RPN Silicone Livestream to feature industry panelists

CUYAHOGA FALLS, Ohio—The June 3 Livestream Rubber & Plastics News is offering on the silicone industry will feature four industry experts as panelists:

• Erick Sharp, president and CEO, Ace Products and Consulting L.L.C.
• Bill Stockwell, president of Stockwell Elastomerics Inc.;
• Chris Poirier, general manager of Hexpol Silicones North America; and
• Scott Kearns, principal at ElastaPro Silicone Sheeting L.L.C.

The webcast, titled "Silicone Market 20/20: Putting Turbulent Times Into Focus," will begin at 2 p.m. Eastern time. The Livestream will be hosted by RPN Editor Bruce Meyer and reporter Andrew Schunk. Some of the topics to be covered in the hour-long event will include:

• Impact of COVID-19 on the current market;
• Capacity issues regarding silicone elastomer supplies;
• Future markets that may be bright spots;
• Technical and R&D developments in the pipeline; and
• A look at markets, including end product applications and geographic regions.

All of the panelists have a long history in the silicone market.

Sharp launched Ace in early 2015. He had been director of operations at Portage Precision Polymers Inc. from 2011 until the custom mixer was acquired by Hexpol. Prior to working at PPP, Sharp spent 10 years at Edgetech, where he gained significant experience in silicone compound development and extrusion.

Stockwell is head of a fourth generation privately held business that is now an ESOP company. The firm focuses on silicone rubber and related high performance elastomers to bring value and performance to solving challenging design problems. He also was the 2019 Rubber & Plastics News Rubber Industry Executive of the Year.

Kearns, principal at ElastaPro Silicone Sheeting, began his career in silicone rubber 23 years ago with Dow Corning's Silicone Rubber Business. He continued to be engaged in the silicone rubber business through his 12 years at R.D. Abbott Co. Inc. and their representation of Dow Silicone Rubber in North America.

Poirier is responsible for the overall direction of Hexpol's silicone business in North America. He works closely with his counterparts at Mesgo Italy in developing sales growth strategies and operational/investment plans to grow the silicone segment of Hexpol North America.

The Livestream is free, but registration is required at rubbernews.com/live/silicone.