BETHEL, CONN. — The Society of Plastics Engineers and the Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association have agreed to merge GPCA's PlastiCon conference and SPE's Antec into a single event.
PlastiCon is an annual conference covering trends and developments in the plastics industry in the Persian Gulf region and global plastics industry.
SPE held its first Antec conference in Dubai in January 2014.
The joint PlastiCon/Antec conference will take place for the first time in early 2016 in Dubai. The event also will host the GPCA Plastics Excellence Awards. The exact date and venue will be announced soon, SPE said.
In other international news, SPE also announced that its Antec in Brussels will be postponed for an undefined time. The Brussels Antec had been scheduled for this fall.
SPE officials said people who submitted a technical paper for the Brussels conference are encouraged to present it at PlastiCon/Antec Dubai early next year
Abdulwahab Al-Sadoun, secretary general of the GPCA said in a statement: “Now in its 7th edition, PlastiCon has gained a reputation as the unique venue for gaining critical insights along the entire polymer value chain with an unbeatable line up of speakers. Partnering with SPE allows us to reinforce our commitment to providing a forum for plastics producers and converters to meet and to tap into the network and technical know-how of SPE."
Bethel-based SPE's CEO, Willem De Vos added: "Partnering with the GPCA gives us access to a strong forum of polymers and plastics producers in the [Gulf Cooperation Council] and will allow SPE to reach a wider audience and to bring valuable knowledge to a region where polymer and plastic converting is growing and evolving from commodities to more engineering and specialty products."
