CPI Announces Finalists for Polyurethane Innovation Award

WASHINGTON, D.C. – August 22, 2016 – The Center for the Polyurethanes Industry (CPI) today announced Dow Chemical Company, Huntsman, and Shepherd Chemical Company as the three finalists for its highly regarded Polyurethane Innovation Award. This award, presented during the Polyurethanes Technical Conference, recognizes the past year’s most inventive commercial technologies in the polyurethanes industry.

“Our Polyurethane Innovation Award finalists represent one of the best characteristics of our industry—our commitment to developing and advancing technologies that enhance the quality of life through sustainable and responsible practices,” said Lee Salamone, CPI senior director. “CPI congratulates Dow, Huntsman and Shepherd on their innovations, and we look forward to their presentations during the Polyurethanes Technical Conference’s Opening Session.”

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The 2016 finalists are:

• Dow’s VORA Zzz™ Ultra-High Airflow and Moisture-Wicking Foam Technology:
  Enables bedding applications that can keep consumers cooler and more comfortable due to foam airflow values that are more than double previous “high-airflow” memory foams. 

• Huntsman’s VITROX® HC 98010 Polyol with SUPRASEC® 9801 Isocyanate:
  The use of a resin solution for the Bright Lite Structures’ chassis, within the Zenos E10 sports car, creates one of the lightest, most innovative and affordable track cars available.

• Shepherd Chemical Company’s BiCATs™ 8840 and 8842 Water Stable Bismuth Catalysts for Polyurethane Formulations:
  New curatives which allow formulators to reduce volatile organic compounds from amine catalysts and lessen cure times to support spray foam polyol solutions with hydrofluoroolefin blowing agents.

Representatives from Dow, Huntsman and Shepherd will present their innovations during the Opening Session of the Polyurethanes Technical Conference, taking place Sept. 26 to 28 at the Baltimore Hilton. Each conference attendee will have the opportunity to vote in favor of one finalist. The innovation with the most votes will receive 20 points that will be added to the judges’ scores. The winner will be announced at the conference’s Closing Session.

Along with the Innovation Award, the 2016 Polyurethanes Technical Conference will feature 19 technical sessions, the Polyurethane Professional Development Program and a Table Top Exhibition. For a full schedule of events, click here. 

To learn more and to register for the longest-running polyurethanes conference in North America, visit www.CPItechnicalconference.org.