A group of thermoset resin manufacturers and fabricators has left the Society of the Plastics Industry Inc., and formed another trade association.
The new group, known as the Thermoset Resin Formulators Association, left SPI as a result of some long-delayed fallout from the feud between Washington-based SPI and the American Plastics Council. Plus, the dues that companies pay TRFA will be less than what they paid to SPI, a TRFA official said.
SPI spokeswoman Bonnie Limbach said SPI plans to continue its group, the Thermoset Technology Division, but said some changes may be in order.
``Attendance at the division's conferences over the past several years has fallen off dramatically, and the events have lost money over the last two,'' Limbach said in a news release. ``Therefore, the unit may have to be `reinvented.' ''
Three of the division's largest members left SPI several years ago in favor of APC, and that made it more difficult for the division to get enough money and participation from industry, said John Ulcar, acting chairman of TRFA. Ulcar is manager of research and development for Crosslink Technology Inc. in Toronto.
The larger companies within TTD are expected to remain with SPI because they are involved in other SPI activities, Limbach said.
Ulcar said the split does not reflect any unhappiness with SPI: ``We have a real strong appreciation for what they did for our association.''
But he said that when large suppliers Dow Chemical Co., Shell Chemical Co., and Ciba Specialty Chemical Corp. left SPI, it was harder for the division to sustain itself. Shell's and Ciba's units that had participated in the division now are called Resolution Performance Products and Vantico Inc., respectively.
``Our fear, if we stayed with the status quo, [was] we wouldn't be an organization two years from now,'' Ulcar said.
The group had about 100 members as part of SPI. It has fewer than 25 now, but Ulcar said he expects the group to exceed 100 in two years.
TRFA, which has an annual budget of $80,000-$100,000, has hired association management firm CM Services in Glen Ellyn, Ill., to handle day-to-day operations. CM Services also provides management for the Plastic Pipe and Fittings Association and the Polyurethane Manufacturers Association, both in Glen Ellyn.
TRFA plans an annual meeting and technical conference Nov. 10-11 in Philadelphia.
