ARLINGTON, VA – The Center for the Polyurethanes Industry (CPI) of the American Chemistry Council (ACC) has announced the eight finalists for the 2008 Polyurethane Innovation Awards. This year’s Innovation Awards program consists of three categories: polyurethane chemicals, processing equipment and finished products.

 

In the polyurethane chemicals category, Ashland Performance Materials was selected for its development of a two-component laminating adhesive composition based on aliphatic polyurethane chemistry. BASF Corp. was chosen for its introduction of BALANCE bio-polyols; and Merquinsa/Merquinsa North America was selected for its new Pearlthane® ECO thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU).

 

In the processing equipment category, Graco was selected for its innovative Graco® Fusion® CS Spray Gun with ClearShot Technolgy™ for foam and polyurea applications. KrausMaffei was selected for the development of an electric nozzle pin control in the mixing head, enabling quick, precise component pressure adjustments, even when the output is changing rapidly from shot to shot.

 

In the finished product category, Acma Industries was selected for its innovative Kradal flooring. BASF was chosen for its development of Elastocoast® polyurethane-coated stones for use as coastal revetment structures. Fenner Precision and HP Labs are co-finalists for the development of electrically charged polyurethane elastomer roll (known as Bias Charge Roll, or BCR) and its enabling application in the introduction of the HP-7000 high-speed digital printer.

 

Finalist entries will be on display during the Polyurethanes 2008 Technical Conference. Voting by conference attendees will take place Sept. 29 and 30, and winners will be announced Oct. 1 during the closing session of the conference.

 

For additional information on the conference, visit www.americanchemistry.com/polyurethane.