The first Silicone Elastomers US 2011 conference will take place from 6 - 7 December 2011 in Rosemont, IL, USA. The inaugural two-day event is being organised by IntertechPira, a division of Pira International – part of The Smithers Group, and will cover the entire spectrum of the silicone elastomers supply chain, including current research developments, as well as new usage opportunities.

The application areas of silicone elastomers are widespread due to their extensive spectrum of high-performance qualities, including temperature stability, electrical resistance, chemical inertia and high biocompatibility. Since silicone elastomers are important materials for many application areas, the conference will examine some of their more prevalent usages, such as automotive, electric and electronics, gaskets, domestic appliances, cosmetics, fabric coatings and medical devices.

“iSmithers presented the fourth edition of the European-based Silicone Elastomers conference earlier this year, which was attended by 100 industry professionals representing all aspects of the supply chain within Europe,” said Christine Groff, Conference Director, IntertechPira. “Due to the continued success and growth of this conference, we decided to import the event to the US to give it added exposure to those in the industry who are primarily based in North America.”

One of the key supporters of the European events has been Momentive Performance Materials and iSmithers announced that Momentive has pledged to support the US event as well. “Momentive has been contributing with papers on innovations in Silicone Elastomers to the four previous European Events,” said Oliver Franssen, Global Marketing Director at Momentive. “Bringing this unique conference finally much closer to end-users and customers in North America will help to drive new applications of this almost universal elastomer family. We are honoured to be invited to participate in this inaugural US conference. Based on its past performance in Europe, we are anticipating a strong turnout for its North American debut.”

Speaker recruitment for Silicone Elastomers US 2011 is now underway.