Workshops

Designed to provide an in-depth exploration of technical performance opportunities and industry critical topics.

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Optional workshops hosted over two days gave attendees the opportunity to dig deeper with technical and industry leaders on what is possible when Ingeo is considered not in isolation, but holistically, as a part of an integrated system - the material, the process conditions, and the final product.

Monday, September 10

8:30am - 11:30am

Catalina East

Tailoring Ingeo's Physical Properties for Applications Development

 

This workshop provides an overview of polymer properties including polyolefins, polyesters, polyamides, and how they lead to developing performance attributes in downstream applications. Case studies will accompany each workshop section.

 
Joe Schroeder

Overview of polymer properties including polyolefins, polyesters, polyamides, and how they lead to developing performance attributes in downstream applications

Joe Schroeder

Lead Chemist, NatureWorks

 
Aman Kulshrestha

Leveraging Ingeo's molecular composition and inherent hydrophilicity for superior performance in hygiene and personal care applications

Aman Kulshrestha

Principal Scientist, NatureWorks

 
Osei Owusu

Advantaged thermal performance in appliances from Ingeo’s barrier properties

Osei Owusu

Sr. Material Scientist, NatureWorks

 
Joshua Weed

Balancing Melt Strength and Viscosity: Tailoring Ingeo's Rheology to Increase Processing Efficiency

Joshua Weed

Sr. Scientist, NatureWorks

8:30am - 11:30am

Catalina West

Understanding Ingeo in a Low-Carbon and Circular Economy Context

 

This workshop provides an in-depth briefing on the role of Ingeo biomaterials in a low-carbon, circular economy from responsible sourcing to enabling appropriate recovery options like composting and recycling.

 

Experts in these areas from NatureWorks will cover topics such as: latest work in feedstock sustainability and certification, an update on relevant regional/global regulations, strategies and pilots to increase the recovery of Ingeo, and the latest Ingeo LCA and eco-profile data.

 
Mariagiovanna Vetere
 
Mariagiovanna Vetere

Global Public Affairs Manager, NatureWorks

 
Becky Brooks
 
Becky Brooks

Regulatory Affairs Manager, NatureWorks

 
 
Erwin Vink

Sustainability Manager, NatureWorks

 
Tim Goodman
 
Tim Goodman

Cradle to Cradle Manager, NatureWorks

 
 
Melissa Romero

Californians Against Waste, Policy Associate

Tuesday, September 11

2:00pm - 6:00pm

Catalina East

Extrusion Equipment Engineering for PLA: Theory and Practice

 

This workshop provides an approach for properly engineering extruder screws and dies for processing PLA resins. The material properties will be discussed, and appropriate design criteria will be defined. Then, we will demonstrate how to apply the design criteria to perform engineering calculations for single screw extruder and flow channel design and optimization. The workshop is taught through a troubleshooting approach in which poor designs are investigated and new designs are proposed then verified empirically.
 

Workshop Outline:

  • Introduction to PLA rheology
  • Process Design Criteria
  • Extruder Performance and Mixing
  • Adaptor and Die Optimization
  • Troubleshooting
 
Timothy Womer
Tim Womer

President, TWWomer & Associates, LLC

 
John Perdikoulias
John Perdikoulias

Vice President, COMPUPLAST

12:30pm - 3:00pm

Aragon IB

Marketing Claims & Regulatory Compliance Overview for 3D Printing

 

With a manufacturing process that can make anything, complying with global regulatory laws and marketing guidelines can be challenging. Join this workshop for a focused review of regulatory and marketing claims do's/don'ts with topics covering:

  • Regulatory | food compliance, REACH, EH&S, medical compliance
  • Marketing | EOL, bio-based, carbon footprint, and performance claims
 
Becky Brooks
Becky Brooks

Regulatory Affairs Manager, NatureWorks

 
Leah Ford

Global Marketing & Communications Manager, NatureWorks

 
Mitzi Ng Clark

Partner, Keller & Heckman LLP

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Don’t just take our word for it

I strongly recommend Innovation Takes Root. It's a good opportunity to understand and see what happens in this area of biopolymers. It's an international event and not just on PLA. I think it's well done, well-managed, and well-organized. It was a good investment for me.
Marco Garilli

Innovation Expert - Polymers, Electrolux

I'd definitely come back (to ITR) and recommend it. I think many different industries could learn something from a conference like this - it really is focused on the next level of sustainability.
Maddie Guillory

Vice President, Titan Robotics

It has been a wonderful event; very well organized. I especially appreciate the scheduling of activities, the alternation of speeches, and time to network, which has been one of the key successes from my point of view. We also felt very supported by your team; we had the feeling you believe in what Flo is doing and, for us, that's very important.
Tazio Zerbini

Operations Director, Flo S.p.A.