ANTEC 2026

ANTEC® 2026, which took place March 9-12 at the Wyndham Grand Pittsburgh Downtown in Pittsburgh, PA, brought the global plastics community together for two and a half days of technical exchange, collaboration, and forward-looking discussion on the technologies shaping the plastics industry. Hosted by SPE, a division of PLASTICS, the event welcomed more than 450 attendees from around the world, including scientists, engineers, academics, and industry leaders.

The conference featured 200+ technical speakers, plenary presentations, and eight concurrent technical tracks covering polymer science, materials, processing, sustainability, bioplastics, product design, molding technologies, medical plastics, packaging, and infrastructure applications. Across sessions, speakers explored emerging advances in AI-enabled processing, sustainability, advanced recycling, additive manufacturing, polymer analysis, and materials performance, with an emphasis on solving real-world engineering and manufacturing challenges.

Tuesday’s opening session began with an introduction by Lynzie Nebel, SPE’s Chair, and remarks from Matt Seaholm, CEO of PLASTICS, who discussed the recently announced collaboration between PLASTICS and SPE and the opportunity to expand educational access and technical engagement across the global plastics community.

Making Connections
Monday, March 9
ANTEC® Kick-off Reception brought attendees together to mingle, reconnect with old friends, and spark new connections. It was an energy-filled evening with exciting conversations!
Tuesday, March 10

Everyone headed over to Shorty’s Pins X Pints for a laid-back evening filled with great food and drinks, and plenty of facetime!

Wednesday, March 11
SPE’s Awards Luncheon was an inspiring celebration recognizing the innovators and rising stars of SPE. Everyone honored the achievements of SPE’s Fellows of the Society, Honored Service Members, SPE Foundation Ambassador Giving Society, President’s Cup recipients, and standout Student Poster winners. Awards photos here.
Later Wednesday, everyone made their way over to an incredible reception hosted by the SPE Injection Molding Division. During the reception, IMPACT Awards winners were announced and honored. Whether a seasoned professional or new to the field, this reception was the perfect setting to build connections and celebrate the achievements of injection molding in the plastics community.

Thursday, March 12: Morning sessions.

Education and Knowledge Sharing
Five plenary presentations, as well as a symposium honoring Ica Manas-Zloczower, Professor, Case School of Engineering, highlighted major trends looking toward the industry’s future—from sustainable materials used across all market sectors, packaging regulations, dynamic chemistries used for recycling, and global plastics legislation. Forward-looking plenaries also examined how materials engineering, sustainability, and artificial intelligence will influence the next generation of plastics innovation.

In addition, ANTEC® featured technical speakers covering polymer science, materials, processing, sustainability, bioplastics, product design, molding technologies, medical plastics, packaging, and infrastructure applications