Members and guests of the Polyurethane Foam Association gathered Nov. 4-6 in Austin for the association’s annual fall meeting to discuss the current business environment and other factors affecting the flexible polyurethane foam industry.
According to a news release, more than 140 industry professionals, including C-suite executives, researchers, EHS specialists, marketers and technologists came to the Omni Downtown Austin for networking and presentations on foam sustainability, market trends and the regulatory environment.
“Now, more than ever, it’s important for our industry to share the knowledge uncovered by the work of our members and staff,” said Dr. Philippe Knaub, PFA President.
The PFA’s industry issues session highlighted updates in key end-use markets, with a focus on bedding and carpet cushion, workforce challenges, European regulatory developments affecting North American producers and ongoing sustainability efforts. The technical program featured presentations on foam compression technologies for more efficient shipping, deriving polyols from CO₂, tertiary amine and tin-based catalyst alternatives, and new software for assessing sustainability at the facility and product level, the news release said.
Following the technical program, Richard Stevenson of Econic Technologies was named winner of the Dr. Herman Stone Technical Excellence Award. The award is named for Dr. Herman T. Stone, PFA’s first technical director, who was inducted into the Flexible Polyurethane Foam Hall of Fame in 2007.
During the association’s general business meeting, two longtime industry executives, Future Foam Vice President Rob Heller and outgoing PFA President Philippe Knaub, were honored with PFA’s Lifetime Achievement Award. In the PFA’s 45-year history, fewer than 40 individuals have received this honor.
New officers and executive committee members for 2025-26 were also confirmed, including:
- Cam McLaughlin, Elite Comfort Solutions, president
- Bill Gollnitz, Plastomer, first vice president
- Kevin Zhou, Sinomax-USA, second vice president
- Frank Donato, VPC, treasurer
- Philippe Knaub, immediate past president
- Ted Smiecinski, Future Foam
- Stephen Wallace, TempurSealy
- Mike Irwin, Woodbridge Group
- Jason Goger, Wm. T. Burnett
- Karl Gust, BASF
- Scott Skolnekovich, Covestro
- Susan Kilpatrick, Evonik
- Rob Einterz, Monument Chemical
- Aaron Hart, Momentive
- Robert Smith, Wanhua
- Barry Gabelman, Chemfoam
- Hamdy Khalil, Emeritus
