January 2019
A publication for the members of the SPE – South Texas Section
of Plastics Professionals

President’s Message

Steve King

Welcome to 2019. As the New Year quickly begins I would like to wish a safe and prosperous year for all our SPE-STX members and their families.

We are fast approaching our Polyolefins Conference. Please check you inbox (email) for information for registration for those of you who have not yet taken the time to do so. The Polyolefins Conference is scheduled for February 24th – 27th, 2019. We look forward to seeing your there.

The SPE-STX Section would also like to give you a teaser to upcoming events in addition to the POC. We have a technical meeting that is being planned early February. We have the opportunity to host SPE-STX members at the Houston Community College where we will tour the various labs including their multi-million dollar Additive (3D) Printing lab. Watch your inbox or visit www.spe-stx.org for more details.

Lastly, we have a very important event for our education fund. We host a spring golf tournament. If you are a golfer and would like to help with this event please let us know. This event raises a nice amount that supports many scholarships.

Sincerely,
Steve King, President


Poster Contest Gives Students Exposure to All Attendees

Each year students from across Texas accept the challenge of the poster contest.

POC

 

 


 

More Than 700 Attendees Are Expected at This Year's Polyolefins Conference

The exhibition hall allows everyone to move around with ease.

 

POC


 

 

This Year There Will Be 64 Exhibitors

The perfect social climate for all polyolefins-related businesses.

 

POC


2019 Polyolefins Conference Will Be Next Month

The annual SPE International Polyolefins Conference will be held on February 24-27, 2019 in Houston. This is the largest polymer conference dedicated to Polyolefins in the world.

Over 700 people are expected to attend and there will be 64 exhibitor booths, 80 technical papers, a student poster competition, two networking receptions, and tremendous commercial activity.

The SPE South Texas Section, the SPE Polymer Modifiers and Additives Division, the Thermoplastic Materials and Foams Division, and the Flexible Packaging Division are organizing technical sessions in the following areas:

Become a sponsor, contact Richard Keeler

To procure a exhibition booth, contact Kevin Alexander

Register today!

POC

 


Be a Part of The Largest Polymer Conference Dedicated to Polyolefins in The World

Hasta pronto. (See you soon.)

POC


Impact of Pigments on the Dimensional Stability of Plastics

Thomas Chirayil, and James Rediske
BASF Corporation

Abstract

Shrinkage and Warpage phenomenon are common issues faced by injection molders in the plastics industry. These dimensional stability issues are more prevalent in semi-crystalline polymers such as HDPE. Formulation of organic pigments into semi-crystalline polymers impact the nucleation rates and can lead to further shrinkage and warpage. Dimensional instability with the organic pigments can be can be minimized or eliminated through processing steps as well as through surface treatment of the pigments. This paper will describe the shrinkage and warpage distortions, test methods for determining warpage, and recommend solutions.

Read More...


South Texas SPE 2018-2019 Board Meeting

December Meeting Minutes – 12-10-2018

Present in person: Tom Walsh, David Hansen, Robert Portnoy, Bill Diecks
By phone: Peter Lauzon, Janell Helton, Iman Bahrani, Dell Doyle

Opening: The meeting was opened at 6:00 pm by Tom Walsh, who was substituting for Steve King who was unable to attend.

Approval of Minutes: The attendees could not remember reading the minutes of the last meeting. No motion was made to approve the November meeting minutes.

Membership: Tom Walsh reported that the total membership is currently 340 with the following breakdown:

Professional Membership 247
Student Membership 56
Emeritus Membership 20
Young Professional Membership 15
Distinguished Membership 2

Treasurer: Peter Lauzon and Janell Helton reported that our finances are in very good shape. Janell reported that she has received two checks from SPE Headquarters for $58,000 and $75,000 for September and October for the 2019 Polyolefins Conference. SPE has just sent out a third check for November for $14,000. Pete reported that we have paid the $50,000 to Baylor University for the Walter Bradley scholarship endowment and we have current outbound cash flow of about $18,000 including support for the Student programs at three universities (UH, Texas Tech and A&M). The current balance in our accounts is $158,000.

Chapter Insurance: Pete Lauzon reported that he is following up with SPE Headquarters and has provided Kathy Schatz with all the requested information. The cost of the information should be approximately $400 per year.

3D Printing: David Hansen reported that he and Steve King and Jeff Applegate had a meeting at the Houston Community College (HCC) facility in Stafford, where they have a 3D Printing Lab. Dave and Steve are following up on scheduling a Joint Social Meeting with the Greater Houston Manufacturer’s Association and the MIT Enterprise Forum for February or March at this facility. Dave commented that this is a very impressive facility.

Officer Elections: Steve King has requested Board members to identify and recruit potential new Board members. Bill Diecks reported that he had talked to Chris Jorgenson. Tom Walsh reported he had talked to Bob Starkey, Continental Can. Dell Doyle volunteered to email a notice to a listing of current members and Polyolefin Conference attendees. Tom Walsh will send Janell Helton, Dell Doyle and Bill Diecks a listing of our current membership. Janell will put these into Constant Contacts.

Golf Outing: Bill Diecks reported that he has not heard from Ryan Reese at this time. He has talked to Bamberger and Ingenia personnel to take over running the Golf Outing. Bill will follow up on this.

2019 Polyolefins Conference Committee: Robert Portnoy reported that everything is in good shape. The program has only a small number of abstracts missing. Katsuma wants to sponsor a memoriam in honor of Terry Vermaas and the Committee has suggested sponsoring the Tutorial Session.

Old Business: There were no other old business topics brought up.

New Business:

Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 6:50 pm.


Plastics Information: Check It Out

Astros

Houston Public LibraryThe Houston Public Library on McKinney has resources on plastics and polymers. Check out their catalog. If you are not near the McKinney location, you can arrange to pick up your books at your local branch.

The Fondren Library at Rice University has the most complete collection of books on plastics and polymers. This is also a prime resource for patent and trademark information, as well as other US Government documents. You cannot check out books there unless you join Fondren Library [$50], but you can arrange for books to be sent to your library by inter-library loan. Use their catalog.

The next best place to browse is at the MD Anderson Library at the University of Houston central campus. South Texas Section has donated many plastics books to this library. If you plan ahead, you can get a TexShare library card from a library where you are a member, which will allow you to check out books from any U of H library. Their catalog is here.


Calendar of Events

DATE EVENT LOCATION TIME
February 24-27 International Polyolefins Conference Hilton Greenspoint 8:00 a.m. daily

 


Board of Directors

Need to contact one of us?

Section Officers

President
Steve King
Solvay

President Elect
Dell Doyle
Dow Chemical

Past President
Kevin Alexander
KWA-Tech, Inc

Vice President
Iman Bahrani
Omya, Inc.

Secretary  

Treasurer
Peter Lauzon

Committee Chairpersons

Awards Committee Chair –
Kevin Alexander
KWA-Tech, Inc.

Golf Outing
Ryan Reese
Dover Chemical

Education Committee Chair –
David Hansen
SBC Consulting

Housing
Ryan Reese
Dover Chemical

Membership Committee Co-Chairs
Chuck Crosby
Braskem Americas

Tom Walsh
Walsh Consulting Services

Newsletter –
Iman Bahrani
Omya, Inc.

Technical Program
Dell Doyle
Dow Chemical

Young Professional Chair

Polyolefins 2017 Chair –
Robert C. Portnoy
Portnoy Technical Services LLC

Board Members

Steve King
Solvay

Kevin Alexander
KWA-Tech, Inc.

Iman Bahrani
Omya, Inc.

Bill Diecks Retired

David Hansen
SBC Consulting

David Grice
C&K Plastics

Dell Doyle
Dow Chemical

Tom Walsh
Walsh Consulting Services, Inc.

Peter Lauzon
Peal Processing


Web Content/Section Coordinator

Janell Helton
Houston, TX 77084
713-503-6729
jdhelton@comcast.net