Mr. McKinney received his Master’s in Industrial Health from the University of Michigan, School of Public Health and holds one of the first the Certified Professional Product Steward (CPPS) designations awarded by the Board for Global EHS Credentialing.  He has worked at BASF for over 25 years in various EHS positions including Industrial Hygiene, Manufacturing Site Safety, Emergency Response and Product Stewardship.

 Mark is currently a Product Stewardship Manager supporting BASF’s Chemical Monomers business.  In this role he provides support in the areas of Responsible Care^®, isocyanate and polyamide advocacy, customer consultation & training along with strategic product issue management.

 He is active in Product Stewardship outreach to downstream isocyanate users through the American Chemistry Council’s Diisocyanates Panel and participates in research initiatives impacting the industry as an Environmental Advisory Group member of the International Isocyanates Institute (I.I.I.). 

Mr. McIntyre, a native of Vidalia, Georgia, received an A.A. degree from Young Harris College in 1959, a B.A. from the University of Georgia in 1963, and a J.D. from the University of Georgia School of Law in 1963.  He is a former Director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget.  He represents clients in general corporate matters and trade association law and on legislative and regulatory issues in banking, insurance, finance, tax, and environmental areas.  He is a member of the District of Columbia Bar and the State Bar of Georgia.  He is admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court and the U.S. Court of Military Appeals.

Bob Clark is Executive Director of the Carpet Cushion Council.  The CCC represents the North American carpet cushion industry as an advocate and an educator. As the industry resource for answers to carpet cushion-related questions, the Carpet Cushion Council educates carpet retailers, manufacturers, distributors, and cushion manufacturers about the benefits of carpet cushion. Ultimately, the Carpet Cushion Council’s objective is to provide carpet retailers with tools necessary to improve communication with customers and increase overall sales.

Mr. Jackson leads the association’s data compilation and analytics, identifies and researches industry trends, produces relevant analysis, and represents OESA at various speaking engagements as a subject matter expert regarding economic and related industry trends and analysis.

Mr. Jackson has more than 20 years of progressive experience in strategic planning, market forecasting and management consulting. Most recently, Jackson directed the vehicle production forecasting practice in North America at IHS Markit where he was responsible for sharing trusted insight and fostering enduring relationships across a diverse global client base of automakers, suppliers and stakeholders.

Mr. Jackson holds a bachelor of science in business, management strategy from Eastern Michigan University and a master of business administration in international business from Wayne State University. Jackson gained vital international industry experience during a multi-year stay, living and working in Germany, developing language fluency.

Bill McCann, President & CEO of SMI, Inc., has worked with companies, universities and trade associations to shape public policy, appropriations funding, and federal business development goals since 2005. Teaming with SMI’s technical experts and lobbyists, Bill designs and leads effective government relations strategies tailored to the unique goals of each client.

Prior to joining SMI, Bill worked on Capitol Hill for ten years for a senior Member of the House Armed Services Committee in a number of senior management and policy roles including Chief of Staff, Legislative Director and Military Legislative Assistant. In addition to managing a congressional office, Bill also served as campaign manager and supported Washington DC area fundraising efforts. In 2004 while pursuing his MBA, Bill joined the Raytheon Technologies corporate strategy team focusing on best practices in program capture efforts.

Bill holds a B.A. in American Government from Georgetown University and an MBA with an emphasis on strategy and finance from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. He has served on the Board of Directors of the Government Relations Association (GRA).

Zachary Moore joined ICIS in 2016 and currently works as deputy managing editor for the Americas region. He covers North American markets for major commodity polymers such as polyethylene and polypropylene as well as intermediate chemicals used in the production of polyurethane foams.

Prior to joining ICIS, Moore covered commodity polymer markets in Asia and Turkey for ChemOrbis. He has a total of 15 years’ experience in the petrochemical and plastic markets as a markets reporter, researcher and analyst.

Moore holds a BBA in economics from Georgia State University and an MA from the University of North Carolina-Greensboro.

Chip Holton has been President of NCFI Polyurethanes since 2015. He holds an engineering degree from The United States Military Academy at West Point and is a former serving US Army infantry officer. His work career began with Alcatel (now Alcatel-Lucent) fiber optics division where he served in multiple capacities from line supervisor to plant manager in Claremont, NC. Holton joined GE Plastics in 2003, where he served as Southeast Region Operations Manager, overseeing logistics, distribution, and manufacturing for up to 13 facilities. He also served as Vice President of US Operations for Swiss company, Jacob Holm Industries, one of the world’s leading nonwoven roll good manufacturers, before joining NCFI Polyurethanes as Operations Manager.

Russ Batson is Executive Director of the Polyurethane Foam Association. He has more than two decades of related experience providing public affairs and regulatory counsel, working with corporations and industry associations, to advocate issues based on credible science and sound economics. Prior to joining PFA, he served as Senior Counsel, Government Relations, Americas, for SABIC, advising one of the world’s largest chemical and plastics producers on key regulatory matters and opportunities. Before this position, he worked for 15 years with the American Home Furnishings Alliance (formerly American Furniture Manufacturers Association) as Director of Congressional and Regulatory Affairs and as Vice President of Government Affairs. At AHFA, he was instrumental in helping shape rulemaking on upholstered furniture flammability, involving complex issues of fire science, chemical safety, product liability and federal preemption. The positive effects of his work in this area are still seen in the industry today. Batson holds bachelor’s and law degrees from the University of Virginia. He is admitted to the bar in Virginia.

Wayne Bowman is Communications Counsel for PFA. In his 38-year career with advertising and public relations agencies, he has worked for more than 250 companies, including ARCO Chemical, Union Carbide, Mohawk Industries, Recticel Foam, the Flexible Foam Market Council, the Carpet Cushion Council, the Particleboard/Medium Density Fiberboard Institute, Kingsdown Mattresses, and Pennsylvania House Furniture. He first began with PFA in 1986, when he worked with Bob Luedeka at the J.P. Hogan & Company Advertising Agency. He left the agency and PFA in 1991, then returned to PFA in 2015. His business, Bowman Creative + Strategy, works with a variety of clients and agencies throughout the Southeast. During his career, he has won more than 80 ADDY, Public Relations Society of America, and Society For Technical Communications Awards (including some for PFA). He is a member of the American Advertising Federation-Knoxville Hall of Fame, and a recipient of the American Advertising Federation National Silver Medal.

Bobby Bush Jr. serves as Technical Committee Chair for PFA and Technical Director for the Upholstered Furniture Action Council (UFAC).  Though he remains active in many foam industry activities (ASTM, NFPA, UFAC, AFPF (CertiPUR-US)), he recently retired – after 45 years – from Hickory Springs Manufacturing Company. During the years his roles evolved from Sales Trainee to Senior Vice President of Foam Technology.   Bush wass responsible for the development and advancement of new foam products and technologies and for overseeing environmental and regulatory compliance at all company facilities.

Bush has been instrumental in developing some of the most important initiatives in the flexible polyurethane foam industry. He is a graduate of Duke University, with a degree in Business Administration and Management. He is a many-times past President of PFA.

Bill Gollnitz has more than 40 years’ experience in the flexible polyurethane foam industry. For more than 20 years, he has been Technical Director at Plastomer Corporation. Prior to that, he held group management positions at ARCO Chemical Company and Olin Chemical. He began his career in the foam industry with Firestone Foam. He has a deep understanding of how chemistry, manufacturing and suppliers can work together to advance the polyurethanes industry. He is a Past President of PFA, and currently serves on PFA’s Executive and Technical Committee. Gollnitz holds a B.A. in chemistry from Lipscomb University and an MBA from Bryant University.

Automobiles are subjected to many contaminants on a daily basis. Children, pets, food deposits, cleaning lapses, and even simple temperature and humidity changes can all foster unwanted bacterial and fungal growth in HVAC and filter systems as well as on interior surfaces and supporting materials. 80% of consumers express concern about stains and persistent odors inside of their vehicle. Mold growth and microbial colonization are typically amplified in rideshare and public transportation settings because of the number of riders accommodated per day.  Automotive OEM’s should consider lasting treatments for vehicle interiors that elevate both passenger experience and OEM brand perceptions.

SPEAKER BIOGRAPHY

Dr. Ha is a Senior Product Development Engineer at Microban International. She has been a key engineer in customer focused projects and new product development. Her knowledge in incorporated polymeric products brings a unique skillset to Microban partners. She obtained her B.S. degree in Polymeric Material Engineering from Polytechnique University in Vietnam and has been working with polymers since 2002. In 2006, she received her M.Sc. degree from University of Oklahoma after working with emulsions and emulsion polymerization. Subsequently, she moved to the University of Houston and obtained her Ph.D. in nanocomposites and polymer blends. She has been with Microban since 2011.

The traditional Hennecke Flat Top System has helped slabstock operations reduce material waste by achieving block geometry. However, manual alignment of the system is sometimes error-prone and time-consuming upon startup, and entails the presence of operators in the foaming tunnel. AUTOFLAT software automatically controls the lowering of mats at the start of production and ensures precise positioning.  The mats are controlled by electric motors guided by a sophisticated sensor system and visualization on the computer screen. AUTOFLAT automatically adjusts the surface pressure in case of recipe changes, once defined and set the first time, the recipe will hold this information and replicate next time you pour the same recipe. The sensors provide feedback regarding not only the final height of the block, but also the block rise profile which further aids in understanding reactivity of the formulation.

The following advantages can be realized:

•  Lower material consumption due to direct block geometry
• Higher reproducibility of production
• Greater production reliability thanks to automation
• Central adjustment of mat weight on PC or control box
• Finer gradation of the mat weight in case of weight changes
• Less manpower required for production starts, stops and changes, minimizing exposure to vapors in the foaming tunnel.