March 18, 2008
The sixth meeting of the Global Phenolic Resins Association (GPRA) was held March 11th and 12th in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The GPRA appointed Dr. Joerg Talbiersky (UCP) to the position of co-Chairman-Europe. He joins William Scheffer (SI-Group), co-Chairman-Americas and Noburo Yamawaki (Sumitomo Bakelite) co-Chairman-Asia in leading the Association. The GPRA proudly welcomed its newest member, Dujodwala Paper Chemicals Ltd., more commonly known as DPCL.
The GPRA discussed many topics of current relevance to the phenolic resin producers, worldwide. The group renewed its support of its “Code of Industry Practice” and each member committed to documenting this commitment to the GPRA each year.
A key topic at each meeting is REACH including recommendations for actions GPRA members should consider to address this regulation. The group also discussed raw material trends related to phenolic resins and the impact these trends may have on the phenolic resin industry and on downstream users.
Another topic was a summary of the phenolic resin market in Russia and the GPRA’s first look at the global phenolic resin market, as estimated by several member companies. From these estimates, the phenolic resin markets produce more than 3.5 billion kilograms of product each year.
The Promotional-Technical Committee reported on its work, which will result in the publication of several articles. Some articles will be limited to circulation among GPRA members but others will appear in trade publications. The most recent work of the Committee, on phenolic resin use in the abrasive and grinding areas, generated good discussion.
The next meeting of the GPRA is scheduled for November 5th and 6th, 2008 in San Francisco, California.
The Mission of the GPRA is: ‘To enhance the reputation of the global phenolic resins industry with all its stakeholders by highlighting the unique contribution offered to society by these resins and to foster safe management of phenolic resins throughout their lifecycle’
Further information may be found on the GPRA website at www.gpraweb.com. Questions or comments related to the GPRA may be sent to:
Dr. Nausch Unternehmensberatung GmbH
– Treuhandbuero –
Hallbergstrasse 5
D-40239 Duesseldorf
Tel.: +49-(0)-211-68 78 940
Fax: +49-(0)-211-68 78 935
www.dnu.eu
treuhandbuero@dnu.eu