CALL FOR SPEAKERS

CALL FOR SPEAKERS IS NOW OPEN!

SUGGESTED TOPICS

The 2024 conference will likely include the following topics, although is not limited to them:

APPLICATIONS

• High demand in online and food shopping packaging
• US housing market: impact of interest rates, role of foam in affordable housing, transitioning from reliance on fossil fuels, high insulation standards
• Construction & Building: trends, challenges and replacement of heavy materials
• Automotive: inclusion of recyclable content, comfort, safety, insulation, acoustic management, application requirements
• Medical: trends, challenges, safety and hygiene requirements
• Electronics
• Insulation
• Aerospace: sustainable foams, requirements, safety, weight-saving, strength, stiffness, insulation efficiency, costs, design challenges
• Furniture
• Sports
• Military and defense
• Footwear
• Thermal management

MACRO-ECONOMICS

• Supply chain issues, energy prices, inflation, investor confidence, interest rates
• Offshoring, re-shoring, near-shoring
• Growth
• Trade tensions, geopolitical and political risks
• Economic implications of automation and artificial intelligence

RAW MATERIALS

• Availability and price volatility
• Alternatives to petroleum resources
• New market demands and material innovation

SUSTAINABILITY

• Creating an environmentally friendly supply chain
• Bio-based polyols
• Foam packaging
• Navigating the costs of making sustainable foam solutions
• The benefits of Hydrofluoroolefin (HFOs) replacing Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs)
• Polyurethane foam recycling
• Circular economy
• NetZero goals: how foam can help tackling noise and save energy

PERCEPTION, REPUTATION & PUBLIC IMAGE

• Reshaping the public perception of the plastic industry
• The role of marketing
• Highlighting the benefits of foam
• Promoting product life cycle

TALENT

• Data insights into the US job market
• Attracting and retaining talent: challenges and opportunities
• Addressing skills gap
• Making the industry more appealing to younger generations through innovation and sustainability goals
• Developing advanced technical skills
• Connecting students and early-graduates with the industry
• Diversity and inclusion

REGULATIONS

• Regulations affecting the use of Per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS)
• Mitigating the impact caused by PFAS regulations
• Navigating the challenge of regulations when chemicals are essential to applications
• Other upcoming regulations

COMFORT

• How to standardize testing and measurement of consumer comfort
• Balancing product comfort with cost, sustainability and weight
• Maximizing opportunity for comfort applications in the current economic climate
• Discovering which materials can work best alongside foam and adhesives to achieve optimal comfort for consumers

AI & DATA

• Role of artificial intelligence in the development, design and experiment of foam solutions
• Navigating the high costs of AI solutions
• Automating manual processes
• Enabling safe applications through data

SELECTION CRITERIA:

• There are no registration fees to take up this opportunity.
• Speaking slots are allocated on merit and relevance to the agenda topics.
• Speaking slot timings and formats will be finalized as the program is completed, depending on the subject matter to be addressed.
• Commercial presentations – such as product or company reviews – will not be accepted.

SUBMISSIONS WILL BE EVALUATED BASED ON:

• Importance of topic to conference attendees.
• Inclusion of an end user as either lead or co-presenter.
• Objective, educational, non-commercial content.
• Clearly defined benefits for attendees.
• Knowledge and experience of the speaker.

DEADLINE

The deadline for submissions is Friday, February 23, 2024. We will endeavor to review all submissions within 6-8 weeks after the deadline.

CONFERENCE INQUIRIES

Margherita Cargasacchi
Conference Producer
[email protected]
Europe: +44 (0) 1273 916 313 (UK)
Toll free: +1 (0) 855 436 8683 (USA)