A real presence.

The rubber industry has always had a presence at the triennial National Plastic Exposition. The NPE, sponsored by the Society of the Plastics Industries, is the third largest show of any type in the U.S., occupying all of Chicago's McCormick place for a week. It usually takes a couple of days to take in the expo, considering there are usually around 2,000 exhibitors covering more than one million sq. ft. of floor space. It's easy for an exhibitor to be overlooked.

At the 2006 NPE, the industry will really have a presence, as the Rubber Manufacturers Association has agreed to organize a multi-exhibitor pavilion, along with an educational program.

The RMA's General Products Group vice president Kevin Ott sees potential for more than 100 companies to sign on as exhibitors in the pavilion, which was given a key location on the upper level of McCormick North. Ott says the rubber/TPE pavilion will give prospective exhibitors cause to participate in NPE more broadly than in the past, or for the first time. Also, "suppliers of elastomer related raw materials, additives, machinery, testing instruments and tooling will find the pavilion a unique venue because it embraces both thermoplastic and thermoset technologies," he added.

The pavilion concept should be attractive for exhibitors and for the serious expo visitors, who won't have to wander a million square feet to seek out elastomeric vendors. This concept has been successful at the K-Show in Germany.

The RMA will also partner with the Rubber Division to produce business and technical sessions on elastomers concurrent with the expo.

Topics to be covered include compliance with European "end of life" regulations for automobiles, improved methods of mixing and compounding, issues and technologies relating to disposal and re-use of scrap rubber, and potential growth markets for thermoplastic elastomers.

Kudos to the RMA on this arrangement. The association has long been considered by many as only a tire maker's association. Those who are members of the GPG have known for quite some time that this is not the case, and this pavilion at the NPE is further proof. In a time when many product manufacturers are lamenting lost business, here's an avenue to help create new business.