PDA Europe 8th Annual Conference was held in Krakow, Poland

[www.polyurea.cn, 2014-12-05 news] The Polyurea Development Association Europe, PDA Europe held its 8th Annual Conference from Wednesday 05 to Friday 07 November in Krakow, Poland. The event brought together 118 participants from 17countries, including representatives from Central Europe, Russia and the United States.

The event started with the educational training "Introduction to Polyurea for the Applicator". The training was followed the next two days by 12 lectures, comprising all different aspects of polyurea technology, such as new raw materials, improved formulations, safe application of polyurea, regulations affecting polyurea applications, testing methods for polyurea, updates on equipment and machinery, multiple case studies as well as pitfalls to be avoided:

Ilva Edwards (CBI Betonginstitutet) showed a new method for the evaluation of the wear resistance of coatings systems. This is especially relevant for Nordic countries, where spiked tires are widely used.

Erik Vangroensfeld (Huntsman) explained the latest aspects in product stewardship for polyurea chemicals.

Yong Tang (Albemarle) talked about latest developments in aromatic curative technology for elastomeric coatings.

Dino Vasquez (Mapei) showed developments on high chemical resistant polyurea grades as a solution for industrial sites protection.

Murphey Mahaffey (Polyurethane Machinery Corporation) presented a robotics solution for bridge deck polyurea application.

Dirk Uebelhoer (Sika) showed the efforts required to obtain country approvals for bridge deck waterproofing kits in accordance with ETAG 033.

Teodoro du Marteau (NTE) and Alain van Oorsouw (BASF Polyurethanes) presented the recently finalized "European code of good practice" for the application of polyurea. The booklet elaborates on aspects of occupational safety, spraying equipment, surface preparation, application technology, construction details as well as inspection and testing after finalization. This booklet can provide guidance to applicators, how to achieve good job site results and how to avoid major pitfalls.

Karl Wuehrer (Bayer MaterialScience) showed a site applied polyaspartic used for garage floor coating.

Servaas Holvoet (Huntsman Polyurethanes) explained new developments on prepolymers for polyurea applications.

Hugo Herault (Krypton Chemicals) showed a study regarding the best suited primer systems for poplyurea in refurbishment and construction projects.

Piotr Dymek (Graco) showed a roof renovation project of a multipurpose arena complex in Katowice.

Elisabet Michelson (ELMICO) gave a presentation on several polyurea case studies, including pitfalls to be avoided during the application of polyurea in construction-related applications.

Teresa Mozaryn (Building Research Institute, Warsaw) gave a presentation on polyurea coatings as protection against corrosion for building structures with focus on the required standards and documentation.

Two polyurea spray demonstrations were held on Thursday to also give all the participants the opportunity to get an immediate impression of polyurea technology.

Embedded into the PDA conference, on Thursday late afternoon, the Annual General Assembly took place. Part of the association's board was renewed and now counts 13 members.

1) Klaus Breuer, BASF SE (President)

2) Elisabet Michelson - Elmico (Past President)

3) Carlos Royo – Gama

4) Keltoum Sakour – Albemarle

5) Alain Brosset - Europe Resine

6) Alberto Cecinati – Graco

7) Dino Vasquez – Mapei

8) Muge Pinar – Unicom

9) Hugo Herault – Krypton

10) Geert Dries - Huntsman, Treasurer

11) Teodoro Du Marteau, NTE

12) Dirk Uebelhoer, SIKA

13) Jordi Catalan, Tecnopol

The General Assembly also designated a new Programme Committee Chair: Herbert Mann, WIWA

The other Committee Chairs remain unchanged:

Marc Broekaert, Huntsman, Chair Membership Development Committee

Klaus Breuer, BASF SE, Chair Industry Relations Committee

Alain Van Oorsouw, BASF Nederland, Chair Education and Training Committee

Geert Dries, Huntsman, remains Treasurer

Elisabet Michelson, Elmico handed over the presidency to Klaus Breuer, BASF and Hugo Herault, Krypton Chemical, was designated President elect.

"Next year, we will strive for making polyurea technology more well-known among potential users, designers, specifiers, construction companies and the like", said Klaus Breuer. "We firmly believe that polyurea is not used in the applicator industries to its full potential yet. Secondly, safe and professional application of the technology and equipment is of utmost importance. Therefore we will continue offering educational spray courses as well as provide information and tools on safety-related aspects and best practices for applicators."

Overall, the PDA Europe annual conference was a great success again and we would like to express a special thanks to all those involved in the organisation, PDA Europe board and committees, our sponsors and of course, our conference participants who made the event possible!