A new conference exploring the role of plastics in the automotive industry will launch just in time to coincide with the Industry Preview Days at the 2015 North American International Auto Show in January.
“Plastics is an enabler for future automotive development, with composite materials, lightweighting, and self-driving vehicles representing some of the key vehicle trends that engage the use of material and process innovations,” says Joseph Pryweller, director of the event. “This inaugural event will explore many of these key areas and provide a vision for the near future.”
Called “Plastics In Automotive,” the conference, to be held Jan. 13-14 at the Westin Book Cadillac in Detroit, will include autonomous vehicles, material innovations, and the implementation of CAFE standards that will affect automotive development.
The conference will explore how plastics can play a major role as a go-to material for building vehicles that are powerful, safe, comfortable, and affordable and feature advancements, growth opportunities, and success stories in automotive plastics.
Ellen Lee, team leader in plastics research at Ford Motor Co., will participate in a keynote panel discussion about automotive composites, and Frank Macher, chairman and CEO of Structural Plastics, will provide insights on the use of automotive plastics in today’s vehicles and beyond.
Other sessions include forecasts for plastics resins used in the automotive industry from Paul Blanchard, director of engineering resins for IHS Inc., and a look at innovations for automotive plastics from Jeff Sternberg, global automotive technology director at DuPont.
Attendees will be given tickets to attend Industry Preview Days at the North American Auto Show and will have an exclusive opportunity to register to attend the Automotive News World Congress networking dinners with keynote addresses from Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors Co., and Sergio Marchionne, chairman and CEO of Chrysler Group and CEO of Fiat S.p.A.
For more information about the conference, or to register, visit plasticsnews.com/2015auto.
