ATLANTA—Lehigh Technologies, manufacturer of micronized rubber powders from recycled rubber, has established a dedicated polyurethane technical team and appointed Rick Speas to head it, the company said.
Speas, a 30-year polyurethanes industry veteran, is Lehigh's technical manager for polyurethanes, the company said. He will be in charge of the polyurethane application development team at Lehigh's Application and Development Center.
Speas has extensive experience in developing PU systems for a wide range of applications, according to Lehigh. He has served as technical director at some of the largest PU companies in the world, including Foamex, Tempur-Sealy, Uniroyal and Rubberlite, the company said.
Lehigh's MRPs have already been used in more than 70 million PU components, according to the company. Initially Speas and his team will focus on PU applications in the automotive, flooring and apparel industries, it said.
This is the second expansion of the Lehigh Application and Development Center so far in 2014, according to the company. In January, the company purchased new mixing and analytical equipment for the center, and hired Chad Jasiunas as technical manager for functional materials.