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COMPOSITES & POLYCON 2006

It finally happened. This year, the American Composites Manufacturers Association (ACMA) and its International Cast Polymer Alliance (ICPA) officially merged at COMPOSITES & POLYCON 2006 after several years of sharing ideas and resources.

To celebrate the successful joining of two popular conventions, two-hundred and thirty exhibitors and more than 3,700 attendees from 36 countries—China, Brazil, Australia, Italy, and the United Kingdom to name a few—attended sessions and networked heavily in the exhibit hall. “All of our exhibitors reported excellent leads," said ACMA’s Meetings and Conventions Director Jeanne Mendelson. "This year we attempted to diversify and expand programming in order to meet the needs of small and medium-sized business owners. This year's first co-location was streamlined and efficient. Most attendees had a series of options at any given time, but were able to access whatever they needed most." International attendance totaled more than 10 percent of overall attendees. Sixty-six percent were manufacturers or end users. Highly anticipated guests included Bob Eckert of New & Improved, who conducted a CEO Managers’ Forum on inspiring a culture of innovation in the workplace, and Stan Duobinis, who presented a U.S. Housing Forecast at the ICPA General Business Meeting. “In my 27 years of experience I think one of the best things to happen is the combination of the ICPA and ACMA trade shows,” said Bob Piekarski, Mold Shop Supervisor for Bradley Corporation.

COMPOSITES & POLYCON 2007 will take place in Tampa, Fla. on October 17-19, 2007. Contact ACMA’s Meetings Department for more information: 703.525.0511.

Facts and Figures

  • Attendance: 3,700+
  • Exhibitors: 260
  • Countries: 39
  • Global Attendance (top 5): Canada – 146, China – 46, Mexico – 30, United Kingdom – 23, Japan – 19
  • Educational Sessions: 85 sessions, 2289 total attendees
  • Technical Papers: 52 papers given, 934 attendees
  • Presidents Award Winner: Pete Emrich, Molded Fiber Glass Company
  • Composites Hall of Fame Inductees: Royce Newsom, CCT-CP of Venetian Marble, and Terry McCabe of Interplastic Corporation
  • Lifetime Achievement Winner: Louis Dehmlow, Composites One
  • Gary B. Multanen Scholarship Winner: Sarah Orton, University of Texas

Technical Paper Winners

  • Best Overall: Robert Spaans, “Development of a Pultruded FRP Sunroom System.”
  • Materials: Wenfeng Kuang, R&D Specialist, and Ashley Richardson, Technician, Albemarle Corporation, “A New Amine Promoter for Low-temperature Cure of MEKP Initiated Unsaturated Polyester Resin Systems.”
  • Construction & Infrastructure: Lawrence Bank, Michael Oliva, Han-Ug Bae, Jeffrey Barker, University of Wisconsin; Seung-Woon Yoo, Kwandong University, Korea, “Tests of Pultruded FRP Plank as Formwork and Reinforcement for Concrete Structures.”
  • Processing Technology: Eric Billups, University of North Dakota; Dana T. Grow, Sioux Manufacturing Corporation, “VARTM Processing Applied to M939 Fender Fabrication.”
  • Fire Resistant Technology: J. Huczek, M. Mehrafza and M. Janssens, Southwest Research Institute®, “Performance of Composite Construction Products in Reaction-to-Fire Tests.”
  • Compression Molding: Robert L. Seats, Dennis H. Fisher, Helena Twardowska, Ashland Specialty Chemical, “Tough, Low Mass SMC Development for Transportation Applications.”
  • Testing: Bazle A. Gama, Shridhar Yarlagadda, University of Delaware Center for Composite Materials; Masanori (Mike) Kubota, Kubota Research Associates, “Low Velocity Impact and Damage Behavior of Kevlar Bonded Carbon/Epoxy Composites fabricated by Near-IR Irradiation.”
  • Materials-Color: David M. Hyde, Selby M. Brannon, Plasticolors, “Investigation of Infrared Reflective Pigmentation Technologies for Coatings and Composite Applications.”

ACE Winners

  • Best of Show: COMPOSOLITE® Bascule Bridge, Strongwell, Bristol Division
  • Infinite Possibility: GRIDFORM FRP Bridge Deck Panels, Strongwell
  • Process Innovation: Smart Pipe, Smart Pipe Company
  • Superior Quality in an Open Molded Part: FUSION Pool, Trilogy
  • Most Creative Application: Composite Bipolar Plate Assembly for Transportation PEM Hydrogen Fuel Cells, Dana Corporation
  • Technical Innovation for Corrosion Application: DanELAST Zero Leakage FRP Damper, Daniel Company
  • People’s Choice: COMBAT’S DA BOMB T-Ball Bat, CE Composites