The Society of Plastics Engineers is on the move — to Danbury, Conn.
SPE opened its new headquarters Oct. 30, moving from offices in nearby Bethel, Conn.
The second week in November will by a busy one, as SPE employees from around the world will come to the new headquarters Nov. 12 and 13, said Sue Milazzo Wojnicki, the society's director of member experience. The executive board and full SPE council will hold meetings Nov. 14 and 15.
The event marks the first time SPE will hold a full council meeting onsite at the society's office, SPE CEO Patrick Farrey said. Previously, those meetings were held remotely at offsite locations.
The society moved to Danbury from Bethel, its home since 2014. SPE had moved to the Bethel offices in a corporate park from its prior location in Newtown, Conn.
The SPE office is at the Summit at Danbury, a 1.3 million-square-foot living, working and recreational area on 99 wooded acres, including 600,000 square feet of office space and more than 400 residential units.
The location was the former headquarters of Union Carbide Corp. — a major plastics and petrochemicals manufacturer.
"We are fortunate to have found such a modern and well-served office space in the Danbury area," Farrey said. "Our goal was to limit the impact that relocation could have on our members and staff."
Danbury also is centrally located, near interstates and the New York state line.
SPE president-elect Jaime Gomez can appreciate the Union Carbide connection, since he started his career in plastics as senior chemist in Carbide's Silicones Division in 1989. Dow Chemical Co. — now Dow Inc. — purchased Union Carbide in 2001.
"The fact that SPE is moving into a space with such historical significance in our industry is inspiring," Gomez. "Being in this building speaks loudly about SPE and its ability to connect the present with the past."
SPE has more than 22,500 members worldwide, said Gomez, who is president and CEO of Equitech Intl'l Corp., a company that makes real-time process measurement systems.