Contact: Chris Barry, cbarry@4spe.org, +1.203.740.5414
DANBURY, CT—April 3, 2020: SPE’s ANTEC® 2020: The Virtual Edition went live using the Zoom conferencing platform on Monday, March 30. The virtual event kicked off with a keynote session featuring Thomas (Tom) Salmon, CEO and Director, Chairman of the Board, Berry Global Group, and Jim Fitterling, CEO, Dow. The session was moderated by Don Loepp, Editor, Plastics News, who also led a Q&A, fielding questions asked by attendees. Dr. Brian Landes, President, SPE, started the session with a brief overview of SPE and ANTEC®. Immediately following Fitterling and Salmon, Angela Gaffney, CHC, President & Founder, Essential Heath & Wellness, presented “Caring for Yourself Through Change,” which focused on staying positive, remaining healthy and staying productive during the COVID-19 outbreak. The opening session streamed live on YouTube and was available to the public. More than 1,750 viewed the opening keynote session on both the Zoom platform and on YouTube.
“While COVID-19 impacted our ability to provide a live event, canceling ANTEC® wasn’t an option,” said Patrick Farrey, SPE’s CEO. “After hearing individually from hundreds of ANTEC® attendees, speakers, sponsors and exhibitors about the fate of ANTEC® 2020, it became clear that we needed to pivot quickly and provide a virtual alternative. Our goal in morphing ANTEC® 2020 into a virtual event was to not only serve our members, but to serve the plastics industry. These are troubling times, but SPE is alive and well and ready to provide valuable information and educational opportunities for plastics professionals everywhere.”
During the first week of ANTEC®2020: The Virtual Edition, between 150 and 250 ANTEC® registrants, representing over 23 countries, attended the opening keynote sessions as well as 30 technical sessions, which were presented by speakers from 6 countries from Monday afternoon through Wednesday. Tuesday’s program included PlastChicks, a plastics industry podcast hosted by Lynzie Nebel and Mercedes Landazuri. The podcast featured an interview with Brenda Clark, Engineering Manager, HASCO America, Inc. Wednesday’s program included “PlastiVan Rocks!,” hosted by Eve Vitale, Chief Executive, SPE Foundation. Vitale provided live demonstrations and visuals to emphasize the benefits of the PlastiVan program. Both sessions were streamed live on YouTube.
In the following weeks through May 5, ANTEC® 2020: The Virtual Edition will continue with live keynote presentations and technical sessions on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, for a total of over 340 live program hours. Each day will include up to 12 back-to-back technical sessions with a total of 168 sessions over the course of the event. Each Monday will start with keynote speakers, with a total of ten, all of which will be streamed live at www.4spe.org/ANTECLive.
Upcoming keynote presenters include:
- Monday, April 6
- Josh Martin, Ph.D., CEO and Co-Founder, Fortify
- Edward Davis, Director of 3D Strategy, Chief Technologist’s Office, HP, Inc.
- Jesse Lea, President, Goproto
- Meridith Elliott Powell, Business Keynote Speaker & Business Growth Expert
- Monday, April 13
- Kari Warberg Block, CEO & Founder, Earthkind
- Jayme Leita, Director, Circular Economy Integration, Eastman
- Monday, April 20
- Eric Oakes, Materials Engineer, NASA, Jet Propulsion Laboratory
- Eric Lin, Director, Material Measurement Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology
- Monday, April 27
- Adam Malofsky, Ph.D., Managing Director, Partner, Elemence
- Kevin Hanrahan, Chief Marketing Officer, Technical Polymer Business, Arkema
Future technical session topics include injection molding, extrusion, coatings and films, composites, automotive, additive manufacturing, polymer modifiers and additives, renewable technologies and sustainability, and more.
“So far, we are thrilled with the response people have had to ANTEC® 2020: The Virtual Edition,” said Farrey. “ANTEC® is the premier knowledge-sharing event for the plastics industry. So even though corporate travel bans, and social-distancing requirements have made the networking part of ANTEC® impossible, the knowledge-sharing will go on.”
Registered attendees have access to all upcoming live sessions, including access to recorded presentations, and complete conference proceedings. Registration for ANTEC® 2020: The Virtual Edition is still open. For more information, and schedule and speakers, visit www.4spe.org/ANTEC.
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