PFA Spring Meeting

Polyurethane Foam Association To Offer “Hybrid” Meeting Format
For Spring

The May 26-27 Meeting Will Be Held Live in St. Petersburg, FL And Streamed Online
LOUDON, TN (April 5, 2021)—The Polyurethane Foam Association’s Spring Meeting May 26-
27 will be conducted in a “hybrid” format, with both a live meeting at the Vinoy Renaissance in
St. Petersburg, FL, and a virtual portal for online participation. Registration details are available
at www.pfa.org/2021-spring-meeting.

PFA conducted a poll of members in early March, and respondents strongly favored the hybrid
approach, allowing members to choose in-person or online participation based on health
considerations and company travel policies.

The Vinoy Renaissance has reopened with limited capacity, and has protocols in place to
enhance safety, including mandatory masks in indoor public areas, social distancing, and
frequent sanitation.

“From the moment we opened the registration website, we had people signing up to come to the
live meeting,” noted Russ Batson, PFA’s Executive Director “Many people are eager to get back
to networking and attending conferences. I’ve had several people comment that the constrained
schedule of industry events last year made them realize how much they enjoy getting together
and interacting with colleagues and peers.”

“We wanted to provide our membership with as much flexibility as possible, because we’re still
in a very fluid situation,” said Chip Holton of NCFI Polyurethanes, PFA’s President. “We are
fortunate to have a long-standing relationship with a superb property in the Vinoy Renaissance,
which has taken exceptional measures to protect its guests. And we have the technology
available to connect other members who may not be there in person, but can participate and
contribute remotely.”

The meeting will feature an Industry Issues Session, which will cover topics including
isocyanates, auto industry trends, regulatory topics, and raw material/logistics challenges. A

Technical Program will feature presentations on new flexible foam formulations, manufacturing,
and recycling. A General Business Session will cover association business, celebrate PFA’s 40 th
Anniversary, and feature a keynote address from author Stephen Vogel.

Vogel is the author of Betrayal in Berlin: The True Story of the Cold War’s Most Audacious
Espionage Operation, published in 2019 by Custom House, a William Morrow imprint. He is a
veteran journalist who reported for The Washington Post for more than two decades. His
reporting about the war in Afghanistan was part of a package of Washington Post stories selected
as a finalist for the 2002 Pulitzer Prize.

The Polyurethane Foam Association is a trade association founded in 1980 to help educate foam
users, allied industries, and other stakeholders about flexible polyurethane foam (FPF). 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. Learn more at www.pfa.org.