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VISITORS AT NPE2009 WILL HAVE MANY WAYS TO ACCESS BIOPLASTICS, NANOCOMPOSITES, AND OTHER NEW TECHNOLOGIES

Latest Advances Will Be the Focus of 2,000 Exhibits, Massive Educational Program, and Pavilions for Emerging Technologies, Special Industry Sectors, and Issues like Sustainability

SHANGHAI (April 19, 2008)—A wealth of technological discoveries will await visitors to next year’s NPE2009 international plastics exposition, including cutting-edge innovations that will be the focus of exhibits, pavilions, and educational presentations, it was announced today by The Society of the Plastics Industry, Inc. (SPI), founder and organizer of the triennial NPE event. NPE2009 will take place June 22-26, 2009 at Chicago’s McCormick Place.

“NPE2009 will not only present a remarkable range of emerging technologies but provide visitors with a multiplicity of ways to encounter them,” said SPI vice president of trade shows Gene Sanders, speaking at the NPE2009 press conference held during Chinaplas 2008. “On the show floor, exhibiting companies will highlight their latest developments in bioplastics, nanocomposites, energy independence, sustainability, and other technologies and socio-economic issues. These innovations will also be on display in special multi-exhibitor pavilions dedicated to advanced technologies. At the same time, the largest educational program ever offered at an NPE will include presentations on hundreds of topics. Between topics discussed in these presentations and related developments displayed on the exhibit floor, SPI plans to provide links—both online and on-site—that will add new depth to the technological discoveries made by NPE visitors.”

There will be two new-technology pavilions, each occupying a 10,000 sq.ft. (930 sq. m) multi-exhibitor booth in the new West Hall of McCormick Place. The Emerging Technologies Pavilion (Booth 117011) will include corporate, academic, and governmental exhibitors specializing in nanotechnology, bio-based materials, sustainability issues and technologies, and developments relating to energy independence. The New Technology Pavilion (Booth 107011) is open to innovations by companies whose proposals to exhibit must pass a review by a panel of knowledgeable industry editors. In addition to these pavilions, SPI is working with industry groups and corporations on plans for Special Industry Sector Pavilions for such fields as rotational molding, medical plastics, TPEs and rubber, moldmaking, thermoforming, and design. \

Besides conferences organized by SPI and cooperating organizations, the educational program at NPE2009 will be highlighted by the co-location of the world’s largest plastics technical conference, ANTEC™ 2009, organized by the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE). The complete ANTEC event, including hundreds of technical presentations plus seminars, workshops, and forums, will take place in West Hall meeting rooms adjacent to the exhibit floor in that building (see accompanying news release).

Also located in the West Hall will be an exhibit of the innovative products submitted to an International Design Competition, whose winners will be announced during NPE2009. The competition is open to plastics processors, designers, and OEMs.

“The interconnection between these innovative features of NPE2009 will go well beyond the fact that all are located in the West Hall,” noted Sanders. “We are developing a system of NPE Keyword Links to promote interaction between the wealth of technological presentations in the educational program and the displays and demonstrations taking place on the exhibit floor. Someone attending an ANTEC presentation of a given topic will encounter a display right in the conference area listing exhibits that are relevant to that topic. Similarly, visitors to our website at www.npe.org before or during the show will be able to use keyword links to see the interrelationships between all of the offerings at NPE2009, including exhibits, educational presentations, and other events during show week.”

Many Cutting-Edge Technologies to Be Encountered at NPE2009

Among the highlights of the many hundreds of company exhibits, the special-topic pavilions, and the vast educational program at NPE2009 will be the emphasis on innovative technologies that promise to transform the plastics industry and the lives of consumers that use its products. Here are some examples:

• Bioplastics. Since NPE 2006, companies around the world have introduced new polymer feedstocks based on renewable natural substances, bio-based resins and compounds based on these feedstocks, colorants and additives for use with bioplastics, machinery for processing them, and bio-based films, foams, packaging, and other products. “While bioplastics have been available in a limited way for many years, NPE2009 will be the true debut show for plastics based on renewable resources,” said Gene Sanders. “These proliferating polymer materials will reduce our dependence on oil and natural gas feedstocks and expand options for degradability and compostability.”

• Nanocomposites. By incorporating exceedingly tiny filler particles into standard plastics, resin producers and compounders can create materials with dramatically improved properties, for applications as diverse as automotive, electronics, and packaging. Many of the raw material companies exhibiting at NPE2009 will be introducing nanomaterials.

• RFID (Radio Frequency Identification): By embedding RFID transponder “tags” in plastic packaging or molded parts, manufacturers can track goods at every point in the supply chain, keep track of food-product freshness, identify reusable items like pallets, and prevent pirating. Since NPE 2006, in-mold labeling and insert molding systems have been developed for incorporating the sensitive RFID tags into plastic products, and these will be presented at NPE2009.

• Energy conservation and generation. Rising prices and tightening supplies of fossil fuels will make energy a prime topic at NPE2009. There will be three dominant themes: 1) saving energy in plastics processing (through more efficient equipment systems); 2) saving energy for users of plastics (e.g., through weight savings or insulation); and 3) using plastics in creating alternative energy sources (such as photoelectric panels and wind turbines).

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The NPE 2009 international plastics exposition will take place June 22-26, 2009 at Chicago’s McCormick Place. NPE 2006 attracted 1,838 exhibitors on 942,524 sq.ft. (87,600 sq. m) of net space; 33% of them came directly from outside the U.S. Of 64,438 industry professionals who registered to attend, 23% were internationals from 114 countries. For details on NPE, visit www.npe.org.

Founded in 1937, THE SOCIETY OF THE PLASTICS INDUSTRY, INC., (SPI) is the trade association representing the third-largest manufacturing industry in the United States. SPI's members represent the entire plastics industry supply chain, including processors, machinery and equipment manufacturers and raw materials suppliers. The U.S. plastics industry employs 1.1 million workers and provides $379-billion in annual shipments. Visit SPI on the Web at www.plasticsindustry.org.

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