Document YGzRqoG81Y6kQZr9M38ymQ0kK

TXLKPHONX HCDSON M1M Manufacturing Chemists' Association, Inc. (fOONDXD U7 1825 Connecticut Avenue, N. W. Washington 9, D. C. MINUTES OP MEETING THE PLASTICS COMMITTEE The Manhattan Club, New York City February 14, 1961 PRESENT Messrs. C. D. Bell (for Walter H. Salzenberg) E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., Inc, Martin Buck, Shell Chemical Company P. D. Chittenden (for Earle S. Ebers) U. S. Rubber Company A. R. Ludlow, Jr. (for W. P. Marsh, Jr.) U. S. Industrial Chemicals T. T. Miller, W. R, Grace & Co, Walter J. A. Connor (for K, J. Nelson) Enjay Chemical Company R. K. Turner, Union Carbide Plastics Company Harry B. Warner, B. P. Goodrich Chemical Company David C. Williams, Eastman Chemical Products P. H. Carman, MCA Also: . D, S. Frederick, Rohm & Haas Company R. K. Mueller, Monsanto Chemical Company Chairman T. J. Kinsella had previously expressed regrets that a business conflict prevented his attending the meeting and had asked Mr. T. T. Miller to act as Chairman In this session. UNDERWRITERS' LABORATORIES PROJECT Factual reports covering status of this program had been cleared to member representatives in special memos of February 1 and February 10. The following comment from W. J. Sauber of Dow Chemical was reported: The appliance industry reports a much better cli mate at Underwriters' Laboratories for listing appli ances with plastics components. Appliance manufacturers were able to fulfill UL requirements, and keep or add most of their plastics parts, by protecting combustible plastics from ignition sources (shielding switches, conduits for wires, metal baffles, etc.). In a few cases, particularly air-conditioner interior parts, it was necessary to replace combustible plastics. Going one step further, we are aware of one instance where UL was a service In preventing serious misapplications of plastics, otherwise unknown to the resin supplier, through policing the designs of small manufacturers who ay have inadequate technical staffs. It is probable that such assistance will reduce liability problems which might affect the resin supplier. CMA 078423 2 In an extended discussion It was brought out that: C1) it is de sirable to maintain good relations with the U/L, (2) it is desir able to have the present director of the project continue in this work, (3) little new testing knowledge or information on flamma bility of plastic materials may come from the work, the main re-, suit being that the U/L may become more knowledgeable of the prop erties of plastics and have a realistic appreciation of the con tributions made by these materials, (4) the Laboratories are now undoubtedly interested in providing further listing services to individual companies, and (5) for the moment the U/L is planning to accelerate the program, spending $2,000 per month for the rest of the MCA fiscal year, and would want to continue a program forthe MCA after June 1, 1961. Present indications are that the budgeted amount of $25,000 in the financial package for the cur rent year will be entirely expended at the end of the period. This discussion was concluded with the suggestion that the Advisory Committee for the Project analyze the work to be done, the cost and duration of the program and, if appropriate, en deavor to cut off the program as soon as practicable. It was suggested that the Committee make an effort to have a report ready by the next meeting of the Plastics Committee, March 21. PLASTICS VS. BUILDING FIRE HAZARDS A communication from Mr. Sauber on this subject was also pre sented to the Committee: At the request of Baron Whittaker, UL Vice Presi dent, matters relating to flame-spread, fuel-loading and similar life hazards associated with building materials, have been placed on the agenda at recent MCA-UL project committee meetings. We believe that the present-day quantities of plastics in appliances make an insignificant contribution to these hazards and UL has somewhat concurred. We could, therefore, argue that consideration of these hazards is outside the scope of the present project. L. M. Kline of UL, however, has told us that UL is really asking our com mittee to consider the general plastics problem, whether it be appliances, lighting applications or general building materials. Some decision is called for concerning "general fire hazard". It is recom mended the Plastics Committee consider one of the following: 1. Include general fire hazard as part of our program immediately. 2. Advise UL that this will be included as soon as we have the largest share of the appliance project completed. 3. Avoid consideration of any part of the prob lem not directly related to appliances. CMA 078424 -3- On the recommendation that Step 2 be taken at this time, it was the general consensus that a long-term commitment which might imply that the MCA Plastics Group would sponsor study of the gen eral fire hazard at the U/t. was inadvisable at this time. It was concluded that the Plastics Committee wants to look at the results of the appliance project and then consider the building project separately at a later date. For the moment, it is neces sary that the present rate of expenditure is not exceeded. MCA-SPI JOINT COMMITTEE ON BUILDING Mr. R. K. Mueller commented briefly on contacts he had made with Mr, W. T. Cruse early in January, reporting on consideration given by MCA's committee, the proposal that the scope of the Joint Committee's program be clearly outlined, and a suggested statement of principles and objectives be considered. Representing SPI on this Joint Committee are Messrs. F. J. Rarig, W. F. Aikman, R. E. Lilly, C. R. Mahaney, and J. G. Somers. Mr. Rarig on February 6 had advised that SPI had already appropriated $5,000 a year for the next two years and NEMA had contributed $1,000 to this activity; MCA was requested to appropriate $5,000 a year for the next two years. Mr. Mueller stated the only, and appropriate, steps that can now be taken are to get together with the SPI representatives. Until this can be done and a recommendation made to the MCA Plastics Committee for further action, it was proposed that some additional financing be permitted in the interim. On motion duly seconded and passed unanimously, it was voted that up to an additional .$1,000 (over the $1,500 already in the fiscal year budget) be ap propriated for the balance of this MCA fiscal year, or until the recommendations of the Joint Committee can be acted on by MCA, whichever is earlier. In discussion, one member representative stressed the need for codes being written on a performance basis and not on materials and that the problem of working with code officials over the long term is one for MCA and that in our best interests we cannot ex pect It to be properly handled by others. MOLDING MATERIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS Following consideration of the request of the SPI Injection Machinery Division that an announcement form on new molding mater ials be circulated to Injection machinery producers. It was the general feeling that such announcements are now pretty well circu lated to machinery producers on an individual company basis and should continue in this manner. It was proposed that this SPI yivision advise as to the type of form that they believe desirable "7 the way of minimum Information required and we would be glad to circulate this to molding material producer members fo.r them to Canale on an individual basis. I* CMA 078425 TARIFF CLASSIFICATION Since the last meeting of this Committee, the Tariff Classi fication Subcommittee had reviewed the classification schedules as proposed by the Tariff Commission. With very few exceptions, MCA's recommendations were incorporated into the proposed classi fication and the Subcommittee had recommended that the industry through MCA urge early enactment of the schedules into law with out hearings. This recommendation had been approved just re cently by a majority of the International Trade and Tariff Com mittee . In a recent bulletin the SPI had called members' attention to this new classification, stating it was commented on favorably by industry representatives familiar with the program. PLASTICS SHIPPING CONTAINERS The subcommittee of the Chemical Packaging Committee con cerned with evaluating plastics for shipping containers had indi cated the need for a technical representative familiar with the chemistry of polymers; advice is needed occasionally on technical matters pertaining to commercially available plastic materials when the regular committee members (conversant with packaging and transportation matters) could not handle same. Messrs. Buck, Turner and Mueller Indicated they may be able to aid the committee. (Note: Since the meeting and further consultation In Washington, a request has been forwarded to Mr. R. K. Turner which may enable us to take care of this.) PLASTICS INSTITUTE The Committee was alerted on a recent announcement of the Plastics Institute Committee (which was also reconstituted) that plans were going forward for this Institute. It was suggested that this entire release be circulated to the membership, as at tached, FINANCIAL PACKAGE It Is now estimated that financing of the V/L project, the building program, and the research projects will amount to the bud geted figure for this fiscal year and there will be no surplus to carry over for 1961-1962 operations. In view of the new funds Squired for the ISO/TC 6l support, the request for Increased sup port of the West Coast Consultant Jointly with the SPI, and the underwriters' project financing in the next fiscal year, it is ^oped that recommendations of respective committees can be final ized so that a budget for next year's operations can be given at least preliminary consideration in the March meeting. CMA 078426 5- BUILDING PROGRAM A summary of the December 14, i960 meeting of the Plastics In Building Committee had been circulated to the Plastics Committee. A recent contact with Calvin Yuill, director of the MCA proj ect at SwRI, was commented on briefly. General topics covered were: 1) The plastics industry should avoid getting Into a position In which the Insulation board people found themselves with the NFPA. This was mainly In connection with the possibility of reporting of fires where plastics could be mentioned. 2) To date, NFPA's Fire Record Department has found nothing significant on plastics' contribution to actual fires. 3) The heavy involvement of certain other basic material groups in building code lobbying. One group through its association had spent $5,000 a year on enter taining regulatory officials, even though their product presented no fire hazard, 4) The plastics industry will be having Increased difficulty in areas where fire marshals feel there is a growing problem re burning plastics emitting excessive smoke. 5) Comments that specific attention on research to define and evaluate the hazard arising from smoke might serve to give unwarranted attention to this property of plastics and be a dis-service to the Industry, A report by Mr. Demarest on his observations of plastics ex hibits in the recent NAHB exposition and convention is attached. NEXT. MEETING The next meeting of the Committee is scheduled for March 21 at the Manhattan Club, with luncheon at 12:30 P. M. adjournment The meeting adjourned at 3*15 P. M, PHC:ew F. H. Carman, Committee Secretary February 17, 1961 - Subject to Approval C~: u' L1yd Symington W. Demarest CMA 078427 FOR: Plastics Institute Committee Contact: Frederick R. Brewster Y Ellington & Company, Inc, 535 Fifth Avenue New York 17****New York MUrray Hill 7-^300 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE AN AMERICAN PLASTICS INSTITUTE TO BE LAUNCHED IN 1961 Independent Industry-Wide Committee Decides to Proceed With Incorporation WASHINGTON, D,C., January 25* 1961--America's still-burgeon ing plastics Industry is soon to have its own Plastics Institute. Assured of industry-wide support by the replies received from a series of questionnaires distributed during the past few months, the Plastics Institute Committee decided this week to proceed with formal Incorporation of the Plastics Institute of America as a non profit organization. The decision was taken by the Committee at a meeting held here during the Annual Technical Conference of the Society of Plastics Engineers, the professional and technical society of the industry. The decision was announced by Jules W. LIndau III, the newlyelected chairman of the Committee. An Independent group whose members have been drawn from all segments of the industry, the Committee has been working out detailed plans for such an Institute for the past four years. Mr. LIndau, who has been a member of the Committee since its formation* Is president of the Southern Plastics Company, Columbia, South Carolina, and is also professor of mechanical engineering at the University of South Carolina. The projected Plastics Institute will be concerned both with helping solve the Industry's Immediate technical problems and as suring Its future health and growth. Primarily, it will seek to *ulfill the need for basic, fundamental research into the proper*ies and characteristics of plastic materials and other significant aspects of the science and engineering of plastics, and will dis seminate the findings of this research to all levels of plastics Reduction, Processing, and end-use. The Institute will also be -oncerned with the education -- at the graduate school level -- of large number of qualified plastics engineers and chemists, who badly needed by the industry. For this purpose, it will af- ** late with one of this country's leading educational Institu tes -- 3tin to be selected. CMA 078428 At Its meeting here this week, the Committee also approved an initial research program for the projected Institute, prepared byJerome L. Formo, director of plastics research for MinneapolisHoneywell Regulator Company, Minneapolis. Mr. Formo has also been a member of the Committee since It was established and for two years served as its chairman. This program will be laid before the industry during the next few months as a part of the membershipsolicitation campaign. The group also approved the content of a questionnaire to be directed in the near future to more than 150 leading educational Institutions to determine their capabilities, available facilities and personnel, and Interest in becoming affiliated with the pro jected Plastics Institute, Professor Louis F. Rahm, director of the Plastics Laboratory at Princeton University, and chairman of the Committee during the past year, presided at the meetings here this week. Other members of the Committee who will continue to serve until the formal in corporation is effected Include Mr. Formo, A. A, Hutchings, vicepresident of F. J. Stokes Corporation, Philadelphia; Ralph L. Mondano, until recently manager of the plastics plant of Raytheon Company, Maynard, Mass.;-and George Smoluk, engineering editor of MODERN PLASTICS magazine. Newly appointed members of the Committee are: S. E. Q. Ashley, manager of General Electric Company's Major Appliance Laboratories, Louisville, Kentucky; Emil Ott, formerly vice-presi dent in charge of research and development for the Chemical Di visions of Food Machinery and Chemical Corporation and now a member of the staff of Rutgers University, New Brunswick, N. J.; and Dr. Frank Reinhart, chief of the Plastics Section of the National Bureau of Standards, Washington, D. C. ##### Copied by M. C. A. February 16, 1961 CMA 078429 I^S^ort by William Demarest, Director, Plastics in Building, MCA February 10, 1961 SUBJECT: Plastics at the National Association of Home Builders1 Annual Exposition and Convention I went through the vast Exposition methodically, since it is hard to cope with 1,000 exhibits in a random manner. These were among the exhibitors of plastics products: Alsynite Division of Reichhold Consoweld duPont's Elastomers Dept. Duraflex Fllon Formica Johns-Manville Kalwall Koppers Lockwood Hardware Masonite Millers Falls Pioneer Plastics St. Regis Paper United Cork Vlsklng This by no means covers all the products exhibited so as to em phasize their uses of plastics. The Lockwood Hardware exhibit featured a motor-powered testing device which demonstrated the superior wearing qualities of the nylon elements in their new .Ipckset. Millers Falls showed the hand-powered drill with a ^KLon housing to which I called your attention last month. (I ^roted this still does not have U/L approval.) The Alsynite ex hibit was very razzle-dazzle. (Have you noticed their multi page color splash in at least one major consumer publication -- "Saturday Evening Post", I think.) There were so many sessions going on simultaneously that it was not possible to cover them all. However, I did attend two that promoted plastics building products strongly. One was an actual demonstration of the quick-and-easy assembly of a plumbing wall of B. F. Goodrich Chemicals' polyvinyl dichloride. While the demonstration was in progress, this plastics plumbing was discussed by Ralph Johnson, the NAHB Research Director; George Anderson of U. S. Steel's National Tube Division and recent chairman of the SPI thermoplastics pipe division; Verner Lane, building commissioner of South Bend, Indiana (quite encouraging about code acceptance of plastics pipe) and Robert Schmitt, a *ell known homebuilder active in the NAHB Research Institute. This obviously gives a big promotional boost to "Hi-Temp Geon", also Incidentally to plastics plumbing, also incidentally to plastics in homebuilding. Another such program limelighted Koppers' modular foamcore sandwich panels as part of a discussion of "components". ? r t II i CMA 078430 # .ffj : it <t 2 The moderator was a Philadelphia homebuilder very well known In that industry; the panel included NAHB President Bartling, MIT's Professor Dietz, and architect Carl Koch who is nationally known for his work on prefabs such as Lustron, Acorn, and Techbuilt, Again, actual erection of Koppers' "Dylite" panels was demon strated In a mammoth full-size structure, almost as big as half a typical FHA house. Of course, there is room for much broader promotion of plastics' varied uses in homebuilding. Plastics, as you know, did not play a part in the two-day-long "how-to-do-it" demonstra tions. Regardless of that, my feeling is that plastics generally had considerable impact at this convention. CMA 078431