Organisers of the UTECH Europe 2018 polyurethanes event have announced full details of its comprehensive three-day conference taking place 29-31 May 2018 at the MECC, Maastricht, The Netherlands. Featuring over 80 detailed technical papers delivered in a total of 12 sessions, the conference will cover the latest developments in the world of polyurethanes and reveal unique insights into the European and global market.
Held at the MECC in Maastricht, where The Netherlands, Germany and Belgium meet, UTECH Europe is uniquely placed as the only truly international conference and exhibition for the polyurethanes industry. Unique to Europe is the sheer breadth of the applications of polyurethanes technology from automotive interiors, tiny medical devices, textiles and footwear through to insulation, adhesives and coatings.
Set to be the biggest ever staged, the UTECH Europe 2018 exhibition and conference offers materials specialists the perfect opportunity to see global advancements in polyurethane technology including all the latest products, formulations and machines. Expected to attract over 8,000 attendees from over 80 different countries worldwide, the exhibition features all the industry’s major players with a total of over 130 exhibitors including machinery suppliers, systems houses, technical consultancies, and test laboratories.
Covestro Chairman and CEO Patrick Thomas will deliver the conference’s keynote address. Mike Fowles, President of ISOPA, will welcome delegates to the conference. Robert Outram, Associate Director at IAL Consultants, will present a Strategic Market Overview, always one of the conference’s most eagerly awaited papers.
Highlights from the conference’s plenary session looking at key strategic and market developments include Jon Penrice, VP Polyurethanes at Dow Chemical whose keynote is entitled Emotion and function – creating value via marketing the innovation. James Elliott, Principal Analyst Inorganics at IHS Markit will cover MDI/TDI costs of Production and Steve Quinn, Consultant Polyurethanes and Intermediates at Tecnon OrbiChem will look at Pricing Trends. Other speaker highlights include Huntsman’s Innovation Manager Kristof Dedecker, presenting a paper on Step change technology for PIR panel production.
Sustainability, recycling and the use of renewable resources are a key focus for this year’s event, with no less than 15 papers devoted to the subject in the environment sessions which run over the first two days of the conference. The full three-day programme includes sessions covering all areas of the polyurethanes industry including flexible foams, rigid and spray foams, blowing agents, CASE (Coatings Adhesives, Sealants and Elastomers), additives, polyureas, composites and automotive applications. ISOPA will also be holding a dedicated session on the second day of the conference.
Representatives of all the industry’s major players are due to present including senior researchers and executives from Covestro, BASF, Dow, Evonik, Huntsman, Wanhua BorsodChem, Lanxess, Momentive, Repsol and Tosoh.