Contact: Allen Weidman
(202)974-5233

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SPD Conference Showcases The Year's Most Innovative Products And Technologies In 12 Market Categories

WASHINGTON (January 11, 2000) – The Structural Plastics Division (SPD) of the Society of the Plastics Industry, Inc., will stage its 28th Annual Conference and Design Competition on March 26-28, 2000, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

The SPD Conference has become a mainstay for industry leaders who want to share and gain knowledge on the latest innovations in structural plastics and work with their peers to increase markets for industry. Attendees include original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), industrial designers, manufacturing engineers, tooling engineers, product development managers, moldmakers, equipment and technology providers, material suppliers and processor sales and marketing managers.

Like its predecessors, Structural Plastics 2000 will have as its centerpiece a new product design competition, which will give attendees a hands-on opportunity to examine innovative products of forward-thinking industrial designers from more than a dozen markets. The competition showcases a wide range of engineering, specialty and commodity materials and represents products manufactured from a variety of progressive plastic processes.

Among other planned highlights are a dozen technical events, which will cover an array of processes, markets and materials and provide information on the latest technologies. Sessions planned are:

• Advanced Automotive and Transportation Applications for Plastics Products, which will provide insights into future uses of plastics in these markets.
• Environmental Benefits Through the Use of Plastics, which will assess the impact and importance of environmental issues on plastics businesses.
• Advanced Computer, Business and Electronic Applications for Plastics Products, aimed at defining the current atmosphere in these volatile markets and helping the structural plastics industry discover new avenues for future success.
• Globalization of the Plastics Industry, in which industry leaders will share their experiences in the global environment.
• Advantages of Low Pressure Plastic Molding, which will address a tool many molders are finding invaluable to staying competitive in the world market.
• Designing Plastics with Computer-Aided Engineering, which will present the most recent innovations in this area for plastics and demonstrate the benefits of these systems to the plastics industry.
• In-Mold Decoration for Plastics Products, which will highlight leading-edge technologies in this cost-competitive marketplace.
• Speeding Plastic Designs to Market, a session that will cover all areas dealing with prototyping tools, quick manufacturing processes, time-to-market product delivery strategies and cost-effective CAD systems.
• Best Practices: Plastics Design/Material & Process Selection, which will focus on the teamwork necessary between materials suppliers and molders to ensure business success in today's market environment.
• Impact of E-Commerce on the Plastics Industry, in which participants can learn how to use this Internet tool to work more effectively with both customers and suppliers.
• Special Informational Event: Metal Injection Molding, which will explore the similarities between molding net shape metal products and plastic part manufacturing.
• OEM Panel: Anticipating OEM Needs in 2005, in which industry leaders from the automotive, healthcare, electronics and appliance industries will share their visions with respect to OEM needs that will impact the plastics industry.

The Structural Plastics Division is composed of companies that specify, manufacture or process plastic products for structural components and applications; produce materials or machinery used in the manufacture or processing of structural plastics products, or fabricate tooling for the structural plastics industry. Members also include industrial designers and others serving the plastics industry with a special interest in structural plastics applications.

Founded in 1937, The Society of the Plastics Industry, Inc is the trade association representing the fourth-largest manufacturing industry in the United States. SPI's nearly 2,000 members represent the entire plastics industry supply chain, including processors, machinery and equipment manufacturers and raw material suppliers. The U.S. plastics industry employs 1.3 million workers and provides $274 billion in annual shipments.

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