2025 Technical Program Sessions

Innovations In Interiors

Session Leaders
Austin Wagenhals, Isabel Newton, Raziyeh Mohammadi

Evolving Customer Expectations for a premium, sustainable, seamlessly integrated, and smart Interior pose a formidable challenge for the Automotive Industry to deliver.

Learn more about these Interior topics:

Emerging Automotive Interior Trends
Sustainable Materials in Automotive Interior Applications
Explore innovative new technologies to create Sustainable A Surfaces.
Structural Olefin based Solutions for Interiors applications.
The Pros and Cons to Circular Applications for Automotive Interior
Decorative TPO Solutions
Interactive Surfaces in interior trim

Sustainability

Session Leaders
Petya Yaneva, Reddy Murali, Sharad Thakkar

In today’s Automotive Industry, lofty OEM sustainability targets, government regulations and a shift in buyer preference are changing how Thermoplastic Olefins will be used in future vehicles.

Learn more regarding:

Summary from Industrial Organizations and Experts on Sustainability
Sustainability Goals and Vision from Across the Value Chain
Polyolefins with Enhanced Sustainability Benefits
Mechanically Recycled Resin in Use Today
Progress on Advanced/Chemical Recycling & Bio Feedstocks
Reduction and Eliminate of Waste
Certification and Tracking of Circular Content
Part Design with Circular Content and Reduced Carbon Footprint

Exterior Trim and Structural Applications

Session Leaders
Mark Pilette, Charlie Yang, Kevin DeGrood

Over the last decade the automotive industry has endured major changes especially unprecedented disruption from EV sustainability and Tariff uncertainty. This accelerated innovative materials development for the exterior components to achieve desired aesthetics and new functions as well as reduced cost and part weight.

Learn more regarding:

TPO with Sustainable Raw Materials for Exterior Applications
Engineered Resins replacement for Crash Absorbers
The Evolution of Bumper Fascia Materials-Painted TPO’s
TPO Compounds for Enhanced Aesthetics
Next Generation of Low CLTE TPO’s For Body Panels
Design Trends Impacting the car of the future

Polyolefin Elastomers and Vulcanizates

Session Leaders
Bhavesh Shah, Dave Patel, Nadeem Bokhari

TPEs and TPVs are becoming a material of choice in automotive applications to replace thermoset rubbers bringing weight saving, sustainability, cost, sealing performance, and processability advantages. Their application ranges from automotive interior, exterior, and under the hood applications.

Learn about:

Dynamic sealing with TPV
Sustainable TPEs and TPVs
TPEs for safety systems
Automotive weather sealing

Performance Additives and Colorants

Session Leaders
John Mara, Heejung Kwon, Josh Cram

Performance Additives and Additive Masterbatches are essential components for enabling the performance of polyolefins

Learn about new additive developments to facilitate future trends:

Ride Sharing:
– Aesthetics – Achieving optimized color performance with sustainable carbonaceous material
– Clarification – Novel Clarifier for Transparent/Translucent PP-based EV Bumpers
Electrification:
– Non-Halogenated Flame Retardants offering low smoke characteristics and high flame retardancy
– FR Solutions to address ATO Shortages & High Prices (Halogenated & N-HFR approaches)
– FR Compounds to Mitigate Thermal Runaway Events in EV’s
Sustainability:
– Ionic additives to enhance filled PO compounds allowing for increased recyclate
– Light Stabilization of Automotive TPO Compounds geared towards Sustainability
– Stabilizer Carbon Footprint Assessments for TPO Compounds – a 360-degree approach

Materials Development

Session Leaders
Birat KC, Bin Sun, John Walling

Material innovations are expanding the application spaces for TPOs, PP and PP Compounds increasing part functionality, styling, cost reductions and light weighting.

Learn more about these new developments:

New natural fiber, talc filler, and masterbatch developments
Innovative compounds and additives for EV and lighting applications
Enhancing key properties of polyolefins for improved processing and sustainability
Advanced formulations to enable additive manufacturing

Process Enabling and Additive Technologies

Session Leaders
Paul Sieradzki, Suresh Shah, Rohan Repale

Manufacturing in today’s challenging and competitive climate requires high levels of efficiency, operational excellence, and the use of advanced technologies. See how some of today’s industry leaders in the Polyolefin Compound and Fabrication Industry are blazing new trails to rise to these challenges.