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announced this week that it is extending the nomination deadline for its second-annual Plastics For Life global parts competition. Winners in four feature-based categories—Protecting Life (preservation, safety, containment, protection); Quality of Life (preservation, safety, containment, protection); Improving Life (education, energy, opportunity, health); and Sustaining Life (environmental, conservation, sustainability, recycling, reduction)—plus People’s Choice and Grand Awards, will be announced at a special press conference on Wednesday, March 25, on the third day of SPE’s ANTEC 2015, held in conjunction with SPI’s NPE2015 in Orlando, Fla., that week.

 

According to SPE, because eligible parts must previously have won a category or a competition at an SPE TOPCON (topical conference) or Minicon (mini-conference) held during the last 12 months, extending the deadline from January 30 to February 13 allows teams of winning parts from SPE conferences that fall early in 2015 to enter this year’s competition rather than wait until 2016.

 

While the judges will preview nomination online in February, final balloting will take place on Monday, March 23, giving the judges the opportunity to see and touch physical parts during a walkthrough on the first day of ANTEC 2015. Says Jon Ratziaff, technical services manager at Chevron Phillips Chemical, who created the parts competition during his term as 2013-2014 SPE president, “As our competition enters its second year, interest is building and we’ve been asked to make a few rule changes that would enable us to pick up extra nominations. Since one of our goals for this competition is to highlight the incredible versatility of plastic materials in numerous markets and show how plastics truly enhance life on the planet, there was no question that we needed to be flexible. Hopefully the teams that are already at work on their forms will appreciate that they just got a two-week extension.”

 

Here’s a look at the 2014 Plastics For Life global parts competition winners:

•  Protecting Life Category: Carbon Fiber X-brace on 2013 SRT Viper supercar nominated by Plasan Carbon Composites (nomination previously won the 2013 SPE Automotive Composites Conference & Exhibition Body Exterior and People’s Choice awards).

 

 

• Quality of Life/Improving Life Categories: Bright Pack Packaging nominated by Plastics Technologies, Inc., (nomination previously own the 2013 SPE Blow Molding ABC Conference competition).

 

 

• Sustaining Life/Grand Award Categories: Door Assembly on Renault Twizy electric vehicle nominated by Walter Pack (nomination previously won the SPE European Thermoforming competition).