Building Industry Knowledge: Preview of the ASC Fall Convention and Expo
On October 21-23, the Adhesive and Sealant Council will hold its biannual convention in Minneapolis.
Industry professionals will be exposed to new trends, technologies and topical expertise at the Adhesive and Sealant Council’s (ASC) Fall Convention & Expo, which will take place next month at the Hilton Minneapolis in Minneapolis. The event will take a new Monday-Wednesday format (vs. the usual Sunday-Tuesday schedule) and will be held October 21-23.
“The ASC Fall Convention will feature a perfect blend of what we know is our historical value, and new ways to add value to the attendee experience,” says ASC President Matthew E. Croson.
Discover
Attendees can advance their industry knowledge at any of the concurrent technical sessions that will be held during the fall convention. Sessions will focus on new technologies, business development, market growth, regulatory issues and more. In addition, a delegation from the Chinese Adhesives and Tape Industry Association will be participating in the educational program.
The morning education sessions on Tuesday, October 22, will be preceded by a general session breakfast and opening keynote address by John Felmy, chief economist at the American Petroleum Institute. Felmy’s presentation, “Energizing America: Facts for Addressing Energy Policy,” will discuss how the Keystone pipeline and increased drilling may impact oil markets and the petrochemical industries.
H.B. Fuller President and CEO Jim Owens will lead the general session breakfast and keynote on Wednesday, October 23. “Value Creation Through Adhesive Technology” will review the ways in which adhesives and sealants create value, as well as the importance of taking risks with new solutions and technologies.
During Wednesday’s closing session, University of Minnesota Director and Senior Fellow Steve Kelley will explore green chemistry ideas in “Innovation and Collaboration in Green Chemistry Research, Education and Policy: Implications for the Boardroom.”
On October 21 and 22, a comprehensive Hot Melt Short Course will be led by formulation and application experts. The course will highlight the advantages of hot melts when it comes to meeting specific customer requirements, and attendees will learn how to optimize formulations and analyze their properties. Course participants will be able to attend the Expo at no additional charge.
Connect
The ASC Expo, which will take place on Tuesday, October 22, will feature an expanded show floor with more than 70 supplier exhibits. Exclusive Expo hours will provide attendees with a chance to chat face-to-face with exhibitors, learn more about the latest industry trends and products, network at the exhibitor appreciation reception, and win door prizes. More than 550 industry professionals are expected to attend.
The fall convention will also offer exciting new opportunities for lunchtime networking on both Tuesday and Wednesday. A new Speed Networking Lunch will take place on Tuesday after the morning education sessions. At the hour-long event, attendees will be able to make up to six new business contacts over the course of the meal. On Wednesday, ASC members will be able to catch up with one another and learn about the council’s latest developments during the Membership Update Lunch.
For the first time, attendees will be able to download an ASC mobile app to review technical session information, organize schedules and connect with other industry professionals. Other networking opportunities at the convention will include a fun run/walk and a golf outing at Rush Creek Golf Club on Monday, October 21.
For more information or to register, visit www.ascouncil.org.
At-a-Glance Event Schedule
Monday, October 21
7:00 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Hot Melt Short Course
9:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. ASC Fall Golf Outing
Noon-5:00 p.m. ASC Board of Directors Meeting
5:30-6:00 p.m. First-Time Attendees and New Members Reception
6:00-8:00 p.m. ASC Welcome Reception
Tuesday, October 22
7:30-9:00 a.m. Opening General Session Breakfast featuring John Felmy, chief economist, American Petroleum Institute
7:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Hot Melt Short Course
9:00-11:00 a.m. Coffee Lounge
9:15 a.m.-Noon Morning Education Sessions
Noon-1:00 p.m. Speed Networking Lunch
1:00-3:00 p.m. Coffee Lounge
1:15-3:30 p.m. Afternoon Education Sessions
3:30-7:00 p.m. ASC Expo and Reception
7:00-10:00 p.m. ASC Leadership and Delegation Dinner
Wednesday, October 23
7:30-9:00 a.m. General Breakfast featuring Jim Owens, president and CEO, H.B. Fuller
9:00-11:00 a.m. Coffee Lounge
9:15 a.m.-Noon Morning Education Sessions
12:15-1:15 p.m. ASC Membership Update Lunch
1:00-3:00 p.m. Coffee Lounge
1:30-2:30 p.m. Committee Meetings
2:45-4:45 p.m. Afternoon Education Sessions
5:00-6:00 p.m. Closing General Session featuring Steve Kelley, director and senior fellow, University of Minnesota
6:00-7:00 p.m. Closing Reception
Chat with the Chairman
ASI Editor Susan Sutton recently spoke with ASC Chairman Rusty Thompson, who shared some highlights of the upcoming convention.
This convention will mark a change in format for the ASC. Can you tell us what’s changing, and why the ASC decided to go this route?
Basically, it’s the weekend travel. We’re shifting all of the sessions by one day, starting the convention on Monday evening and going through Wednesday evening. The biggest change from a format perspective is not having to travel on those weekends to get to the convention. We made this change based upon significant member input and clear guidance from the evaluations.
What types of topics will be covered in the technical sessions?
We will have more of an end user speaker format during the technical sessions, with experts from electronics and building and construction coming in to discuss market opportunities for the industry. We will also have a strong focus on hot melts, as both the short course that will be co-located with the meeting and the convention will have tracks dedicated to this effort. We have also already filled our Advanced Technology track sessions, which will feature seven speakers focused on emerging research.
The ASC always offers plenty of opportunities to network and learn about new products. Can you outline some of the highlights?
The biggest change for networking this year is something we’re calling Speed Networking Lunch. We’re going to do a special lunch that will connect attendees outside of the expo and give participants a chance to meet up to six attendees during a one-hour lunch. The evaluations indicated that our members wanted to continue to expand the expo effort, but also wanted some simple face time with other attendees in order to develop their business network. We think the lunch will help facilitate this, and it’s similar to how we developed the CEO network lunch that we began about two years ago.
The spring event in Atlanta enjoyed record attendance. How are things shaping up for the fall?
Couldn’t be more happy. We’re 80% sold out for the expo, sponsorships are close to selling out and the attendance is ramping up. We expect, once again, to have more than 550 attendees as companies look to focus on R&D and need guidance on trends, or they are looking ahead for the issues or challenges we’ll be facing and want to prepare in advance.
Listen to additional highlights shared by ASC Chairman Rusty Thompson!
