Welcome to the Automotive Division of SPE

Welcome to the Internet home of the Automotive Division of the Society of Plastics Engineers International (SPE), a not-for-profit engineering society.

WHAT'S NEW...
ACCE DISCOUNTED AIRFARE NOW AVAILABLE ON DELTA, AMERICAN AIRLINES: Through a special arrangement with The Cadillac Travel Group, we are able to offer ACCE attendees flying to Detroit for the conference a small discount off the lowest available airfare PLUS 24-hour emergency travel assistance. For more details, please click HERE.

PRELIMINARY SPE AUTO TPO PROGRAM SCHEDULE POSTED : To view the preliminary technical program schedule for the 12th-annual SPE Auto TPO Global Conference, please visit the TPO page HERE.

UPDATED 2010 SPE ACCE TECHNICAL PROGRAM SCHEDULE POSTED: To review the latest technical program schedule for the 10th-annual SPE Automotive Composites Conference & Exhibition (ACCE), please visit the ACCE page HERE.

SPE AUTOMOTIVE DIV. NOW ON TWITTER: Follow our automotive plastics "tweets" here

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LATEST AUTOMOTIVE DIVISION NEWSLETTER posted (September 2010). To download this or other division newsletters, please Click HERE.

MEMBERS OF OUR BOARD: Curious to put faces to our names? Want to see who serves on our Division's board of directors? We now have photos up on the Members of Our Board page, which can be found if you Click HERE. If you are interested in joining our board or just attending our meetings, please contact our Division Chair, Jeff Helms at (e-mail: auto-div-chair@speautomotive.com ). You can find a calendar of events (including board meetings) if you Click HERE.

SPECIAL OFFERS FOR OUR MEMBERS

FREE 3-MONTH TRIAL SUBSCRIPTION TO POLYMOTIVE MAGAZINE: SPE members can receive a free 3-month subscription to the electronic version of Polymotive Magazine , the world's leading automotive-plastics publication, which had readers in 114 countries around the globe. Click on the above banner to fill out a form to receive 3 issues of the magazine in PDF format. Once the trial subscription is over, you will be contacted and offered the opportunity for a paid subscription.

SPE MEMBERS SAVE $75 USD Click on the above banner to review the technical program and other details for the Alabama Composites Conference 2010 in Birmingham, Alabama, USA from August 24-26, 2010. SPE Members receive discounted admission.

FREE SUBSCRIPTION TO AUTOFIELD GUIDE BLOG: Click on the above banner to review and sign up for a free subscription to AutoField Guide's blog, which provides "quick insights on automotive management."

FREE SUBSCRIPTION TO AUTOFIELDGUIDE eNEWSLETTER: SPE members can also sign up for a free subscription to Automotive Design & Production magazines's bi-monthly eZine, Autofield Guide. The e-mail newsletter provides a twice-monthly look at what's really happening in the automotive industry. Click on the above banner to view the latest issue.

FREE SAMPLES OF 18 OF THE WORLD'S TOP ENGINEERING JOURNALS: By special arrangement, SPE members can preview and order free samples of technical journals produced by Professional Engineering Publishing of the UK. Just click on the above banner to visit the site and browse through the selection.

TRIAL OFFER TO PLASTICS DATABASE: Click on the banner to register for free access to datasheets through PLASPEC Basic, which includes a 7-day FREE trial of PLASPEC Complete. PLASPEC Global is an online database of single-point and multi-point properties of plastics materials, including ASTM, ISO, and CAMPUS data. PLASPEC also contains processing data, a tradename index, applications library, biopolymers database, and links to technical literature on materials.. SPE Members can also login to their Member Benefits page for a special trial offer from PLASPEC Global.

SAVE THE DATES...

Sept. 14, 2010: The 3nd-annual SPE / ACA Annual Golf Outing will take place at Fieldstone Golf Course in Auburn Hills, Michigan. For more information, please Click HERE.

Sept. 15-16, 2010: The 10th-annual SPE Automotive Composites Conference & Exhibition (ACCE) will take place in Troy, Michigan. For more information, please Click HERE.

Oct. 3-6, 2010: The 12th-annual SPE Automotive TPO Global Conference will take place in Sterling Heights, Michigan. For more information, please Click HERE.

Nov. 9, 2010: The 40th-annual SPE Automotive Innovation Awards Gala -- the oldest and largest recognition event in the automotive and plastics industries -- will take place in Livonia, Michigan. Tickets (for individual seats or tables of 10) are on sale now. For more information, please Click HERE.

HELP FOR UNEMPLOYED SPE MEMBERS
Did you know that if you become unemployed, SPE can help? Unemployed benefits include:

Waiver of dues for renewing members for up to 2 years while you seek employment.
Continuation of all SPE benefits during that time.
Free resume posting and job searching at SPE Career Solutions
Job-seeking advice -- including tips on how to write a resume, negotiate an offer, etc. -- are available at SPE Career Solutions.
Placement of 3 free position-wanted ads in Plastics Engineering magazine (to learn more about this option, contact our advertising department).
Networking opportunities through attending events sponsored by geographic Sections and technical Divisions.

You can notify SPE headquarters of your unemployment status by contacting Customer Relations (+1.203.740.5403). From there, you will be transferred to other departments.

Please also see SPE's other unemployment services offered members http://www.4spe.org/spe-unemployment-services. WHO WE ARE AND WHAT WE DO...

The Automotive Division of SPE is dedicated to recognizing and communicating technical accomplishments in all phases of new automotive plastics and plastic-based composite applications and has over 1500 members worldwide. Ours is one of 22 divisions or sections within SPE. It was chartered on September 9, 1970 to communicate with Division members as well as to industry and the public about current and developmental automotive and ground-transportation uses of polymeric materials, such as rigid and elastomeric thermoplastics and thermosets, rigid and flexible foams, composites, nanocomposites, films, and more.

The Division presents technical sessions at ANTEC (SPE's ANnual TEChnical Conference) and organizes topical conferences (such as our popular Automotive Composites Conference & Exhibition (ACCE) and our new Automotive Engineering Plastics (AutoEPCON) Conference), and works with other technical societies to increase knowledge about current and future automotive plastic applications. We fund college scholarships and sponsor and participate in additional educational outreach programs for school children through the PlastiVan Program from the National Plastics Center & Museum in Leominster, Mass. http://www.plasticsmuseum.org.

SPE members are invited to attend board meetings and are welcome to participate on committees organizing any of the annual events. Meet at 5:00 pm for networking and dinner and then stay for the meetings, which typically run from 5:30-8:30 pm. Please contact our current Automotive Division chair, Jeff Helms, (e-mail: auto-div-chair@speautomotive.com ), in advance if you are interested in attending a meeting.

In addition to educational activities, the Division sponsors the oldest and largest awards competitions in the automotive and plastics industries to recognize the year's Most Innovative Use of Plastics in ground-transportation applications. Winning teams are recognized at our annual SPE Automotive Innovation Awards Gala, a glittering evening of celebration to recognize excellence in automotive plastics engineering and executive leadership.