News briefs -- Nov. 4, 2008

The American Composites Manufacturers Association (ACMA), in conjunction with Platinum Sponsors Composites One and Magnum Venus Plastech, has decided to postpone until spring 2009 the Dynamics of Composites Manufacturing event that was scheduled for Oct. 27-29, 2008 in Seattle, Washington. ACMA says the conference was highly successful when first held this spring in Dayton and that moving the Seattle event also to a spring timeframe has the potential to provide training and education to a larger audience.

Eastman Machine Co. (Buffalo, N.Y.) has appointed GlobAbility Ltd. (Headington, Oxford, U.K.) to represent its line of automated cutting systems, material handling equipment and design software. GlobAbility Ltd. is an international consulting and program management group specializing in the development and implementation of investment, diversification and expansion projects in global markets.

Excel Polymers LLC (Solon, Ohio) has announced the promotion of Marcus A. Pignataro to president and general manager - Asia/Pacific. In this role, Pignataro will be president of EXLP Global (Foshan) and oversee the completion of the construction and start-up phases of the company's new manufacturing facility in the Shunde Industrial Park in Shunde (Guangdong Province) and will be responsible for commercial activities in the Asia/Pacific Rim.

Lectra (Paris, France; Marietta, Ga.) has announced the appointment of Roy Shurling as president of Lectra North America. Based in Atlanta, Ga., and reporting directly to Lectra’s CEO, Daniel Harari, Shurling will assume responsibility for all Lectra business in North America, which covers the United States, Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean.

Northern Fiber Glass Sales Inc. (Hampton, N.H.) reports that its newly opened facility in Greensboro, N.C., attained ISO9001 and AS9120 quality certifications in August. The new facility is a strategic distribution center that was officially opened in late June. It will service Southeast, Mid-Atlantic and Midwest customers. This is the second facility for Northern Fiber Glass Sales to attain these quality standards. The Hampton, N.H., facility attained ISO9001 and AS9120 in August 2006.

Park Electrochemical Corp. (Melville, N.Y.) has announced the appointment of David R. Dahlquist as director of business development. In this new position, Dahlquist will report to Brian Shore,  president and CEO. Dahlquist previously held the positions of product director and more recently director of marketing at Park Electrochemical Corp.

Following its 2008 Annual Meeting, Sept, 14-16 in Chicago, Ill., the Thermoset Resin Formulators Association (TRFA, Glen Ellyn, Ill.) announced new officers for 2009. They are: President, Dr. Vinay Mishra, ITW Devcon; vice president, Valerie Walker, Crosslink Technology Inc.; secretary/treasurer, Jason Tuerack, Broadview Technologies Inc.; and immediate past president, John Cech, CVC Thermoset Specialties. Newly elected members of the TRFA Board of Directors are David Elmendorf, Sika Corp., and Christopher Andreola, Cabot Corp., who will serve through 2011, and Julie Mongeluzi, Dow Epoxy, to serve through 2010. Those members of the Board of Directors continuing to serve are Scott Harvey, Chemroy Canada Inc., and Tim Atkinson, Pro-Set Inc., through 2009, and Domingo "Tito" Llopiz, Evonik Corp., through 2010.

Fiberglass window manufacturer Inline Fiberglass Ltd. (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), has signed an agreement with Zoom Developers (Mumbai, India) to create a joint venture to manufacture and distribute fiberglass windows and doors in India. Mike Levine, Inline's international sales manager says the deal "underlines our commitment to become a major international player in the fenestration market." The joint venture is expected to be up and running by spring of 2009.