Plastics USA 2004 Conference held.

Four concurrent sessions on injection molding, extrusion, automotive plastics and new technology will comprise the Plastics USA 2004 Conference, to be held September 29 at McCormick Place East in Chicago, IL, as part of the Plastics USA 2004 exposition, presented September 28-30 by the Society of the Plastics Industry (SPI).

Multiple presentations in each conference session will feature such topics as nanocomposites, micromolding and advanced coatings for automobiles. Other advanced technologies to be covered by conference presentations will include industrial biotechnology (on non-fossil fuel sources for polymers, such as corn), advanced energy storage (on the role of polymers in fuel cells), polymer sensors (on functionalized polymers that react to stimuli), injection molding compounders (on new molding equipment that incorporates a system for precompounding raw material) and extrusion calculations (new resources for modeling the process, controlling variables and predicting results).

This conference will be one of five educational opportunities available to show attendees. Recently announced was "Manufacturing standout products with overmolded TPEs," a half-day seminar hosted by thermoplastic elastomer supplier GLS and moderated by editors of Design News.

"Investing in human capital to build a workforce prepared to compete" is the title of a 5-1/2-hour seminar to be held September 29.

There will be 22 intensive one- and two-day sessions scheduled over the three days of the Plastics USA 2004 show. Session categories will include blow molding, color and appearance, engineering properties and structure, extrusion, injection molding, marketing and management, materials, product design and thermoforming.

Exhibitors at Plastics USA 2004 will introduce new products and services with a wide range of end-use applications. In addition, products and services of special interest to companies in the appliance, automotive, electrical and electronics, medical device, packaging and web converting industries will be exhibited.

One industry sector to be covered extensively at Plastics USA 2004 will be moldmaking. Both moldmakers and their customers will encounter such directly relevant exhibits as those for mold materials and components, hot runner systems, tool-making capabilities and tooling-specific trade associations and publications. In addition, they will have the opportunity to attend conference and seminar sessions on topics like tool design and in-mold decoration.

Other categories of exhibitors will include aerospace, appliances, automotive, bags, wraps and liners, building and construction, business machines, electrical and electronics, environmental protection, fasteners, furniture, gears, housewares, lawn and garden, luggage, medical devices, marine, materials handling, mechanical goods, office products, packaging (bottles, flexible, pharmaceutical, cosmetic), personal care products, pipe, plumbing, recreation, sporting goods, tanks and containers, toys, transportation and wire and cable.

More than 400 exhibiting companies will occupy 80,000 square feet of exhibit space during Plastics USA 2004. Scheduled mid-way between NPE 2003 and NPE 2006, Plastics USA 2004 will provide the largest U.S. showplace for new plastics processing technologies between these international expositions, according to the SPI.

Registration information for Plastics USA 2004 is available from the Society of the Plastics Industry [phone].