NCFI Polyurethanes Mourns The Loss of Co-Founder and Former President, Jacob “Jake” Barnhardt, Jr.

June 6th, 2018

MOUNT AIRY, NC—NCFI announced today one of the company’s founding members, and former president, Jacob “Jake” Barnhardt. Jr. passed away May 12, 2018 at the age of 82.

The Mount Airy, NC based company got its start in 1964 as North Carolina Foam Industries through a partnership between Dr. Harris W. “Ace” Bradley, who had worked on the Manhattan Project during WWII and with DuPont in discovering and pioneering urethanes in the 1950s, and Barnhardt Manufacturing Company in Charlotte, NC. Jake Barnhardt, a Charlotte, NC native with an engineering degree from Georgia Tech (George Institute of Technology), and US Navy veteran, joined Dr. Bradley in Mount Airy to manage the new venture.

While Bradley served as the first company president until 1972, Barnhardt succeeded him and served until 1995. Under Barnhardt’s leadership the company saw considerable growth. “It was a dynamic time for NCFI,” says Lewis Barnhardt, president and COO of NCFI’s parent Barnhardt Manufacturing Company. “The company more than tripled our manufacturing space, took the lead in foam for aircraft seating, developed urethane carpet padding and geotechnical polyurethane foam, residential insulation foam—now our popular InsulStar line— and our roofing foam really took off, and we started doing business in Mexico, South America, Canada, and Russia. Jake had his hand on it all.”

Barnhardt adds it was under Jake Barnhardt that NCFI became the premiere partner for supplying foam for the US Space Shuttle’s external tank program. “Jake played a major role working with NASA and Lockheed Martin to formulate and provide the exacting standards required for the Space Shuttle program. It’s a working partnership of which we’re extremely proud and for which we’ve won accolades and awards. It’s also a relationship we still enjoy as we enter our 38th year—now working on the unmanned rocket programs.”

Chip Holton, NCFI president, echoes Barnhardt’s statements: “Jake Barnhardt’s leadership was crucial to NCFI at a time when change was constant. We had to innovate and change quickly, and balance the growth opportunities with what our scientists and chemists could achieve. One of Jake’s strengths as an engineer was keeping R&D progressing with the highest quality standards while finding new markets to capitalize on. He was the right man for the time.”

Holton says Barnhardt was known throughout the plastics and rubber industry as a visionary, and is remembered as a great storyteller and lifelong humanitarian. Holton says the company will honor Barnhardt’s memory with a private ceremony later this year.

http://ncfi.com/news/ncfi-polyurethanes-mourns-loss-co-founder-former-president-jacob-jake-barnhardt-jr/

https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/charlotte/obituary.aspx?n=jacob-charles-barnhardt&pid=189017867&fhid=6483

June 11, 2019

PFA Spring Meeting Notes

Polyurethane Foam Association Spring Meeting Examines Industry
Issues, Showcases New Programs

Association Unveils New Website; Mike Webb Recognized With Lifetime Achievement Award

ST. PETERSBURG, FL (June 7, 2019)—The Polyurethane Foam Association (PFA) recently
concluded its spring member meeting, which examined key issues facing the industry and
reviewed new technical developments.

PFA’s two-day meeting in late May brought together more than 120 executives from foam
manufacturers, chemical suppliers, equipment makers, and other companies supporting the
industry for in-depth discussion of issues including flammability, the environment, and industry
regulation.

Just prior to the meeting, PFA launched a completely revamped version of its website,
www.pfa.org. The new site features easier navigation, expanded training and education sections,
a complete archive of technical presentations, profiles of inductees into the Flexible
Polyurethane Foam Hall of Fame, and discussions of key industry issues. The site also contains
a members-only portal, with exclusive content and tools.

“PFA’s website has more than 1.9 million visitors each year,” said Russ Batson, PFA Executive
Director. “We took great care to make sure we maintain high visibility within search engines
with the new website, and we believe we can increase viewership and content to further support
the flexible polyurethane foam industry.”

A series of technical papers were presented at the meeting, with a presentation by John Sebroski
of Covestro LLC (co-authored by Kelly Kiszka of The Dow Chemical Company and Jennifer
Holtz of BASF) recognized with the Herman Stone Technical Excellence Award. The paper,
“The Molded Polyurethane Foam Industry Panel’s Approach to Developing a Roadmap for
Measuring VOC Emissions,” details the panel’s work to respond to automakers’ demands for
lower VOC emissions.

A second technical presentation by Tim Feeley of Covestro, representing the International
Isocyanates Institute, presented the results of a long-anticipated study on the potential of dermal
transfer of TDI or MDI in newly manufactured foam. Feeley detailed five migration tests
conducted on commercial foams representing typical classes of polyurethane flexible foam with
formulations expected to have the highest potential for residual TDI or MDI. Testing was based
on EPA recommended protocols. Feeley reported that TDI and MDI were not observed during
migration tests with any of the five foam types samples using any of the six synthetic sweat
solutions. The paper on the study is currently under consideration for publication by several
peer-reviewed journals.An industry issues forum allowed attendees to catch up with the association’s work over the last
six months, plus learn more about current issues.

One presenter, Yohai Baisburg of Cassidy Levy Kent, discussed the current tariff war between the U.S. and China, and the antidumping
case against Chinese mattress producers. Baisburg, who represents the International Sleep
Products Association (ISPA) and a number of domestic mattress producers, said these
developments play out against a backdrop of steadily increasing mattress imports from China,
which have actually spiked since the filing of the antidumping case in September 2018.
He noted that the two tariff processes are separate and the resulting tariffs can be additive. This
means that mattresses sourced from a Chinese company involved in the antidumping action
could be subject to both (1) antidumping duties and (2) tariffs assessed at the diplomatic level.

At PFA’s General Business Meeting, Mike Webb, recently retired from Innocor, Inc., was
presented with a PFA Lifetime Achievement Award for his more than 48 years of work in the
industry.

The Polyurethane Foam Association is a trade association founded in 1980 to help educate foam
users, allied industries and other stakeholders. PFA provides facts on environmental, health and
safety issues and technical information on the performance of FPF in consumer and industrial
products. FPF is used as a key comfort component in most upholstered furniture and mattress
products, along with automotive seating, carpet cushion, packaging, and numerous other
applications.

To learn more, visit www.pfa.org.

June 11, 2019

PFA Spring Meeting Notes

Polyurethane Foam Association Spring Meeting Examines Industry
Issues, Showcases New Programs

Association Unveils New Website; Mike Webb Recognized With Lifetime Achievement Award

ST. PETERSBURG, FL (June 7, 2019)—The Polyurethane Foam Association (PFA) recently
concluded its spring member meeting, which examined key issues facing the industry and
reviewed new technical developments.

PFA’s two-day meeting in late May brought together more than 120 executives from foam
manufacturers, chemical suppliers, equipment makers, and other companies supporting the
industry for in-depth discussion of issues including flammability, the environment, and industry
regulation.

Just prior to the meeting, PFA launched a completely revamped version of its website,
www.pfa.org. The new site features easier navigation, expanded training and education sections,
a complete archive of technical presentations, profiles of inductees into the Flexible
Polyurethane Foam Hall of Fame, and discussions of key industry issues. The site also contains
a members-only portal, with exclusive content and tools.

“PFA’s website has more than 1.9 million visitors each year,” said Russ Batson, PFA Executive
Director. “We took great care to make sure we maintain high visibility within search engines
with the new website, and we believe we can increase viewership and content to further support
the flexible polyurethane foam industry.”

A series of technical papers were presented at the meeting, with a presentation by John Sebroski
of Covestro LLC (co-authored by Kelly Kiszka of The Dow Chemical Company and Jennifer
Holtz of BASF) recognized with the Herman Stone Technical Excellence Award. The paper,
“The Molded Polyurethane Foam Industry Panel’s Approach to Developing a Roadmap for
Measuring VOC Emissions,” details the panel’s work to respond to automakers’ demands for
lower VOC emissions.

A second technical presentation by Tim Feeley of Covestro, representing the International
Isocyanates Institute, presented the results of a long-anticipated study on the potential of dermal
transfer of TDI or MDI in newly manufactured foam. Feeley detailed five migration tests
conducted on commercial foams representing typical classes of polyurethane flexible foam with
formulations expected to have the highest potential for residual TDI or MDI. Testing was based
on EPA recommended protocols. Feeley reported that TDI and MDI were not observed during
migration tests with any of the five foam types samples using any of the six synthetic sweat
solutions. The paper on the study is currently under consideration for publication by several
peer-reviewed journals.An industry issues forum allowed attendees to catch up with the association’s work over the last
six months, plus learn more about current issues.

One presenter, Yohai Baisburg of Cassidy Levy Kent, discussed the current tariff war between the U.S. and China, and the antidumping
case against Chinese mattress producers. Baisburg, who represents the International Sleep
Products Association (ISPA) and a number of domestic mattress producers, said these
developments play out against a backdrop of steadily increasing mattress imports from China,
which have actually spiked since the filing of the antidumping case in September 2018.
He noted that the two tariff processes are separate and the resulting tariffs can be additive. This
means that mattresses sourced from a Chinese company involved in the antidumping action
could be subject to both (1) antidumping duties and (2) tariffs assessed at the diplomatic level.

At PFA’s General Business Meeting, Mike Webb, recently retired from Innocor, Inc., was
presented with a PFA Lifetime Achievement Award for his more than 48 years of work in the
industry.

The Polyurethane Foam Association is a trade association founded in 1980 to help educate foam
users, allied industries and other stakeholders. PFA provides facts on environmental, health and
safety issues and technical information on the performance of FPF in consumer and industrial
products. FPF is used as a key comfort component in most upholstered furniture and mattress
products, along with automotive seating, carpet cushion, packaging, and numerous other
applications.

To learn more, visit www.pfa.org.

May 8, 2019

MacCleary to Retire

Covestro LLC announces retirement of CEO Jerry MacCleary

Retirement date set for end of 2019

Pittsburgh, May 8, 2019 — Today, Covestro LLC announced that Jerry MacCleary will retire from his current position as CEO and chairman of the board, effective December 31, 2019.

MacCleary’s retirement caps a 40-year journey at Covestro, a global provider of high-tech materials. He first joined the company in November 1979 as an accountant. Since then, he has led a diverse career, spanning roles in sales, marketing, general management and strategic leadership. In 2004, MacCleary was named head of the North American Polyurethanes business – a responsibility he maintained even after taking the helm at Covestro LLC in 2012. MacCleary was named to his current position as CEO and chairman in 2018.

“I’ve had a long, fulfilling career with this company, and I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve accomplished over the years,” said MacCleary. “Covestro has a vibrant new culture, a strong, diverse leadership team and a promising future here in the region – I can’t think of a better time to retire. Saying goodbye to my Covestro family won’t be easy, but I’m looking forward to starting this next chapter of my life.”

MacCleary has led the North American organization through a number of transformative changes, including Covestro’s separation from Bayer AG and establishment as an independent company in 2015. His active engagement and influential leadership played a key role in shaping the new Covestro culture and brand in the United States.

He continues to be a strong advocate for the region. Under MacCleary’s leadership in 2018, Covestro committed to a $1.7 billion investment to build a new MDI plant in Baytown, Texas. (MDI is a key raw material for polyurethane production.) It was the largest single investment project in the company’s history – and a big win for the region.

MacCleary’s leadership extends into the chemical industry as well, where he serves as chairman of the American Chemistry Council’s Board of Directors and chairs its Sustainability Committee. He also serves on the Board of Directors for the National Association of Manufacturers and the Executive Committee for the Society of Chemical Industry.

Born and raised in Pittsburgh, MacCleary is passionate about his hometown and is actively engaged in the community. He serves on the Board of Directors for the Allegheny Conference on Community Development, the United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania and the Imani Christian Academy. He is also a member of the Board of Trustees for the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh Foundation, co-chair of the Executive Committee for The Advanced Leadership Initiative and a member of the Board of Directors for EQT.

Both inside and outside Covestro, MacCleary is known for championing initiatives that help to advance sustainability, innovation, and diversity and inclusion. He co-chairs “CEOs for Sustainability,” a Sustainable Pittsburgh initiative that encourages local companies to adopt more sustainable business practices. MacCleary also played a leading role in Covestro’s collaboration with the Pittsburgh Penguins and Carnegie Mellon University. The three Pittsburgh-based organizations joined forces last year in an innovative initiative, called “Rethink the Rink,” which aims to make hockey safer through material solutions.

“Our team, our business and our reputation in North America have thrived under Jerry’s leadership, and we’re grateful for his many contributions over the years,” said Dr. Markus Steilemann, CEO, Covestro AG. “While Jerry will retire at the end of 2019, the impact he’s had on our culture, community and industry will be felt for years to come.”

https://www.covestro.us/media/news-releases/2019-news-releases/2019-05-08-maccleary-retirement