Professor Nihal Sinnadurai; ATTAC, Felixstowe, United Kingdom

• Overview of fillers and required properties.
• Opportunities for EM shielding.
• The European EMCEM craft project.

Manfred Weber; Alusuisse Martinswerk GmbH, Germany

• Flame retardants markets
• Benefits of ATH and MDH as flame retardants.
• Main application fields:
  • Traditional applications.
  • New markets.
    • thermally. stabilised ATH for Printed Circuit Boards (PCB).
    • halogenfree flame retarded cables for automotive wiring.

Lars Berglund; Luleå University of Technology, Sweden.

• how to product nano-composite materials (in-situ polymerisation and melt intercalation)
• Case study: epoxy clay minerals (montmorillonite)
• Why does it work?
• Advantages and disadvantages.
• What are the critical issues?
• Conclusions.

Martin Rac; Eckart-Werke, UK

• Overview of special effects.
• Production of flow and weld lines.
• Everchanging optical effects.
• Aluminium pigments.
• Gold bronze pigments.
• Holographic pigments.
• Thermochromic pigments.

Luc van Aken; SIBELCO, Antwerp, Belgium

• Blocking, coefficient of friction, optical properties (clarity, haze, Gloss, transparency).
• Natural versus synthetic silica, aluminium silicate, talcum.
• SEM pictures.
• Nucleating effects.
• IR-absorption.  (tentative)

Per-Ole Hölmnas; Kemira Pigments OY, Pori, Finland

• General properties of TiO2.
• Influence of crystal size on opacity.
• Comparison to organic UV-absorbers.
• Applications for ultrafine TiO2 in plastics.

Klas Elfving; Expancel, Sweden

• Injection moulding.
• Extrusion.
• Swelling foam.
• Compounding.

Peter Gaskell; OMYA UK, Hull, United Kingdom

• New technology for performance materials: 
  • hydrophobic coatings.
  • ultrafine grinding.
  • enhanced brightness.
  • mechanical property enhancements.
  • process property improvements.

Björn Sandelin; Mondo Minerals Oy, Kajaany, Finland

• Improvement of strength with talc in compounds for automotive and other uses:
  • stiffness.
  • heat distortion temperature.
  • impact strength.
  • nucleation.
  • uses of talc in new markets.
  • blends of talc and other materials - any synergy.

Maria Gärtner; Bayer AG, Dormagen, Germany

• Chemistry of the product and manufacturing process.
• Properties: key performance parameters and health and environmental considerations.
• Applications in polymers other than PVC.

Thomas Hopfmann; CK Witco Vinyl Additives GmbH, Germany

• Development of Organic Based Stabiliser Systems.
• Product Description, chemical structure and pyrimidindiones
• Performance in laboratory trials and practical tests.
• Recyling of organic based stabiliser systems.
• environmental and registration aspects.

Reiner Hess; Clariant GmbH, Germany

• General description of waxes
• Waxes as lubricants for different polymers
• Specialty waxes eg as nucleating agents or compatibiliers
• Waxes to coat fillers
• Summary and outlook (metallocene waxes)

Thomas Söderholm; CPS Color Management, Finland

• What is a tinting system?
• Manage your colours.
• Profitability by introducing the tinting concept.
• The tinting system as a marketing tool.

David Puckett; Dow Corning Ltd, Vale of Glamorgan, United Kingdom

• Polydimethylsiloxanes - polymerisation, structures and properties.
• Polydimethylsiloxanes - uses in thermoplastics.
• Siloxane masterbatches - uses in thermoplastics:
  • filled polyolefin processing.
  • friction reduction.
  • PP auto compound surface modification.
  • polyolefin film slip.

Greet Dewitte, Dyeon N.V, Zwijndrecht, Belgium

• How does PPA Work?
• Effect of PPA on the process parameters.
• Improved Productivity.
• Process LLDPE with dynamar PPA on LDPE equipment.
• Die Build-up Reduction.
• Gel reduction.
• Effect of PPA on properties of finished goods.
• Conclusions.

Julie Simmons; Wells Plastics Ltd, Staffordshire, United Kingdom

• The benefits of anti-microbial systems provide.
• Different anti-microbial systems - their advantages and restrictions.
• Testing for anti-microbial activity - different methods and interpreting results.
• Example applications and results.
• Future developments.

Lars Wahlen; Lehmann & Voss & Co., Germany

• Polymeric foams.
• Gases, physical and chemical foaming agents (CFA).
• Exothermic, Endothermic or a combination of both.
• Properties of suitable CFA's.
• Decomposition of CFA's in the extruder.
• How to affect the foam structure.

Isolde Bachert; Clariant Huningue SA, France

• Degradation of polymers.
• Effective stabiliser combinations and performance of standard additive packages.
• Test methods and criteria for long-term heat stabilisation.
• Optimisation of additive packages by including tests with simulation of extractive water environments.