Conference Will Feature Developments In Flame Retardancy & Regulations

Furniture World Magazine

Furniture manufacturers will find a full slate of stimulating presentations relating to new developments in flame retardant technology and regulations, “green” technologies and viscoelastic (memory) foams at the Polyurethanes 2007 Technical Conference – “Step Into The Future” – September 24-26 at The Gaylord Palms Resort and Convention Center in Orlando, Florida. Sponsored by The Center for the Polyurethanes Industry of the American Chemistry Council, formerly Alliance for the Polyurethanes Industry, this year’s Conference is being staged in partnership with the UTECH North America Exhibition to create an impressive global event with 100 technical papers, more than 90 exhibitors, educational seminars and two panel discussions on transportation issues and crisis preparedness. “This is an eventful year for polyurethanes in the global furniture industry, with renewable content polyols taking center stage along with memory foams and flammability issues,” says Neeva-Gayle Candelori of ACC. “This year’s combined Conference and Exposition covers all these issues in depth, along with several other important new developments of interest to furniture industry decision makers.” The Flexible Foams technical session is essential listening for the furniture industry, with two papers on enhanced-performance flame retardant additives and another that delves deep into the cell structure of viscoelastic foams to reveal why this can be such a critical processing factor. Scientists from Japan-based TOSOH Corporation will discuss a new, environmentally friendly catalyst for flexible slabstock foams that can increase productivity while reducing volatile organic content (VOC) emissions. Representatives of BYK-Chemie from Germany and the U.S. will report on new additives that can overcome incompatibility problems in flexible foam formulations. Global and regional regulatory, legislative and usage updates dominate the Flame Retardant and Combustibility session, with presentations from representatives of the International Sleep Products Association (ISPA), the American Home Furnishings Alliance (AHFA), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and executives representing Asia, Europe and North America from Albemarle Corporation. Both Dow Chemical and Cargill will report on new developments in natural oil polyols (NOP’s) for the production of viscoelastic foams during two separate Renewable Content Polyols technical sessions. Woodbridge Foam and Dow Chemical will offer separate papers on the development of NOPs for use in molded polyurethane foams, while scientists from Pittsburg State University and the University of Missouri-Columbia, will report separately on new approaches to soy-based polyols for various types of polyurethanes. The Polyurethanes 2007 Technical Conference, in partnership with UTECH North America Exhibition, will feature 19 technical sessions in all, with many additional poster presentations on breakthrough technologies, developing markets and product innovations. In addition to the technical sessions and the exhibits, the 2007 event will include the popular Polyurethane Professional Development Program – eight seminars ranging from introductory courses to advanced topics. ACC anticipates that the Conference will attract more than 1,200 people from 40 countries. For more information about ACC and the Polyurethanes 2007 Technical Conference, in partnership with UTECH North America Exhibition, contact ACC at 703-741-5103, or visit www.americanchemistry.com/polyurethane for more information.