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10th--Annual SPE® TPO Global Conference Explores Paradigm Shift in Worldwide Automotive Plastics Usage Society Of Plastics Engineers Release date: August 7, 2008
TROY (DETROIT), MICH. - The Detroit Section of the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE®) International is finalizing the schedule for its 10th-annual SPE Automotive TPO Global Conference, which will be held October 5-8, 2008 in Sterling Heights, Mich., a suburb of Detroit. The event is the largest automotive polyolefins conference in the world, and olefins have been the fastest-growing segment of the global plastics industry for a decade owing to their excellent cost/performance ratio. This year's show will explore the unique set of conditions that are causing a rapid and radical change in the way automakers are designing and building passenger vehicles and the materials specified for them.
The North American automotive industry is in the midst of an unprecedented transformation in the types of vehicles it produces. Senior Automotive Analyst, John Wolkonowicz of Global Insight (Waltham, Mass.) speaking about this said "I have never seen such a change in consumer taste and seen a change happen as fast as we've seen in the last couple of months." At the same time, a series of other trends are converging to create a paradigm shift in the way vehicles are made and the materials that are used to produce them.
Key among the trends influencing these changes are:
o The rapid rise in crude-oil prices, which is not only impacting driving patterns and vehicle selection criteria but also transportation costs for all products;
o The sharp increase in the cost of natural gas, which is causing monomer prices to spike, leading to nearly universal cost increases in resin prices;
o Significant increases in the price of steel, which has more than doubled since last September, adding $500 USD to the cost of an average vehicle just since January 2008;
o Shortages of certain metals and plastics in the developed world as supply flows to rapidly developing markets in China and India, pushing up prices globally;
o Passage of higher corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards in the U.S., which - coupled with high fuel prices and consumer demand for better fuel economy - is necessitating that automakers shift their fleet mix away from large, luxury vehicles toward smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles and accelerate development of lighter vehicles with alternative powertrains such as hybrids, plug-in electric and fuel-cell powered vehicles; and
o Advancements in resin and machine technology that allow processors to compound at the press, pushing compounders out of the supply chain, which in turn is causing compounders to respond by developing more efficient masterbatches and new specialty products.
"Many are calling the rapid convergence of these trends 'the perfect storm,'" says Robert Eller of Robert Eller Associates LLC and a member of the Automotive TPO Global Conference planning committee. "We can no longer look to the business cycles that went before for an idea of what the future will hold. Moving forward, things will be fundamentally different - not only how automakers produce vehicles, the kinds of vehicles they build, and the materials they use, but also the shape of the automotive supply chain and the path to market.
Our conference will examine some of the forces driving change in automotive TPOs and should have high value for anyone specifying rigid or flexible parts in thermoplastic polyolefins, as well as those producing or compounding or molding these materials. In fact, this conference is an excellent place to begin finding your role in the new TPO supply chain."
Adds conference co-chair, Bill Windscheif of Flint Hill Resources, "Because the SPE Automotive TPO Global Conference is the largest event of its kind in the world, many materials suppliers and machinery OEMs use it as a platform for introducing new TPO technologies to the market. For instance, this year we have a lot of presentations on new soft-touch materials for two-shot molding, which is a lighter, more efficient, and more cost-effective way to create interior trim parts in one step and without waste. We also have a half-day session and special display area dedicated to cut-sheet thermoforming. This process has been used in other industries for many years, but is not well understood or widely used in automotive. There are new thermoforming processes that operate at higher production speeds, plus new thermoformable TPO materials with lower temperature impact strength and good surface finishes that make it practical to consider for the production volumes and performance requirements typical in the auto industry. This materials/process combination can produce large parts in simple geometries and thinner walls very cost-effectively, which is why we felt it important to bring to the attention of automotive engineers."
The three-day conference features sessions on TPO materials, processes, and finishing and each session begins with a plenary talk to help attendees put the rest of that session's presentations into perspective. For instance, Marty Levin of ExxonMobil and representing the Automotive Group of the American Chemistry Council's Plastics Division will give a talk on Revisioning Automotive Plastics in the ACC's Plastics in Automotive Markets: Vision & Technology Roadmap to lead off the Materials Development session. Eric Short of LyondellBasell Advanced Polyolefins USA will discuss TPO Thermoforming Materials and Applications for the Transportation Industries before presentations in the Cut-Sheet Thermoforming session begin. Jim Moore of Polycon Industries (a division of Decoma) will start the Process Development session with a talk on Trends in Process Developments. And Dr. Rose Ryntz of International Automotive Components will speak on Material and Process Choices for Improved Haptics before the session on Surface Enhancements gets underway. Additionally, a Tuesday OEM-Industry Panel Discussion and a Monday keynote address by Manfred Klepacz of LyondellBasell on The Impact of New Middle East TPO Capacity on the North American Market.
For more details about scheduled presentations for this 10th-anniversary SPE Automotive TPO Global Conference, or to register for the event, please go to http://auto-tpo.com/ .
The SPE Automotive TPO Global Conference is organized each year by a volunteer committee. The conference typically draws 425 attendees from 20 countries on 5 continents. Roughly 35% of conference attendees work for an automotive OEM, with the balance made up of tier one component suppliers, resin suppliers, equipment OEMs, industry consultants, and members of academia. The event is held annually at the Best Western Sterling Inn (www.sterlinginn.com) in Sterling Heights, Mich. And is the largest automotive polyolefins conference in the world.
The mission of SPE International is to promote scientific and engineering knowledge relating to plastics worldwide and to educate industry, academia, and the public about these advances. SPE's Detroit Section is active in educating, promoting, recognizing, and communicating technical accomplishments for all phases of plastics and plastic based-composite developments. Topic areas include applications, materials, processing, equipment, tooling, design, and development.
For more information about the SPE Automotive TPO Global Conference, visit http://auto-tpo.com/ or ww.speautomotive.com/tpo.htm , or contact the group at +1.248.244.8993, or write SPE Detroit Section, Division, 1800 Crooks Road, Suite A, Troy, MI 48084, USA. For more information on the Society of Plastics Engineers International or other SPE events, visit the SPE website at www.4spe.org, or call +1.203.775.0471.
® SPE is a registered trademark of the Society of Plastics Engineers International.
Company Information:
Name: Society Of Plastics Engineers
Address: 14 Fairfield Dr.
City: Brookfield
State: CT
ZIP: 06804
Country: USA
Phone: 203-775-0471
FAX: 203-775-8490
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