NASHVILLE, Tenn.—The seventh Scrap to Profit Conference will take place Oct. 25-26 at the Inn at Opryland Hotel in Nashville.
"Innovating and Improving Scrap Tire Markets" is the theme of the event, co-sponsored by the U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association, the Scrap Tire Research and Education Foundation Inc., and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, the conference will present topics on ways to drive innovation in the scrap tire industry, according to conference publicity.
Topics include current trends and future opportunities for tire-derived fuel, civil engineering, and ground rubber markets. Also, speakers at the conference will address recent and upcoming innovations in scrap tire uses, including pyrolysis and gasification.
The Oct. 25 program will begin with a welcome and introduction by Pat Flood of the Tennessee DEC. Following will be presentations on tire-derived fuel by Robin Ridgway, Purdue University; Monica Sowders, Geocycle; and Sarah Amick and Jesse Levine of the USTMA.
Charlie Astafan of Columbus McKinnon Corp. will speak on particle size reduction and the role of the equipment manufacturer, followed by a tire-derived aggregate panel led by Monte Nieme of First State Tire Recycling. The keynote luncheon speaker will be Anant Gandhi, innovation principal at Bridgestone Americas.
Following lunch will be a ground rubber molded and extruded products panel featuring John Evankovich of Sam's Club, Haikun Xu of Entech and Tony Ferguson of Austin Rubber Co.
The afternoon sessions on rubber-modified asphalt will feature:
- Red Clark, Asphalt Plus L.L.C.;
- Barry Takallou, CRM Co.;
- Doug Carlson, Liberty Tire Recycling; and
- Dan Quire, Wright Asphalt Products Co.
Mike Webb of Aries Clean Energy, Bill Cole of Delta-Energy Group and Thomas Redd of Pyrolyx U.S.A. will present a panel on pyrolysis and gasification.
The Oct. 26 program will lead off with a panel on innovations in molded and extruded products featuring Denise Kennedy of DK Enterprises, Rick Welle of Rubberosion and Bill Robbins of RubberForm Recycled Products L.L.C.
"Identifying and Fostering the Next New Market" will be the theme of a panel featuring Sam Bonasso of Reinforced Aggregates Co.; James "Buzz" Surwilo of the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation; and Jeff Henry of Tire Conversion Technologies Inc.
"Unique Markets and New Possibilities" is the theme of the panel to be led by Robert Lee of RJ Lee Group, Chris Intahar of Technical Rubber Co. and Tom Rosenmayer of Lehigh Technologies Inc.
The last presentation will be "Flexible Pavements and Pour-in-Place Surfacing" featuring Kevin Bagnall of K.B. Industries, Dave Ouwinga of Porous Pave Inc. and Tim Vander Heiden of Safe Path Products.
Conference organizers are looking for exhibitors. The exhibitor fee of $1,000, they said, entitles exhibitors to one conference registration and an 8' x 10' exhibit space.
The exhibition hall will be immediately adjacent to the main meeting room, and beverages will be available there during the morning and afternoon breaks, they said.
The Inn at Opryland is offering a special conference rate of $151 per night until Oct. 3. Please identify yourself as a conference attendee when you contact the hotel. Interested parties can make reservations online.
Attendees who register by Oct. 1 receive $100 off the registration fee, online registration is available.
For more information, contact John Sheerin of the USTMA at 202-682-4838 or [email protected].