Letter from the Chair
You may have noticed a change in the front of this issue of Plastics Decorating. I have handed over the reins of the Viewpoint to my managing editor – Dianna Brodine – and I will begin sharing a few thoughts in the Association News section each issue as the new chair of SPE’s Decorating & Assembly Division.
First, I want to thank my fellow board members of SPE’s Decorating & Assembly Division for selecting me as the new chair. I am very excited about leading our division as SPE adjusts to an ever-changing marketplace. I certainly have some very large shoes to fill.
Paul Uglum has served as our division chair for the last seven years – guiding the division spectacularly through several Topical Conferences (TopCons) and ANTECs. The knowledge Paul has in the field of decorating processes and the number of industry contacts he has are amazing to me. He has done an unbelievable job of leading us. Fortunately, Paul has agreed to stay on and serve as our division councilor and program chair for the upcoming TopCon in June 2019. Thank you, Paul, for all of your dedication and years of volunteer service to our division and the entire industry. It has been a real pleasure working with you as a colleague and friend.
On the subject of TopCons, we have announced the official dates and location of our next event – June 2-4, 2019, at the Franklin Marriott Cool Springs in Franklin, Tennessee. Many of you might remember that we conducted the joint SPE Decorating & Assembly Division TopCon and In-Mold Decorating Association (IMDA) Symposium at this same location in 2016.
IMDA will be partnering with us once again for the event, providing a comprehensive program of decorating and assembly techniques for the plastics industry. Be sure to keep your eye on our website (plasticsdecorating.com) for more details on the combined event.
Again, I am excited about my new position and look forward to working with many of you on the upcoming TopCon and other programs.
Do not hesitate to contact me with questions or if you are interested in getting more involved with the SPE Decorating & Assembly Division.
Jeff Peterson
President, Peterson Publications, Inc.
Chair, SPE Decorating & Assembly Division
New Board Members Added
The SPE Decorating & Assembly Division recently elected three board members to its current board of directors:
- Karen Kukla, account manager-specialty coatings, AkzoNobel
- Alyssa Coughlin, senior marketing communications manager, Henkel Corporation
- Wilson Lee, director of business development, Enercon Industries Corporation
New Officers Take Reins at Division
The SPE Decorating & Assembly Division has elected its new officers. Jeff Peterson, president of Peterson Publications, Inc., will take over as the new chairman. Jeff is the publisher of Plastics Decorating magazine and has been on the SPE Decorating & Assembly Division Board for 15 years. Ken Holt, senior applications engineer for Dukane, will fill the position of vice chair. Ken has served on the board in two different terms for a combined 12 years. Paul Uglum, technical fellow for APTIV (formerly Delphi) will step into the division’s councilor’s position. Paul has served on the board for 16 years and is the immediate past chair of the division.
2019 TopCon and IMDA Symposium Set For Nashville Area
SPE’s Decorating & Assembly Division has announced that it will be holding its Topical Conference (TopCon) June 2-4, 2019, in Franklin, Tennessee. The conference will feature two days of papers exclusively on plastics decoration and assembly at the Franklin Marriott Cool Springs near Nashville. The conference is once again co-located with the In-Mold Decorating Association (IMDA) Symposium. This joint conference will provide an exceptionally broad selection of experts in all fields of plastic decoration and assembly. Papers on a broad range of innovative technologies will be presented, and focused workshops will be held on both plastic decoration and assembly processes. If you are interested in presenting a paper and/or attending, please contact Jeff Peterson at jeff@petersonpublications.com.
