Rubber Division builds bridges to Europe

London –  Representatives of the American Chemical Society (ACS) Rubber Division travelled to Europe 9-22 Nov as part of division plans to develop closer links with other rubber associations and companies globally.

For the visit, Rubber Division membership manager Heather Maimone  and Christie Robinson, training and development director worked with David Cawthra and Gail Reader, ACS corporate members and Tun Abdul Razak Research Center (TARRC)/Rubber Consultants to organise a UK programme.

The UK leg included introductions to the Institute of Materials (IOM3), the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, the Elastomer Training Action Group (ELTAG) and several other representatives from the UK rubber industry.

A meeting with ELTAG members and TARRC personnel including Stuart Cook, director of research, and Colin Robinson, business manager of Rubber Consultants, was held at TARRC's laboratories in Brickendonbury, Hertford.

Other participants included John Dorken, chair of ELTAG and chairman of the British Rubber and Polyurethane Products Association, and Sally Beken, Knowledge Transfer Network manager, polymers, at UK government body Innovate UK. The meeting included a presentation, an open forum for discussion and a tour of TARRC's laboratories.

A meeting at the IOM3 included Kate Harrison and Diane Aston, education manager, discussing membership and education themes. Rubber Division ACS and IOM3 are working together to build a reciprocal member agreement that will increase visibility of the advantages of membership, student outreach and educational training to the industry in the UK.

Rubber Division ACS and Rubber Consultants met with Alison Handley, membership manager at the Society for Motor Manufacturers and Traders. Both organizations will collaborate together to increase visibility to both the rubber and automotive industries in the US. and UK.

Maimone and Robinson met with James Busfield of Queen Mary University, who is also the chair of the IOM3 Rubber in Engineering Group in London. They discussed the possibility of the formation of a student chapter in the UK or Europe.

Busfield, who is also involved in the planning of IRC 2019, working with TARRC, ELTAG and IOM3, discussed how the groups could work together on educational program planning for IRC 2019 in London.

In The Netherlands, Maimone and Robinson met with Rafal Anyszka, with the University of Twente, to discuss the formation of a Rubber Division ACS student chapter or overall student chapter for Europe.

The final leg of the European visit was to attend the 2017 International Conference, "With rubber through life" in Warsaw.

The visit to Europe “was very successful in working towards the organisation’s goals and the vision of enhancing science, technology and business across the evolving elastomeric community,” a statement from the Rubber Division concluded.

The final leg of the European visit was to attend the 2017 International Conference, "With rubber through life" in Warsaw.