(SPE) Automotive Composites Conference & Exhibition (ACCE; Troy, MI). In some ways, the advanced materials have been the-next-big-thing in automotive since the 1950s, but Doug reported on several advances and investments that point towards a true acceleration in the market. Read about a "fourth composites revolution", a game-changing CFRP plant, new wood-fiber capacity, and faster resin curing and resin transfer molding technology for composites.

Doug did have some medical coverage this week, as well, providing readers the inside scoop on TESco Associates, a Massachusetts-based injection molder of bioresorbable polymers. The company specializes in the incredibly challenging market for bioresorbable implantable medical devices, such as fasteners, stents, and scaffolds. The intricacies of molding components that might come in contact with the human body is one thing, long-term implantable devices...well, as Doug writes, it's "not for the faint-hearted."

If you were able to reduce the weight of a vehicle by 100 kg, there'd have to be some plastics involved, right? Automotive Channel Editor Stephen Moore thought so, but in digging through the press announcement for the new Volkswagen Golf, it was mostly steel that was hailed.

Most press reports have glossed over the resin pellet spill that hit Hong Kong's shores, but the details are pretty striking. Packaging Channel Editor Heather Caliendo spoke with a cleanup volunteer working on the spill, which was the result of a typhoon sending six shipping containers full of polypropylene pellets into the sea.

Once the flag bunting comes down, and the placards and confetti have been swept away, any warm fuzzies that came out of the major political party conventions are pushed aside by a U.S. economy that is dragging along at best. John Clark put the question to our readers: "What's the formula for creating more demand, and more jobs, here in the U.S.?" What do you think? You can tell us here: [email protected].

Finally, Tom Langan is back with PlasticsToday preaching the gospel of smarter resin cost management. His latest edition of Profitable Plastics tackles the concept of resin cost hedges, the forward curve of commodity prices, and more.

Top 10 most-clicked articles for Sept. 10-14