The association is looking to boost its numbers in eastern Europe, Asia and Latin America

The association is looking to boost its numbers in eastern Europe, Asia and Latin America

The Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) is targeting eastern Europe, Asia and Latin America to increase its membership numbers after several years of decline. Membership of the SPE has fallen from a peak of 38,000 in the early 1990s to a current level of around 20,000. However, outgoing president Donna Davies of ExxonMobil said membership numbers “now appear to be stabilising”.

Speaking at the society’s Antec conference in Chicago this week, she cited growth in developing regions, such as Asia, eastern Europe and Latin America, as being a key factor in this stabilisation and any future increases. “There has been a large growth in SPE activity around the world. If the industry is globalising, then so must we.”

The SPE has a full-time representative in Belgium, covering European interests, and is looking to formalise its presence in Asia. Currently this is achieved through member-run sections in India, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Talks are underway to form a Beijing section and a delegation from China is scheduled to visit the SPE’s headquarters in Connecticut, US, in June. SPE also aims to turn a loss of more than $400,000 (E333,360m) in 2003 into a budgeted $150,000 (E125,000) surplus this year.