Plastics in Lightweight Vehicles 2012

7:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m.

Registration

8:00 a.m.-9:15 a.m.

Continental Breakfast

9:15 a.m.

Opening Remarks

Bob Grace, Conference Director, Editorial Director & Associate Publisher, Plastics News

9:25 a.m.

TRENDS IN EXTERIORS & STRUCTURAL COMPONENTS

Investing in Carbon Fiber for Near-Term Production

Gary Lownsdale, Chief Technology Officer, Plasan Carbon Composites

9:50 a.m.

New Developments in Carbon Fiber Applications

Dan Koester, Director - New Product Technology, Johnson Controls Inc.

10:15 a.m.

Material Considerations and Making Them Stick in Lightweighting Technologies

Bruce Benda, VP - Automotive & Transportation, Bayer MaterialScience LLC

10:35 a.m.

Panel Discussion
Lownsdale, Koester & Benda

Moderated by Rhoda Miel, Automotive Reporter, Plastics News

11:00 a.m.

Networking Break & Visit Exhibits

11:30 a.m.

KEYNOTE ADDRESS
Achievable Lightweighting Under Time & Cost Constraints
Kim Korth, President & Owner, IRN Inc.

11:55 a.m.

Q&A

12:05 p.m.

Lunch

1:15 p.m.

Altair’s Enlighten Award: A New Honor for Losing Auto Weight

Tony Norton, Sr. Director – Global Automotive & Off-Highway Vehicles, Altair Engineering Inc.

1:30 p.m.

Key Business Issues Related To Rising Fuel Economy Standards

Michael Omotoso, Sr. Manager – Global Powertrain, LMC Automotive US Inc.

1:55 p.m.

Q&A

2:05 p.m.

Updated Research for Applying Realistic Lightweighting

Gregg Peterson, Sr. Technology Specialist, Lotus Engineering

2:30 p.m.

Q&A

2:40 p.m.

Networking Break & Visit Exhibits

3:15 p.m.

The Very Light Car and Its Implications for Vehicle Design

Oliver Kuttner, Founder & CEO, Edison2

3:35 p.m.

Q&A

3:45 p.m.

Mobility Study: How Electric Vehicles Will Impact Design & Materials

Peter Davis, Chief Designer – Vehicle Design, Tata Technologies

Raymond Peters, Sr. Program Manager, Tata Technologies

Casey Mehta, Sr. Consultant – Business Partnerships, Tata Technologies

4:20 p.m.

Panel Discussion

Davis, Peters, Mehta & Kuttner

Moderated by Rhoda Miel, Plastics News

4:50 p.m.

Closing Remarks

5:00 p.m.-7 p.m.

Networking Reception

Wednesday, Nov. 7

8:00 a.m.-9 a.m.

Continental Breakfast

9:00 a.m.

Opening Remarks

Bob Grace, Plastics News

9:10 a.m.

Interior Electronics – Customer Comfort with Minimal Weight & Complexity

Tom Pilette, VP - Product & Process Development, Magna Exteriors & Interiors, Magna International Inc.

9:35 a.m.

Q&A

9:45 a.m.

Improving Interior Sound Quality While Reducing Weight

Ernie Wilson, VP - Advanced Development, IAC Group

10:10 a.m.

Q&A

10:20 a.m.

Networking Break & Visit Exhibits

11:00 a.m.

The Big Picture in Interiors

Pat Stewart, Vice President & Executive Director - Interior Systems, Inteva Products LLC

11:30 a.m.

CONVERSATION STATIONS

12:00 p.m.

Lunch

1:10 p.m.

Successful, Real-Life Examples of Microcellular Foaming Technology

Joe Grippe, Vice President, Proper Group International

Steve Beasley, Regional Manager, Krauss Maffei Corp.

Brent Strawbridge, Vice President – Sales, Trexel Inc.

2:00 p.m.

Panel Discussion

Grippe, Beasley, Strawbridge

Moderated by Rhoda Miel, Plastics News

2:30 p.m.

Closing remarks (ends 2:45 p.m.)