The Center for the Polyurethanes Industry (CPI) of the American Chemistry Council (ACC) today announced Romeo RIM, Inc., TSE Industries, Inc. and INVISTA as the finalists for the 2013 Polyurethane Innovation Award. Attendees at the 2013 Polyurethanes Technical Conference, which will take place Sept. 23 to 25 at the Sheraton Phoenix Downtown Hotel in Phoenix, will have the opportunity to vote for one of these finalists during the conference’s opening session on Monday, Sept. 23. The winner will be announced during the closing session on Wednesday, Sept. 25.

“The vision and forward thinking of each of these finalists truly made them stand out,” said CPI Senior Director Lee Salamone. “Their achievements have helped advance the chemistry of polyurethanes and pioneer applications for polyurethane products, and demonstrate just how much our industry is thriving. We congratulate Romeo RIM, Inc., TSE Industries, Inc. and INVISTA Terate® Polyols on their extraordinary work.”

The innovations selected as finalists for this year’s coveted award are:

Romeo RIM, Inc. for its class A, in-mold decorated long fiber injection system.
“Long fiber injection (LFI) is a material system that combines structural foam polyurethane with long glass strands to create a light weight structural part. Due to the glass concentration, class A surface finishes were not feasible in the past. After three years of development, Romeo RIM has commercialized a class A LFI system that is decorated in-mold,” said Romeo RIM, Inc.

TSE Industries, Inc. for its new polyurethane thermoset resin for filament winding applications.
“TSE Industries Inc., Clearwater Fla., USA, has pioneered the development of a new, high performance polyurethane resin system for filament winding applications, like pipes and piping systems, tanks and pressure vessels,” said TSE Industries, Inc.

INVISTA Terate Polyols for its new Terate HT polyols.
“Terate HT polyols from INVISTA are a new line of aromatic polyester polyols based on an innovative chemistry platform for use in polyurethane applications. Designed at a molecular level, Terate HT polyols offer performance advances while retaining many of the benefits of INVISTA’s traditional Terate polyols such as high foam compressive strengths, high weight and volume retention in fire and smoke testing,” said INVISTA Terate Polyols.