PITTSBURGH—For the first time in more than a decade there is an ongoing effort to form a new regional rubber group within the ACS Rubber Division.
The new group is slated to be known as the Bourbon Trail Elastomers Group and would serve the six-state region of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky and Tennessee. An initial meeting was held in Louisville, Ky., in August and a follow-up meeting was held Oct. 12 during the Rubber Division's International Elastomer Conference in Pittsburgh.
The group is working to incorporate as a non-profit organization in the state of Kentucky, according to a statement from the group. After receiving permission on that status and a favorable IRS review of the new group's non-profit status, the group would then request approval from the Rubber Division Executive Committee and the American Chemical Society to become an official Rubber Division subdivision.
At the meeting in Louisville, the group chose Joel Trandell of Bluegrass Roller Service as president, Sandi Swindler of Bluegrass Roller as secretary and Jason Huff of ChemRep Inc. as treasurer.
Chosen to be directors were: Scott Legleu, East West Copolymer; Krista Toutant, R.D. Abbott; Scott Lytle, Zeon Chemicals L.P.; and Jim Eddy of Zeon. Eddy also would serve as counselor and liaison to the Rubber Division Steering Committee.
Trandell said at the IEC in Pittsburgh that the initiative started after about 85-90 percent of those in this region responded to an email survey that they would be interested in joining a rubber group serving this area. He added that the goal is to get the group off the ground for 2017 and host a couple of events next year, with one a technical educational session and the other a social event.
Toutant said she will be heading the effort to attract members to the new group. A minimum of 25 members is required to be an affiliated rubber group within the Rubber Division.
The new group, they said, initially was to be known as the Ohio Valley Rubber Group, but a discussion during the Louisville meeting led them to opt for the Bourbon Trail Elastomers Group, an ode to the bourbon business that is prevalent in Kentucky and Tennessee.