GLS Corporation To Sponsor Innovative TPE Product Design Competition
Call for Submissions; Entry is Free; Winners TBA at NPE 2006
McHENRY, IL (May 8, 2006) -- GLS Corporation, a leading global TPE technology supplier, announces their sponsorship of the first annual Innovative TPE Product Design Competition in conjunction with the 2006 National Plastics Exposition (NPE). The call for entries, rules and entry forms are available at www.glscorp.com.
Participants of this NPE-sanctioned competition include the SPI (Society of the Plastics Industry), the Rubber Manufacturers Association (RMA), Injection Molding Magazine, the Plastics Institute of America, Inc. (PIA), and the (Industrial Designers Society of America, Inc.) (ISDA). Awards and international recognition will be given to the winners, with judging by individuals selected from among the participants and sponsors.
Selected competition entries will be on display during the NPE show (June 19-23 at McCormick Center, Chicago, IL) in the TPE Pavilion, Booth #5139 A & B. Winners will be announced on June 22, 2006 at NPE. The sponsors note that entry is free with a deadline for entry form and product submission to the coordinating organization by 2 PM on June 7.
Information pertaining to the competition is available at www.glscorp.com. Entries should be submitted to Martin Thomas. The cover page of the entry form also shows numerous products of the type that might be eligible for recognition.
According to Walt Ripple, Director of Sales & Marketing for GLS Corporation, "Our plastics industry market segment is long overdue in recognizing and rewarding efforts by design engineers, industrial designers, and their design teams who have incorporated TPEs into their existing or new products. Awards will be based on products that show the most innovation, creativity and usefulness using TPEs." GLS expects this competition to become an annual, industry-wide event.
Criteria include products using TPEs which are below 80 Shore A hardness. Entries can include, but are not limited to, SBCs, TPVs, COPE and TPE alloys. Products incorporating TPEs must have been developed and marketed within 16 months of each annual awards program; that is, for this 2006 competition, products must have been developed and marketed between February 2005 and June 2006. Categories for consideration and judging include housewares, appliances and hand-held electronics; consumer products (personal care, glasses, toothbrushes, razors, infant care, etc.); medical (and life enhancing) products; and industrial products.
GLS Corporation specializes in the manufacture of application-specific custom formulated soft and ultra-soft thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs) for injection molding and extrusion. GLS has supplied specialty TPEs to the industry since 1979, and is recognized as a global leader in TPE technology solutions. Specific products sold by GLS include proprietary DYNAFLEX® TPE compounds based on KRATON® polymers (available in injection molding and extrusion, as well as medical and FDA grades); VERSAFLEX® TPE specialty alloys (available in soft touch, lightweight, ultra-soft, ultra-clear and overmolding grades); VERSALLOY® TPV alloys; and VERSOLLAN(TM) TPU alloy compounds. GLS is also the exclusive distributor of KRATON® compounds and polymers for the compounding market in the United States, and also distributes KRATON compounds and polymers globally.
Applications for these materials are found in consumer, medical, sports and leisure, automotive, lawn and garden, appliance, kitchen tool, power tool, personal care and industrial markets, among others.
For more information on the contest, go to http://www.martinthomas.com/GLS.htm.
For more information, in the U.S., contact: Marketing Department, GLS Corporation, 833 Ridgeview Drive, McHenry, IL 60050-7050. Telephone: (815) 385-8500 or (800) 457-8777. Fax: (815) 385-8533. E-mail: info@glscorp.com Web: www.glscorp.com.
In Europe, contact: Mr. Jack Van Gaans, GLS International Inc. o Handelscentrum Oudenbosch o Bosschendijk 193, unit 020 o 4731 DD Oudenbosch o The Netherlands Phone: +31 (0) 165 331 293 o Fax: +31 (0) 165 331 296 o Mobile: +31 (0) 653 317 296 E-mail: jvangaans@glscorp.com.
In Asia, contact: GLS Hong Kong Ltd., Room 5, 5/F, Block B, Veristrong Industrial Centre, 34-36 Au Pui Wan Street, Fo Tan, Shalin, N.T., Hong Kong. Tel: 011 852 2690 5330. Fax: 011 852 2690 5223. E-mail: asia@glscorp.com. Web: www.glscorp.com.
