Applied Market Information LLC and its online magazine, Injection World, will hold the first Injection World Molding Forum June 17-18 in Philadelphia.
Speakers include:
• Michael Araten, president and CEO of construction toy maker K'Nex Brands and injection molder Rodon Group LLC in Hatfield, Pa. He will discuss U.S. manufacturing and reshoring.
• Jeffrey Sternberg, global automotive technology director at DuPont Co., who will look at how the changing fuel-efficiency demands of the automotive industry will drive innovation in plastics.
• Mark Sankovitch, president of Engel Machinery Inc. in York, Pa., will review global molding technology and investment trends, and talk about the changing requirements of North American injection molding companies.
• Chris Hwang, research associate at Lux Research Inc. in Boston, will discuss the potential for LED lighting [light-emitting diode] and what it means for molders.
• AMI's research director Andrew Reynolds will explore the changing structure of the U.S. molding industry and identify factors for developing a successful business strategy.
Injection World Editor Chris Smith said the strong outlook for U.S. manufacturing led AMI to create the forum.
“With the U.S. economy strengthening rapidly and the reshoring trend gaining pace, the time is right for a high-level molding conference that addresses the critical business and technology issues the industry will face in the coming years,” Smith said.
The March 17 announcement of the new AMI conference means U.S. injection molding conferences will get more crowded. In February, Gardner Business Media, the Cincinnati-based publisher of Plastics Technology magazine, announced that it purchased the annual Molding Conference from Amos Golovoy, who started the event 24 years ago.