ANTEC 2013 Draws 2,000 Attendees

The Duke Energy Center in Cincinnati, OH was the location of SPE ANTEC 2013, a technical conference and tradeshow held by the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE). More than 500 papers were presented to nearly 2,000 attendees from around the globe, covering topics that ranged from mold building, biomaterials and medical plastics to injection molding, thermoforming and extrusion.

SPE’s Decorating and Assembly Division held two sessions on Tuesday, April 22. The morning session, Advanced Processes for Decoration and Assembly, included papers on surface treatment to improve adhesion of nano-composite interfaces, wetting measurements, life cycle analysis of paint systems, bio-based adhesive tapes, metal flake characteristic measurement and advances in ultrasonic welding. The afternoon session, Innovative Plastic Decoration Techniques, featured papers on decorative film laminates, innovative UV and waterborne resins for automotive interior applications, UV monocoat advancements for consumer electronics, day-night laser ablation, cosmetic effects in in-mold decoration and metal sounding direct metalized plastics.

Following the technical sessions on Tuesday, the Decorating and Assembly Division held a reception, offering attendees an opportunity to network and discuss the innovations that had been presented.

In addition, a concurrent Business of Plastics conference (produced by SPI) and exhibitor tradeshow were held. More than 100 companies were on hand to offer information on polymers, recycling, industry education, equipment and more on the tradeshow floor, which saw consistent traffic throughout the three-day event. The Business of Plastics sessions, held on Monday and Tuesday, provided attendees with outlooks for the medical and automotive industries, a lesson in social media applications and discussion on industry recruitment.

ANTEC 2014 will be held in Las Vegas, NV, April 28-30.