We are excited to host the meeting at Hilton Garden Inn located in Grand Rapids, MI on Wednesday, November 19th. 

Meeting Details:
Date: Wednesday, November 19th @ 2:00pm
Location: Hilton Garden Inn 2321 East Beltline Ave SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546

Agenda:

Board Meeting: 12:30pm
Doors: 2:00pm
Presentations: 2:30pm
Drinks: 4:30pm
Dinner: 5:00pm

We will have a two-part presentation this year on failure analysis presented by Jason T. Poulton, Ph.D from ARDL. The presentation information is detailed below. 

Speaker: Jason T. Poulton, Ph.D., Senior Technical Advisor for Akron Rubber Development Laboratory

Topic: Product Failure Analysis

About Jason T. Poulton, Ph.D.:

Jason earned a BS in Chemistry from The Ohio State University and a Ph.D in Chemistry from Indiana University. He has been in the rubber industry for over 32 years. He has held R&D and management roles at Ansell Healthcare and Bridgestone Americas. Jason’s work experience includes compounding and production of synthetic and natural latex products, basic polymer research/scale up/plant support, materials research, technology planning, passenger/light truck tire development, compound development for passenger, light truck, truck/bus radial, agricultural and off road tires, and laboratory testing/characterization of rubber materials. He has also provided independent consulting services to the rubber and plastics industries on a variety of topics including industry trends, purchasing/raw material approval and future outlook for value added materials. He is listed as co-inventor on 35 US patents and multiple foreign patents. Jason’s current position at Akron Rubber Development Laboratory focuses on Forensic Analysis including litigation matters.

Presentation Abstract:

Ben Franklin is known for stating “Nothing is certain other than death and taxes”. Ben left out one important thought: sooner or later, one of your products or processes is not going to perform as expected and there is a high probability that someone such as your customer or boss will be…….unhappy. What do you do in this situation? While no two failures are exactly the same, this presentation will examine several “real world” examples of forensic projects with an emphasis on identifying a systematic approach to find a root cause. Often times the most difficult first question is “Where do I start?” and differentiating between a “chemical” root cause vs. a “mechanical” root cause can be a very helpful first step. Join for an interactive presentation and be ready to put on your critical thinking cap!

Please feel free to share this invitation with friends and colleagues in the industry. We hope to see more like-minded professionals at our meeting!

Cost: $45 Advance, $50 at Door. It is $15 for membership dues if you need to purchase or renew. You can pay through the attached QR code, or the following link. https://buy.stripe.com/dR67wpbdMc7v1RCcMR

Please RSVP by emailing me at Jacob.Spoolstra@kongcompany.com

If you’re not yet a member, you can sign up beforehand at https://www.michiganrubbergroup.com/mrg-membership-application/ or at the event.

We look forward to seeing you all soon!