The shale debate is a constant today, and that’s especially true for this region.
One aspect that has not fully been discussed is the potential impact on the United States’ plastics industry, an area in which Erie’s imprint is significant. Paul Boulier, vice president of Business Attraction for Team Northeast Ohio, will discuss these possible effects later this month when he visits Penn State Behrend.
Boulier’s keynote talk, “Insights on Shale’s Effect on the Future of the Plastics Industry,” will be one of the many highlights of the fifth Innovation and Emerging Plastics Technologies Conference, which will be held June 22-23 on the Penn State Behrend campus.
Boulier is responsible for developing and executing direct-to-company business attraction for the region’s core industries, including metal fabrication and machinery; polymers, chemicals, and coatings; energy, oil, and gas; as well as packaging and transportation.
In addition to Boulier’s talk, attendees of the two-day conference will hear presentations by several industry experts and take part in hands-on tutorials. Many of the tutorials will be held in the college’s 10,500-square-foot plastics processing lab, the largest, most comprehensive plastics training lab in the country.
“We have a wide range of topics and a diverse audience, so there will be numerous takeaways,” said Brad Johnson, lecturer in engineering and conference chair. “We will have sessions that should help practitioners understand some of the trends in the plastics industry as well as more technical sessions on topics such as additive manufacturing, processing, materials, material analysis, product development and tooling.”
More than 150 plastics professionals from 40-plus companies are expected to attend this year’s conference. For a complete conference schedule, visit behrend.psu.edu/plastics.