Uni-Bell PVC Pipe Association
38^th Annual Meeting
April 19-21, 2010
Marriott Marco Island Beach Resort, Golf Club & Spa
Marco Island, Florida

The World’s Largest Gathering of PVC Pipe & Fitting Manufacturers

Preliminary Program
Fighting Back:
Gaining Ground in Tough Economic Times

Underground piping infrastructure remains underfunded, making cost-effective, long-lasting and proven PVC pipe and fittings more indispensable than ever. 

Come join us in beautiful Marco Island, Florida to learn about the latest industry developments and how to capture your share of the infrastructure market. 

• Find out about Uni-Bell’s legislative priorities and advocacy efforts in DC

• Learn how to engage your local, state and federal representatives

• Discover how Life Cycle Assessment and green certification can make your products more competitive

• See how standardized pipe backfilling requirements can give you the edge

• Hear about case studies on how advocacy has helped create new market opportunities

• Get first-hand information on U.S. stimulus funding, the economic outlook for the PVC pipe industry and the municipal water and wastewater sector, and much more …

Updated Topics and Speakers

A Review of Uni-Bell’s Success at Opening New Markets through its Regional Engineer Program – Steve Cooper, East-Central Regional Engineer

An Overview of Marco Island Utilities and its Transition from AC to PVC Pipe – Author and frequent speaker, Rony Joel, Director of Public Works, Marco Island Utilities will share his experiences with different pipe materials.

EPA’s Aging Water Infrastructure Research Program: Opportunities for Collaboration with the PVC Pipe Industry – Dan Murray, Senior Environmental Engineer and Senior Advisor, U.S. EPA, Office of Research and Development, will provide an overview of its aging water infrastructure s research program and discuss potential opportunities for research collaboration between the agency and the PVC pipe industry.

Leveling the Playing Field with Standard Installation Practices – Amster Howard, an expert on pipe design and installation will discuss his efforts to bring clarity and consistency to terminology for soil classifications and backfilling practices for all pipe materials.

Life Cycle Assessment: Using Your Good Environmental Performance to Tell Your Product’s Story – Dr. Rita Schenck, Executive Director, Institute for Environmental Research and Education, a not-for-profit dedicated to fact-based environmental decision-making.

PVC: Key Drivers and Trends, Feedstock’s Outlook and Worldwide Economic Factors – Nick Vafiadis, Business Director, Polyolefins, Chemical Market Associates, Inc. Mr. Vafiadis is a twenty-five year veteran of the chemical industry with a background in marketing, product management, sales, and market analysis.
Sustainability: Trends and Supports to the Plastic Industry – Nasrin Kashefi, National Sanitation Foundation (NSF), will review the latest information from NSF and provide an overview of its green certification program.

The Nuts and Bolts of Political Involvement – Tim Burns, consultant, is former President and CEO of the Vinyl Institute. He was also responsible for the American Chemistry Council’s government relations program. Tim will discuss how to conduct a plant tour, provide an update on legislation of interest to the PVC pipe industry and Uni-Bell’s Congressional Fly-In. A brief report on what our competitors are doing will also be presented.

Trends in Local Government Expenditures on Public Water and Wastewater Services and Infrastructure: Past, Present and Future – Schenectady NY Mayor Brian Stratton, Co-Chair, US Conference of Mayors – Mayors Water Council. Also presenting will be Rich Anderson, Ph.D., Senior Advisor for the Mayors Water Council.

Victory for PVC Pipe through Advocacy – Eric Cunningham, former member of the Ontario Provincial Legislature, political organizer and lobbyist for PVC pipe industry will discuss tactics used to get large diameter PVC pipe accepted by the City of Hamilton.

Vinyl Issues Update – Greg Bocchi, President & CEO, The Vinyl Institute


Stay tuned for program updates.