Conference to assist Wisconsin plastics manufacturers

Plastics executives, business owners, and process engineers can learn about technology transfer opportunities of cutting-edge research that will re-shape the landscape of plastics engineering and manufacturing during a two-day conference at UW–Madison.

The conference, titled ” Innovative Plastics Manufacturing Technology,” will be held Wednesday-Thursday, June 9-10, at the College of Engineering.

Organizers say new polymer engineering innovations can help Wisconsin plastics manufacturers remain competitive within the offshore, low-wage, global economy, particularly through manufacturing of high-end-value, advanced polymer products for various industries.

There will be hands-on sessions led by UW–Madison researchers to discuss results from ongoing industry pilot projects using emerging polymer processing technologies such as biopolymers and microcellular nanocomposites.

At a Wednesday evening banquet, keynote speaker Bruce Beihoff, director of innovation and technology for Whirlpool Corp., will speak about “The Process of Developing Innovative Processes: Opportunities for Wisconsin and the United States.”

Employment in Wisconsin’s plastics industry ranks 10th in the nation, totaling more than 53,500 jobs, and the state is ranked 12th in the nation for plastics shipments, totaling $9.9 billion in 2001, according to Plastics Data Source.

This university-industry conference to enhance economic growth is sponsored by a “Partnership for Innovation” research grant from the National Science Foundation. It’s led by the UW Polymer Engineering Center and the UW E-Business Institute in partnership with the State of Wisconsin and other UW campuses, technical colleges and corporations in Wisconsin’s plastics manufacturing industry cluster.