Polyurethane Foam Affiliation Holds Annual Assembly in Austin » BedTimes Journal

Members and friends of the Polyurethane Foam Affiliation gathered Nov. 4-6 in Austin for the affiliation’s annual fall assembly to debate the present enterprise surroundings and different elements affecting the versatile polyurethane foam trade.

Polyurethane Foam Association Holds Annual Meeting in Austin — **(From left) Future Foam vp Rob Heller and outgoing PFA President Philippe Knaub had been honored with the PFA’s Lifetime Achievement Award.**

In response to a information launch, greater than 140 trade professionals, together with C-suite executives, researchers, EHS specialists, entrepreneurs and technologists got here to the Omni Downtown Austin for networking and shows on foam sustainability, market tendencies and the regulatory surroundings.

“Now, greater than ever, it’s necessary for our trade to share the information uncovered by the work of our members and employees,” stated Dr. Philippe Knaub, PFA President.

The PFA’s trade points session highlighted updates in key end-use markets, with a deal with bedding and carpet cushion, workforce challenges, European regulatory developments affecting North American producers and ongoing sustainability efforts. The technical program featured shows on foam compression applied sciences for extra environment friendly transport, deriving polyols from CO₂, tertiary amine and tin-based catalyst alternate options, and new software program for assessing sustainability on the facility and product stage, the information launch stated.

Following the technical program, Richard Stevenson of Econic Applied sciences was named winner of the Dr. Herman Stone Technical Excellence Award. The award is called for Dr. Herman T. Stone, PFA’s first technical director, who was inducted into the Versatile Polyurethane Foam Corridor of Fame in 2007.

Through the affiliation’s normal enterprise assembly, two longtime trade executives, Future Foam Vice President Rob Heller and outgoing PFA President Philippe Knaub, had been honored with PFA’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Within the PFA’s 45-year historical past, fewer than 40 people have obtained this honor.

New officers and govt committee members for 2025-26 had been additionally confirmed, together with: