The annual Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) International Polyolefins Conference in Galveston Texas on February 23-26, 2026 announces the keynote speakers and the program. In existence since 1975, this conference is the largest polymer Conference in the World dedicated to Polyolefins (Polyethylene and Polypropylene) with over 900 people attending, 130+ papers, and 60+ exhibitors.
HOUSTON, Jan. 13, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The 2026 SPE International Polyolefins Conference will be on February 23-26, 2026 (Monday-Thursday) at the Galveston Island Convention Center in Galveston, Texas. The SPE South Texas Section in collaboration with the SPE Polymer Modifiers and Additives Division, the Thermoplastic Materials and Foams Division, the Engineering Properties and Structures Division, the Building and Infrastructure Division, the Applied Rheology Division, and the Flexible Packaging Division are organizing the program.
The conference will include:
- A Monday afternoon tutorial
- 130+ technical presentations, with four keynote speakers
- Keynote Speakers will be live streamed
- An Exhibition Hall of over 60 industry suppliers, ranging from equipment, compounding, additives, and more
- Student Poster Competition for attendees to judge
- New Product presentations in the Exhibit Hall
- Over 900 people are expected to attend the conference
The 130+ talks will cover the following areas:
- Polyolefin Manufacturing (catalyst & process)
- Formulation (additives & modifiers)
- Melt Processing (extrusion blow molding)
- Design (molecular through assembled articles)
- Applications (packaging to durables)
- Recycling and Circularity
- Regulation and Public Policy
- Microplastics
- Analytical Testing
- Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
To view the FULL PROGRAM CLICK HERE
To view all the Speakers Click Here
Keynote speakers will be
- Jan Kalfus, Executive Director of S&P Global, Driving Change: Strategic Perspectives on the Polyolefin Value Chains
- Rob Flores, VP Sustainability at Amcor, Driving Sustainability through Value Chain Collaboration
- Professor John Hartwig, University of California at Berkeley, Catalytic Upcycling and Deconstruction of Polyolefins by C-H Bonds
- Professor Rigoberto Advincula, University of Tennessee at Knoxville, Towards AI/ML of Polymer Materials and DOE Opportunities
They will address, respectively, the state of the industry, circularity challenges and solutions across the value chain, advanced recycling technologies, AI applications, and DOE research programs.
On Monday afternoon, two 2.5-hour tutorials will overview the fundamentals of blown film extrusion/troubleshooting, and reactive extrusion. This training will be presented by
- Paul Waller, President of Plastics Touch Point Group, A Practical Guide to Blown Film Troubleshooting
- Ashok Adur, President of Everest International Consulting, Tutorial on Reactive Extrusion
For more information about the conference go to
http://www.polyolefinsconference.org/
Media Contact
Dr. David R Hansen, SPE South Texas Section, 1 713-248-2273, [email protected], https://spe-stx.org/international-polyolefins-conference-3/
Janell Helton, SPE South Texas Section, 1 713-503-6729, [email protected], https://spe-stx.org/
SOURCE SPE South Texas Section
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