PDA Europe News
25 April 2008, Frankfurt, Germany
PDA Europe and Deutsche Bauchemie Working Group on Polyurea
The recently formed Polyurea Development Association Europe will play a key role at the upcoming UTECH Europe 2009 Conference, by organising a full morning session devoted to the recent technical and commercial development of this exciting new technology.All aspects of the technology, including its position in the international marketplace, will be covered in a series of papers from the major partners in the PDA-Europe as well as other presentations from companies active in the sector, said a 28 March announcement from Crain Communications Ltd, organisers of the conference. The UTECH Europe 2009 event, a major international conference and exhibition for the sector, will run 31st March – 2nd April 2009 in the Maastricht Exhibition and Congress Centre (MECC) in Maastricht, the Netherlands.
The Polyurea session will complement the full afternoon of presentations being coordinated by ISOPA (the European Diisocyanate and Polyols Producers Association) on the second day of the conference, 1 April. This is planned to involve a variety of specialists addressing key issues including an overview of polyurethane sustainability; users’ experiences of ISOPA’s safe-working programme — Walk the Talk; and the latest status of the European Union’s REACH legislation (Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals), which is now well into implementation.
As previously announced, the conference will open with a Keynote address given by Patrick Thomas, chief executive officer of Bayer MaterialScience AG—the world’s leading supplier of raw materials for the polyurethanes sector. This will be followed by a Plenary Session — with a focus on sustainability — which is also beginning to take shape, and is expected to involve specialists from major downstream customers in the construction, furniture and automotive sectors, as well as from the European Union and an environmental lobby group, Crain Communications added in the 28 March statement.
Focus on sustainability in constructionAs part of the Plenary Session, a senior specialist from the UK’s Building Research Establishment is planning to discuss the requirements for sustainability in the construction sector, a key user of rigid polyurethane foam insulation as well as other PU-based products.
The BRE is a world-leading research, consultancy, training, testing and certification organisation, based in Watford, just north of London, and is heavily involved in delivering sustainability and innovation across the built environment and beyond. Its more recent efforts include promoting “green building” initiatives such as the BRE Innovation Park in Watford, where a number of leading house-builders have constructed low-carbon and zero-carbon demonstration homes. It also administers the BREEAM scheme, BRE Environmental Assessment Method, which assess the environmental performance of buildings.
Finally, the main technical conference, running over the three days of the UTECH Europe 2009 event, is also close to being finalised. Following the 20 March final deadline for submission of papers, more than 60 presentations, addressing all areas of polyurethanetechnology, are being considered for inclusion in other sessions during the three-day conference.
The conference runs alongside a major exhibition featuring more than 100 companies supplying raw materials, processing equipment and other services to the PU sector.The whole event is expected to attract more than 3500 specialists, with more than 500 attending the conference.
Full conference details and booking information can be obtained from UTECH 2009 Conference, Crain Communications Ltd, 21 St Thomas Street, London SE1 9EU; Tel: +44 (0)20 7457 1400; Fax: +44 (0)20 7457 1440; E-mail: UTECH-2009@crain.com or via the UTECH link on the Website: www.urethanes-technology-international.com.
BACKGROUNDER
UTECH Europe 2009 will be the latest in the series of major international PU industry events organised by Industrial Promotions International, the Netherlands—one of the leading organisers of international niche exhibitions—in partnership with Crain Communications Ltd, London branch of America’s largest privately held publishing company. Since the first UTECH event—held in The Hague, The Netherlands, in March 1986—this partnership has launched and organised exhibitions for the polyurethane industries in China, Singapore, Brazil, and The Netherlands. And last year saw the first-ever UTECH event in North America, which ran alongside a major conference organised by the CPI (Center for the Polyurethanes Industry) in Orlando, Florida.