September 2008

President’s Message

The 2008-2009 Board of Directors welcomes you back and we are excited about the upcoming program year. We hope that all of you had an enjoyable summer. During our Summer Directors Meeting we had the opportunity to address some of the challenges that professional organizations, including SPE, have attracting the next generation of professionals and adapting to the ways younger generations prefer to receive benefits from a professional organization. The needs of young professionals and the value that professional associations provide have not changed. We continue to be a resource that provides members with technical education resources and an avenue for social and business networking events. The challenge we all share is meeting the needs of a diverse group of professionals with many preferences as to how we deliver the valued services.

The South Texas group also covers a large geographic area that poses additional challenges to meet the needs of our members. Fortunately, the South Texas group has done a good job providing numerous opportunities for smaller groups to get together in breakfast, lunch and other social settings. Our younger members have expressed an interest in after hour social events and using social networks such as Linked In or Facebook to share information and improve communications. As with all volunteer associations, we are looking for those interested to initiate an effort to add some of these resources.

Brandon Cleary is kicking off the program year with another event at the Astros game where we expect to have an attendance of 200. The event will be hosted in the Champions Pavilion where burgers, hot dogs, chips and drinks will be served. There will be a cash bar and the seats are located just outside our room. The cost is $30.00 and includes the meal and the tickets. All are welcome so buy your tickets at www.spe-stx.org and come join the fun. We are encouraging our students and youngest prospective members to come to the event at no cost to network and volunteer to support the event. Gerry Fusco will have information about membership and our Board of Directors and Committee Chairpersons will have information regarding their programs and activities that you can find a place to plug in.

Kurt Hayden will be serving as the Newsletter Chair and will be delivering valuable information about the upcoming events and educational programs.

Don Witenhafer will be serving as the Polyolefin’s Chair for 2008 and promises another exciting program packed with great technical speakers and many social and business networking opportunities. Bob Portnoy will be serving as the conference Technical Program Chair.

Marty Husti will be leading our education committee and has a busy agenda mentoring the youth of our community through education and working with our Universities.

This year we have added a Public Interest Chair in Noreen McCarthy and she will be helping us with press releases and increase awareness of the work that we are doing in our community.

We are excited about the coming year and hope that you will find an opportunity to get connected with industry professionals and benefit from the educational and many networking events that we have planned.

See you there!

Jeff Applegate
SPE South Texas President 2008-2009

Plastics Information: Check it Out

Since the Houston Public Library on McKinney St is essentially closed for remodeling, you cannot go there to browse for books on plastics/polymers. However, go to their catalog at www.hpl.lib.tx.us and arrange to pick up books at a branch library.

The Fondren Library at Rice University has the most complete collection of books on plastics and polymers. This is also a prime resource for patent and trademark information, as well as other US Government documents. You cannot check out books there unless you join Fondren Library [$50], but you can arrange for books to be sent to your library by inter-library loan. Use their catalog at www.rice.edu/fondren/.

The next best place to browse is at the MD Anderson Library at the University of Houston central campus. South Texas Section has donated many plastics books to this library. If you plan ahead, you can get a TexShare library card from a library where you are a member, which will allow you to check out books from any U of H library. Their catalog is at www.library.uh.edu/.

Bulletin Board

Upcoming Topical Conferences (TopCons)

September 2008

SPE European Conference on Medical Polymers
September 2-4, 2008
PPRC – Queens University Belfast
Belfast, Ireland

FOAMS™ 2008
September 9-11, 2008
Charlotte, North Carolina USA

CAD RETEC^® - Coloring into the Next Decade
September 21-23, 2008
Hyatt Regency Hotel
Dearborn, Michigan USA

Thermoforming Conference^® 2008
September 20-23, 2008
Minneapolis Convention Center & Hilton Hotel
Minneapolis, Minnesota USA

October 2008

Automotive TPO Conference
October 5-8, 2008
Sterling Heights, Michigan, USA

Annual Blow Molding Conference
October 7-9, 2008
Chevron Phillips Chemical Technical Center and Bartlesville Community Center
Bartlesville, Oklahoma, USA

Engineering Properties & Structure Division TopCon
October 13-14, 2008
Holiday Inn Select
Wimington, Deleware USA

Vinyltec^® 2008 - Raw Material Technology for Flexible and Rigid Applications
October 13-15, 2008
Crowne Plaza Chicago O’Hare Hotel
Rosemont, Illinois USA

SPE Co-Extrusion TopCon
October 21-22, 2008
Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza Hotel
Cincinnati, Ohio USA

SPE Thermoset Molding Conference
October 23-24, 2008
Madison Concourse Hotel
Madison, Wisconsin, USA

November 2008

SPE 2008 New Technology Symposium
November 11-12, 2008
Renaissance Philadelphia Hotel Airport
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USA

February 2009

SPE International Polyolefins Conference
February 22-25, 2009
Wyndham Greenspoint Hotel
Houston, Texas. USA

Breakfast Bunch Invitational Golf Outing – 2008

The 4th annual Breakfast Bunch Invitational Golf Outing has been scheduled for Friday morning, October 17th with an 8:30am shotgun start at Windrose Golf Club, 6235 Pine Lakes Blvd in Spring. Windrose GC is located just off of Kuykendahl Road approximately ½ mile south of FM2920.

This year’s event will be a 2 person scramble, and the entry fee of $55.00 includes golf, cart, prizes, lunch, two free drink tickets, and more fun that you can handle. Past tournaments have always seen great weather, and this is a good opportunity to spend some time with customers and friends while bringing the week to an enjoyable conclusion.

We are always looking for sponsors to assist defraying the costs, and in the past their generosity has allowed us to keep the entry fee at its low level, and still provide a quality outing. We have been able to hold prices across the line for both the entry fee and sponsor donation. A $50.00 donation gets the sponsor recognized at the Outing, and a mentioned in the South Texas Newsletter.

We again, want to pass on our thanks to last years sponsors: AMETEK, Bag Magic, Inc, Ciba, Croda, CW Brabender Instruments, Ingenia Polymers, JM Huber, Kraton Polymers, NRM Extruders, Phoenix Plastics, Tarquin Plastics & Colors, UBS Financial Services, TIAero, LLC, and Windrose GC

The tournament as scheduled falls on the October Lunch Bunch date. The lunch at the outing is open to folks who would like to network, but not play golf – cost of lunch only is: $10.00.

Anyone interested in participating as a player or sponsor, please contact Marty Husti at: 281-655-1919, or via email at: marty@tiaero.com

South Texas Section members enjoying after golf lunch at BBIG-O Tournament.

Books, Etc.

	What Every Engineer Should Know About Business Communication (#0823) By John X. Wang, 2008, 188 pages Price: $52.00 / SPE Member: $43.00 Engineers must possess a range of business communication skills that enable them to effectively communicate the purpose and relevance of their ideas, processes, and technical designs. This unique text is packed with practical advice that will improve your ability to market ideas, write proposals, generate enthusiasm for research, deliver presentations, explain a design, organize a project team, coordinate meetings, and create technical reports and specifications. It focuses on the three critical communication skills — speaking, writing, and listening — and demonstrates how to integrate a marketing strategy into every facet of engineering communication, including presentations, visual aids, proposals, technical reports, and even email and phone calls. Using situational examples, the book also illustrates how to use computers, graphics, and other engineering tools to effectively communicate with other professionals.
	SPC: Statistical Process Control in Injection Molding and Extrusion, 2nd Ed. (#0816) By Chris Rauwendaal, 2008, 264 pages Price: $102.00 / SPE Member: $85.00 Successful implementation of Statistical Process Control requires an understanding of SPC as well as process know-how. Accordingly, this book aims to teach not only the principles of SPC but also basic injection molding and extrusion process technology. Contents: Injection Molding Technology; Extrusion Technology; Plastics and Plastics Properties Important in Injection Molding and Extrusion; Introduction to Statistical Process Control; Data Collection, Data Analysis, and Problem Solving; Measurement; Control Charts; Process Capability and Special SPC Techniques for Molding and Extrusion; Other Tools to Improve Process Control; Appendices
	Nine-Language Dictionary of Polymers and Composites (#0821) Edited by Andrea Grafov & Eloisa B. Mano, 2008, 1,086 pages Price: $250.00 / SPE Member: $199.00 Worldwide, research in polymers and composites is proceeding at an unprecedented rate and on diverse fronts. This dictionary provides a tool for translating research results, promotes the exchange of information, and enhances scientists’ understanding of the wealth of data published in different languages. Includes 7,000 terms translated into nine languages: English, Chinese, French, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and Ukrainian. All polymer-related subject areas are covered, including chemistry, physical chemistry, physics, spectroscopy, microscopy, theoretical models, polymer-based composites and nanocomposites, polymer and composite processing, and related equipment, tools, and standard testing techniques. New research terms in composites and nanocomposites are also included.
	SPE Cliphanger (#0726) Price: $8.95 / SPE Member: $4.95 Keep your portable electronics right at hand wherever you need them with the SPE ClipHanger. The translucent gray, plastic SPE ClipHanger attaches securely to your cell phone, iPod, MP3, PDA, or pager with an industrial strength self-adhesive tab (tab can be removed with no sticky residue at a later date but is not reusable). Ergonomically designed, the thin yet exceptionally durable ClipHanger flexes to slip on to a pant belt loop, handbag strap, or backpack. No more hunting for your phone when it rings; it’s right at your fingertips, and the ClipHanger easily pulls free from the loop or strap where you’ve hung it to allow for quick use of your device.

Councilor’s Report

Because the Council hasn’t met since ANTEC, which I reviewed in the June newsletter, I’ve extracted items from recent SPE Executive Committee minutes. As always, I invite and welcome your feedback, insights, and input for governance.

Generational Planning
The SPE Executive Committee has been focusing on Generational Planning and the changing demographics for SPE. To that end, President-Elect Paul Andersen invited Sarah Sladek, a consultant, to talk about “Reaching Generations X, Y, and Z.” According to Ms. Sladek, Generations X and Y cover ages 14 to 45. Many associations like the SPE started in the 1600’s and have remained remarkably the same since then. These associations are starting to fade away now. “New Recruit Associations” target younger generations and are growing.

Her other observations included:

Generation Xers (born before 1982) have never known job security. They are self-sufficient. They have a need to be trusted.

Generation Y (born 1982-1995) have never known a world without (electronic) technology. They are globally minded. They are the most protected and pampered generation in history. They think that everything about current associations is obsolete or irrelevant. They want a lot of guidance and freedom.

Generation Z (born since 1996) are still young but will soon influence the markets. Associations are not expected to be present in their lives.

Marketing to Generations X and Y requires use of many more channels. Relationship building is critical (mentoring and sense of community).

Generations X and Y still need and want to belong to peer groups with a call to action, member benefits, involvement opportunities, and affordable pricing.

New-recruit organizations focus on students first. Students want to be mentored and have a community focus. Fee structures to transition to full membership are needed. The students want their dues to make a difference and support a larger cause.

Generations X and Y need respect and rewards. They are episodic volunteers – putting a lot of energy into a project and then taking a break. They want meetings with intentions that use technology when appropriate.

Websites should be very visual and feature young people. They need to provide useful information, relationship-building opportunities and innovative design.

X and Y generations do not want to pay their dues and climb the corporate ladder. They want freedom to work (work- life balance) and responsibility. They don’t want to work long hours – they work to live.

More information on this topic is available at www.limelight-associations.com.

President Elect Andersen and Executive Director Susan Oderwald are brainstorming ideas relative to the impact of this information on SPE.

2009 Budget Issues / Strategic Planning
SPE Membership is slowly eroding. The current North American economic situation may be accelerating this trend, particularly driven by the limited geographic diversity of SPE membership. 5314 members joined between 2004 and 2008 as a result of direct mail solicitation. Ms. Gebauer (SPE staff) is projecting a 9% reduction in membership each year through 2012. Our current membership revenue is $1.95 million; this will be reduced to $1.23 million by 2012 – a difference of $715,000. Membership in 2012 could be fewer than 12,000 people. This information must be taken into account during our budgeting and planning processes.

Tom Conklin, Director of New Business Development, is considering partnerships, outreach, and new business development. Since we do not market our products broadly beyond members, declining membership affects revenue from those products. Several new product efforts have been completed. Ongoing projects include the Plastipedia (awaiting introduction of the new website), and increased emphasis on technical volumes, including promotion in conjunction with e-Lives. Unfortunately, he does not foresee these efforts making up the $715,000 potential shortfall in membership revenue.

Governance
Barbara Arnold-Feret proposed removing the differentiation between non-North American and North American proxy rules. Ms. Arnold-Feret recommended that Council allow non-constituent proxies for all Sections and Divisions, that is, proxies could be designated for all Sections and Divisions, so long as they are SPE members at large.

The Executive Committee is considering allowing fully electronic participation in governance (Council) meetings, including voting. While audio conferencing has been offered in the past (with very limited participation), remote voting has not been available. The technology will be tested in the fall Council meeting.

2009 Budget Issues
Vice Presiden/Treasurer Barbara Arnold-Feret has worked with the Finance Committee to develop a budget proposal which will be considered at the October Council meeting. Significant variants from traditional budgets include the website development costs and the membership decline. Details will be available before the Council meeting via net-meetings.

Strategic Direction
Executive Director Susan Oderwald is leading a review of alternative strategic directions for SPE including dramatic structural changes, alliances with other societies, or even mergers with other societies. Various Executive Committee members were assigned to task teams to look at governance (Jim Griffing chair), member value (V. J. Boolani chair), communication technology (Scott Owens chair), and finance/administration (Barbara Arnold-Feret chair).

The SPE Foundation assets have been transferred back to SPE, rather than set aside in a separate corporation. That’s a good thing in that it avoids duplicate accounting, etc. The funds will still be used in the intended ways, but there will not be extra overhead, accounting, and separate auditing. The Foundation assets were separated out several years in anticipation of major growth of the fund and a need to separately manage the investments. The fund has not grown exponentially, and the separation simply increased administrative costs.

Awards
The SPE annual awards for 2009 will be somewhat altered (reduced in number) due to the co-location with NPE and other awards. A proposal is being developed.

Feedback
Again, please let me know (donna.s.davis@exxonmobil.com) if you have any questions or input. The next Council meeting will be mid October near the SPE Headquarters in Connecticut. Thanks for your continuing commitment to the SPE mission of ”promoting and providing knowledge and education of plastics globally”. And think about getting even more involved with section activities like the Polyolefins Conference.

Wood Plastic Composites
What are they? Why should the plastics industry care?

William Sigworth, Research Fellow
Chemtura Corporation, Middlebury, CT USA

Abstract
The natural fiber plastic composite (NFPC) market offers exciting opportunities for both polyolefin resin manufacturers and additives suppliers. Wood and other natural fiber-filled polyolefins are being used in an increasing number of building and construction applications. This area of the composite market is projected to grow at a significantly higher rate than glass and mineral-filled polyolefins. This paper will discuss the North American WPC market, give an overview of how woodpolyolefin composites are formulated, and describe unmet needs and market trends.

Introduction
Readily available, low cost natural fibers are used at 30-85% loading in thermoplastics to prepare natural fiber-plastic composites. The natural fibers can be wood flour, wood fiber, or agricultural fibers such as hemp, flax, rice hulls, or nut shells. The predominate natural fiber in the North American market is wood flour, which is essentially a particulate material produced by grinding wood chips, scrap and/or dust into fiber with an aspect ratio of less than 3. Since wood and most agricultural fibers degrade at temperatures greater than 200°C, lower melting thermoplastics like polyethylene, polypropylene, and PVC must be used as the thermoplastic portion of the Wood-Plastic Composites (WPC). The most commonly used thermoplastic in the North American market is polyethylene since recycled waste streams of this polymer are readily available from post-consumer sources such as milk jugs, stretch wrap, and grocery bags.

The use of wood flour as a filler for plastics goes back to the early 20th century when it was added to a thermosetting phenolic resin to make “Bakelite.” One early application of Bakelite was for the gear shift knob on the 1916 Rolls Royce. Major market growth in WPC took place between the late 1980’s to 2000. Trex and AERT, two start-up companies, were the first to market decking products based on composites of wood flour and recycled polyethylene. A technology licensing company called Strandex began to sell their turn-key technology for direct extrusion of wood-PE composites for decking and railing applications. Andersen Corporation, the window manufacturer, produced window components based on their patented method for making wood-PVC blends. Compounders recognizing the market potential began to sell compounded pellets which end-users could extrude directly into finished products. Distribution of the finished decking products used the traditional lumber industry two-step process (distributor-lumber yard). By the turn of the century, the number of WPC companies manufacturing decking and railing products had grown significantly with both large corporations and small entrepreneurs becoming involved. Big box stores like Home Depot and Lowes saw the advantages of the WPC decking and began to market it in their stores. (1)

The Market
The building and construction as well as the automotive industries have become interested in NFPC. In the building and construction industry, these composites offer the following advantages over conventional lumber:
• Resistance to moisture, rot, and insects
• Less prone to splitting, warping, and splintering
• Requires less routine maintenance and lasts longer.

In automotive applications, the NFPC are less abrasive, lower weight and lower cost than either talc or glass fiber-filled composites. In both markets, they address environmental concerns about recycling plastic and wood by-product streams. For the auto industry, the natural fibers require less energy to produce and the composites are easier to recycle. For the building and construction segment, the WPC avoid the wood preservative chemicals used in pressure treating of conventional wood products.

The largest segment of WPC market in North America is in the building and construction industry, particularly the decking and railing segment. Here the predominant natural fiber is wood flour and the predominant polymer is polyethylene, derived from recycled, wide-spec or virgin sources. The Europeans have been quicker to adopt NFPC in the automotive area for applications like interior and trunk parts. The NFPC normally is used as a subsurface layer which is covered by fabric or another plastic layer in the end-use application.

Market Volume/Manufacturers
Attachment 1 shows the growth rate of WPC decking from 2000-2005 and projects growth through 2010. For 2005-2010, the estimated growth rate is approximately 20% per year. (2) This growth rate is in contrast to the 4-8% rate for mineral and glass-filled thermoplastic composites.

Table 1 gives a representative listing of the WPC manufacturers in North America. It is not meant to be all inclusive but rather to give a flavor of the size and types of companies that are manufacturing WPC decking and railing. Trex is widely recognized as the largest of the manufacturers. Other major producers are AERT, Timbertech, Fiber Composites, and LP. Strandex licensees are represented by LP, Universal Forest Products, Deceuninck NA, and Composatron.

Formulation: Wood & Resin Effects
Attachment 2 shows the effect of weight percent wood flour on the flexural modulus and strength of a polypropylene based composite. Modulus increased with wood flour content while strength decreased. The decrease in flex strength is attributed to the higher level of stress concentrating wood flour particles. The water uptake (attachment 3) increased with increasing wood flour level. Uptake levels with 60% wood flour were 50-80% higher than the levels at 40% wood flour. The increases in water uptake were not linear. The increase in wood flour loading from 50 to 60% had a larger effect on moisture uptake than did the increase from 40 to 50%.

The type of polyolefin resin in the WPC also affected properties. Attachment 4 compares HDPE and PP composites containing 40 weight percent wood flour. The polypropylene composite was stiffer and stronger than the HDPE composite but is harder to cut and nail. In addition to resin type, the molecular weight of the resin played a role in determine composite properties, Increasing the MFI (reducing the MW) of the HDPE in the 40% wood composite reduced the tensile and flexural strengths but had little effect on tensile or flexural moduli.

Formulation: Additives
Although they are generally used at low levels, additives play an important role in determining the processing and performance of WPC. Lubricants and other process aids can improve extrusion processing by increasing output and improving the appearance of the finished product. Other additives such as coupling agents, antimicrobials, antioxidants and UV stabilizers play a critical role in helping to improve initial properties and to resist change and deterioration resulting from exposure to various environments. Table 2 below lists the additives most commonly used in WPC, gives a range of their use levels, and describes their benefits.

In formulations containing several different additives, care should be taken to insure that there are no antagonistic interactions between these additives. One such antagonism is between maleic anhydride functionalized polyolefins coupling agents and metal stearate lubricants. The beneficial effects of the coupling agents on strength and water uptake can be completely negated by addition of as little as 0.3% metal stearate lubricant. Non-interfering lubricant packages are available for use in WPC formulations containing coupling agents. Other examples of antagonistic interactions between additives are the accelerating effect which zinc stearate has on the decomposition of azodicarbonamide foaming agents and the reaction between thioester stabilizers and hindered amine light stabilizers.

Issues
Issues facing the WPC industry can be related to cost, durability, and meeting building codes.

WPC deck boards sell for a 50-70% premium over comparable pressure treated wood boards. WPC products have been able to increase their share of the decking every year despite this price gap. However, the composite deck manufacturers must keep or reduce this price gap to further penetrate the market. (2) The run-up in the prices of both virgin and recycled resins that occurred after the 2005 hurricanes has made it difficult for manufacturers to maintain their pricing. (3) As a result there are opportunities for low cost resin replacement systems. Methods of reducing board weight such as foaming are also of interest.

Both short and long term durability are areas of continuing concern to WPC manufacturers. Originally, advertised as no maintenance, WPC decking is now being promoted as low maintenance. Despite this more realistic approach, changes in aesthetics continue to raise consumer issues. Color fade, which is 2-4 times greater than in siding and occurs after as little as 4 months field exposure, has resulted in a number of consumer complaints. (4) Attack by mold and mildew is also an issue as is staining due to tannins in the wood flour and from oil and beverage spills. Scratches created by furniture being dragged over the deck surface result in complaints as well.

WPC manufacturers must spend a great deal of time and effort getting code approvals for their products. Since the WPC industry is relatively new compared to siding, the codes are being revised frequently. Two examples illustrate this point.

Effective July, 2006, a revised version of the International Code Council-Evaluation Service’s AC-194 acceptance criteria for decking and railing systems was issued which includes a requirement on creep rupture.(5) This change requires re-qualification, a 6-9 month process, for any manufacturer wishing to maintain their AC-174 approvals.

A second example which could potentially result in a large change in the way that WPC decking and railing products are formulated is taking place in the western part of North America. Population growth combined with a dwindling supply of land for residential construction have resulted in an increased number of homes being built at the borders between the urban and wildland environments. The so-called Urban-Wildland Interface (UWI) is known for having a higher frequency and severity of wild fires. Expenditures for fire fighting in these areas are on the increase. Legislative action is being taken to limit the financial burden of these fires. California has passed legislation that will be effective in 2008. Testing criteria that will ensure compliance with the California legislation are under development. (6, 7) Colorado and British Columbia are considering similar laws.

Improving the flame retardancy of decking is one goal of the legislation. Ignition of decking is a major concern because of the hazard to the habitable structure. Most decks are configured in such a way that they are threatened by two potential sources of ignition: burning embers from above and burning brush under the deck. New building codes will almost certainly require deck boards which are flame retardant. The inability to develop a WPC decking product that meets the UWI fire safety standards will negatively impact market growth. Chemtura estimates suggest that flame retardant WPC decking could comprise 10-15% of the NA market.

Conclusions
The WPC market offers opportunities for both polyolefin resin manufacturers and additive suppliers.

The market is growing at a much higher rate than the glass and mineral filled-polyolefin areas. The sales volume for WPC decking and railing is projected to increase by over 2.5 times between 2005 and 2010 reaching $2.5 billion. Other building and construction applications such as privacy fencing, windows and doors, trim boards, and siding are either currently entering the marketplace or under development.

Additives are required to solve unmet needs of the market. Many WPC manufacturers need technical assistance to resolve these issues. Solutions must be cost effective and must be demonstrated at production extrusion rates and/or in the real world environment.

The WPC market also creates an outlet for plastic and wood waste streams. Participation in this market is an environmentally friendly course of action.

Acknowledgements
Thanks are extended to Dr. John Wefer, Mr. Paul Hinckley, and Mr. Roger Cheney for help in preparing this paper and to Chemtura Corporation for permission to present it.

References
1. C. Clemons, “Woodfiber-Plastic Composites in the United States – History and Current and Future Markets,” Forest Products Journal, vol. 52 (6), pp. 1-1 through 1-7, June, 2002.
2. Matt Griswold, “Decks do well despite housing stat slowdown,” Plastics News, October 2, 2006.
3. A. DeRosa & M. Griswold, “Resin Cost a hot topic in the building sector,” Plastics News, January 23, 2006.
4. M. Griswold, “Wood-plastic firms working at fixing problems,” Plastics News, October 30, 2006.
5. ICC-ES AC-174, “Acceptance Criteria for Deck Board Span Rating and Guardrail Systems,” ICC-ES, Whittier, CA, Approved June, 2006, Effective July 1, 2006.
6. Urban Wildland Interface Building Test Standards 12-7A-5, “Fire Resistive Standards for Decks and Other Ancillary Structures,” California Building code, Chapter 7
7. ASTM E108-05, “Standard Test Methods for Fire Tests of Roof Coverings,” Published 2005.

SPE-STX Board Meeting

Location: HESS
Date: August 11, 2008

SPE Endowment Check Presentation

The final payment of the $25,000 Endowed Scholarship was accepted at TTU on May 21, 2008 in Lubbock. The scholarship honors South Texas Section Education Committee Chairman, Mark Demark. The formal name of the scholarship is: Mark Demark – Society of Plastics Engineers, South Texas Section Endowed Scholarship. The endowment will generate funds that will provide scholarships to Texas Tech students who are pursuing polymer related studies.

From L to R are:  Miao Hu, Gengxin Zhang, Naz Karim, Rajesh Khare, Dean Pamela Eibeck, Jin Hua Wang and Po-Han Lin.

SPE Annual Blow Molding Conference 2008

This year’s event, Oct. 8-9, will be in Bartlesville, Oklahoma near the Chevron-Phillips Plastics Center. The theme is: “Building Blocks for the Future.” Technical sessions include: an industry overview, materials, applications and
machinery advancements in packaging, industrial and automotive, material handling, parison/preform optimization and even a much anticipated session on legislation and sustainability.

You may have customers, prospective clients or colleagues who may be interested in attending the conference or even participating as an exhibitor/sponsor.

Register by September 21st to take advantage of the discount.

A current copy of the program schedule can be found at the SPE Blow Molding Division Website:
http://www.4spe.org/communities/divisions/d30.php

South Texas Education Committee Sets Goals for 2008-2009

Over the summer, the Education Committee kept active by putting together the framework for the Section expenditures on education activities during the coming year. The Section Board of Directors met during this period as well, and the Ed Committees budget was presented, fine tuned at three separate Board meetings, and approved at the August, 2008 meeting.

The Section approved a budget of $82,250.00 to be spent on Educational activities during 2008-2009. 97% of funds approved will go directly to students at universities, or secondary education facilities. The Section is fortunate to have a cadre of willing volunteers on the Ed Committee who commit their time and efforts to keep our administrative costs to the bare minimum. Even more fortunate is that through the annual Polyolefins Conference, and Padula Memorial Golf Outing, we are able to generate funds that can be used for educational purposes by South Texas Section schools.

The coming years funds will be disbursed in the following areas:

Initial disbursements have already gone out to some of the schools who are being supported. Throughout the year all funds will be spent. In addition to the Section education budget, the Polyolefins Conference also directly supports education activities during the conference. Over $28,000.00 in direct and indirect funds were expended on students during the 2008 Polyolefins Conference. The Section realizes that providing support and encouragement to young people to get involved in our industry can only bode well for its future well being. The Education Committee members want to thank the Section Board of Directors, and South Texas SPE members for the ongoing support that they provide our committee’s efforts. Our ability to give back to the community is one of the many reasons that the South Texas Section continues to be successful.

Dale Walker Endowed Scholarship at TAMU

Frank Padula Endowed Scholarship at UH

Henry Kahn Endowed Scholarship at TAMU