in four categories:

● Roll-fed categories are industrial, medical, or food.

● Heavy-gauge categories are vacuum form, pressure form, twin sheet and TPO.

● Two new categories this year are parts produced with recycled/sustainable materials and those made using automation and new technology.

“Challenges often arise as companies employ more automation and rely on fewer personnel during part production,” said Travis Kieffer, 2019 SPE Thermoforming Conference Parts Competition Chair. “Companies now look to automation to fill the dearth of skilled personnel required for production. Since the skilled labor shortage is a pervasive problem in the thermoforming industry, we are soliciting parts that have met and overcome this challenge by successfully engaging automation during the parts production process.”

Guidelines for Competition entrants and the required product entry form are posted online . All product images and descriptions must be emailed to Travis Kieffer  by the August 16 deadline.

Click here for full information on the Parts Competition and the Thermoforming Conference.