Dan Dobratz earned a degree in chemical engineering from The Pennsylvania State University, and spent more than 40 years with FXI (formerly Foamex), beginning when the company was a division of Scott Paper. He most recently served as vice president of manufacturing technology, directing a team of engineering professionals to provide on-site and remote technical support to multiple plant sites producing flexible polyurethane foam products. In that capacity, Dobratz managed FXI’s CertiPUR-US^® registration program for more than a decade.

Earlier roles included first-line supervision for synthetic detergent manufacturing with Procter & Gamble, pouring line manager for Carpenter Company, and field technical service for flame retardants used in rigid polyurethane foams at ExxonMobil Chemical.

Ami Neiberger contributes to strategic communications, brand management, media relations, audience outreach, trade show and exhibits and much more for the CertiPUR-US program. She organizes special projects and works on publications and materials. In 2025, she became chief contributor to the Home Sweet Foam Blog. When not working on her 100+ year old house or driving her daughter to cheerleading practice, she enjoys cuddling with her dog on a couch containing certified foam and watching Florida Gator football.

An update on projects being conducted by the ACC's Diisocyanates Panel and the International Isocyanate Institute. The Aliphatic Diisocyanates (ADI) Panel of the American Chemistry Council was established in 1988 and consists of the major U.S. producers of aliphatic diisocyanates. The Panel monitors regulatory and legislative actions that may affect the industry and supports scientifically sound research and advocacy on health, safety and environmental matters.

Dennis Quick is the HSE Director for Wanhua Chemical and has been there for the last 10 years.  He has been involved with the Dii Panel and other groups within the American Chemistry Council.

He has been in the chemical industry in different roles since 1986.  Dennis has degrees in Occupational Health and Safety and Fire Science Technology.

Over the past few decades, advances in information technologies have allowed firms working to optimize their supply chains to move from decision-making on the basis of intuition and experience to more automated and data-driven methods. This has increased efficiency and reduced costs.

Now, advances in large language models (LLMs), a type of generative AI, are making it possible to perform supply chair logistics activities even faster. LLM-based technology can automate data discovery, insight generation, and scenario analysis, reducing the time to make decisions from days to minutes and dramatically increasing planners’ and executives’ productivity and impact.

Dr. David Simchi-Levi, the William Barton Rogers Professor of Engineering Systems and Head of the Data Science Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, will discuss how LLMs can be used to optimize supply chains, and also identify obstacles firms will need to overcome to deploy LLMs effectively. 

David Simchi-Levi, Ph.D., is the William Barton Rogers Professor in Energy, and Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Engineering Systems at MIT. He also serves as the head of the MIT Data Science Lab. He is considered one of the premier thought leaders in supply chain management and business analytics.

Professor Simchi-Levi is the current Editor-in-Chief of Management Science, a journal of data and decision science. In 2023, he was elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering.

Finding a cost effective way to handle mattress returns can be a big challenge. Liquidonate has created a way to reduce return costs to bulk retailers with a system that efficiently matches items with nonprofits in need across the US and Canada. 

LiquiDonate is a software solution that saves retailers thousands of dollars by seamlessly donating excess inventory and unsellable returns, including mattresses and bulk items. By giving to nonprofits and schools, LiquiDonate users enhance brand image while also significantly reducing reverse logistical expenses. Donation receipts, ESG reporting, and more are included for easy financial documentation.

LiquiDonate was launched in November 2021 with vision for a world without waste. The company creates tech to enable retailers, event planners, and brands to match their excess inventory with nonprofits, charities, and schools.

Peter Harten is the Director of Growth at LiquiDonate. With a deep background in scaling startups and driving operational excellence, Pete brings over a decade of experience at the intersection of sustainability, technology, and social impact. He focuses on innovative growth strategies that combine circular economy principles with scalable tech solutions to solve waste and logistics challenges for retailers. He is passionate about creating partnerships that bridge business and social good and enjoys speaking about zero-waste solutions, startup growth, and the future of sustainable commerce.

Discussion of floorcovering industry sales trends, and regulatory challenges to the bonded carpet cushion market. Bob Clark will report on enhanced producer responsibility (EPR) legislation being considered in several states.  One such bill recently passed in NY state.

Bob Clark is Executive Director of the Carpet Cushion Council.  The CCC represents the North American carpet cushion industry as an advocate and an educator. As the industry resource for answers to carpet cushion-related questions, the Carpet Cushion Council educates carpet retailers, manufacturers, distributors, and cushion manufacturers about the benefits of carpet cushion. Ultimately, the Carpet Cushion Council’s objective is to provide carpet retailers with tools necessary to improve communication with customers and increase overall sales.

Knaub is Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of FXI, a position he has held since 2016. He supervises all research and development projects, reporting to the company’s Chief Executive Officer. He is accountable for all aspects of R&D and product development, including project portfolio management, discovery, scale ups and commercialization of new polyurethane foams.

Knaub earned a Ph.D. in Polymer Science from the Institut National des Sciences Appliquées de Lyon. He holds multiple patents in polyol composition.

Arshawn Teymoorian specializes in advising financial institutions, insurance agencies, InsurTech startups, insurance agents, surplus lines brokers, managing general agents, insurance consultants, third-party administrators, and others on a broad range on regulatory issues.

Prior to joining McIntyre & Lemon, Mr. Teymoorian worked in the consumer financial services practice of a Chambers-ranked Am Law 200 Firm where he defended bank and non-bank lenders in class actions, investigations, and enforcement actions. Mr. Teymoorian serves as Vice Chair of the American Bar Association’s Insurance Regulation Committee. He holds a B.A. (magna cum laude) from the University of California, Riverside, and a J.D. from The George Washington University Law School. He is admitted to the bar in California and the District of Columbia.

Wayne Bowman is Communications Counsel for PFA. In his 38-year career with advertising and public relations agencies, he has worked for more than 250 companies, including ARCO Chemical, Union Carbide, Mohawk Industries, Recticel Foam, the Flexible Foam Market Council, the Carpet Cushion Council, the Particleboard/Medium Density Fiberboard Institute, Kingsdown Mattresses, and Pennsylvania House Furniture. He first began with PFA in 1986, when he worked with Bob Luedeka at the J.P. Hogan & Company Advertising Agency. He left the agency and PFA in 1991, then returned to PFA in 2015.

His business, Bowman Creative + Strategy, works with a variety of clients and agencies throughout the Southeast. During his career, he has won more than 80 ADDY, Public Relations Society of America, and Society For Technical Communications Awards (including some for PFA). He is a member of the American Advertising Federation-Knoxville Hall of Fame, and a recipient of the American Advertising Federation National Silver Medal.

Bill Gollnitz has more than 40 years’ experience in the flexible polyurethane foam industry. For more than 20 years, he has been Technical Director at Plastomer Corporation. Prior to that, he held group management positions at ARCO Chemical Company and Olin Chemical. He began his career in the foam industry with Firestone Foam. He has a deep understanding of how chemistry, manufacturing and suppliers can work together to advance the polyurethanes industry. He is a Past President of PFA, and currently serves on PFA’s Executive and Technical Committee. Gollnitz holds a B.A. in chemistry from Lipscomb University and an MBA from Bryant University. In 2023, he was inducted into the Flexible Polyurethane Foam Hall Of Fame.

An update on Technical Committee activities, including regulatory issues, flammability, and more. 

McBride is the Flexible Slabstock Foam Technology Lead at BASF's Wyandotte, Michigan site. After completing his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering, McBride began working for BASF in 2016. He completed his MBA from the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan.

He is also the lead technical contact for customers and drives the development of new innovations in flexible polyurethane foam formulations.

McBride has smoothly stepped into the Technical Committee Chair position, taking over from Hall of Famer Bobby Bush, Jr. who served in the position for years.

In the evolving landscape of polyurethane flexible foam additives, Everaox 501 and Eversorb 673N represent a significant breakthrough in phenol-free multifunctional stabilization technologies. These products provide comprehensive protection for polyurethane foam, addressing critical performance challenges in material durability.

Both Everaox 501, an antioxidant, and Eversorb 673N, a light stabilizer, share common capabilities:

• Exceptional core burning resistance
• Advanced NOx yellowing prevention
• Phenol-free formulation

Everaox 501 excels in antioxidant performance, offering robust thermal stability and protection against material degradation. Its targeted approach ensures long-term material integrity in polyurethane foam applications.

Complementing this, Eversorb 673N extends protection with superior light stability characteristics. This additive not only prevents core burning and NOx-induced yellowing but also provides resistance to photodegradation, making it ideal for applications exposed to varied environmental conditions.

The strategic development of these multifunctional additives represents a significant innovation in material science. By integrating multiple protective mechanisms into single-solution products, manufacturers can:

• Reduce overall additive usage
• Simplify formulation complexity
• Enhance operational efficiency
• Facilitate easier new product development

The evolution from traditional single-function additives to these comprehensive stabilization solutions offers polyurethane foam producers new opportunities for performance optimization.

One of the key opportunities in the bedding industry is the development of standardized methodologies to measure performance attributes of mattresses and other comfort products. This has the potential to positively impact the entire value chain. For consumers, it can improve the quality of information available when making a product selection. For OEMs, it can facilitate advances in the design and quality of their products. For raw material suppliers, it can direct the focus of their innovation efforts.

Dow and GoodBed have been collaborating to address this opportunity by developing new testing methods and techniques to measure and enhance comfort. We categorize comfort into ergonomics, microclimate, and sensation, allowing us to delve into the fundamental material properties that influence performance.

This study focuses on the microclimate performance of a series of mattresses. We employ a comprehensive approach to examine how mattresses behave under wet and dry conditions, aiming to quantify how various mattress characteristics affect the microclimate and overall sleeping experience.

Speaker Biography

Ana Nunez works at the Dow Chemical Company as part of Core R&D - Analytical Sciences, which she joined in 2015. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from the University of Texas at El Paso, and a Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry from the University of Texas at Austin.

In marine applications, ensuring the cleanliness and durability of materials like polyurethane foam is critical due to the harsh environmental conditions and the potential for microbial contamination. Microbial growth, particularly from Streptomyces sp., can lead to staining, deterioration, and odors, compromising material integrity. The ASTM E1428 pink stain method, a widely used test method for polymeric solids, is designed to detect microbial contamination by visually identifying, pink-colored staining. However, when applied to polyurethane foam, this method presents significant limitations. The porous structure of the polyurethane foam can cause the liquid inoculum to be absorbed unevenly, as well as preventing it from making proper contact with the agar plate. This leads to inconsistent results and makes it difficult to interpret microbial staining. Moreover, the subjective nature of visual inspection increases the risk of false positives or negatives.

The new ASTM E3364-22 pink stain test method is better suited for the porous nature of polyurethane foams, providing more dependable, and consistent results. This method was developed and approved by a work group consisting of many companies and scientists including Daniel L. Price of Interface Incorporated. Several years ago, Dr. Price presented recent interlaboratory studies that led to this new pink stain method. The new method addresses these challenges by changing the inoculation procedure to ensure consistent contact with the inoculum, and eliminating the visual inconsistencies by rating all staining, not just pink. Additionally, the adoption of the modified method ensures higher confidence in microbial monitoring for polyurethane foam used in marine applications, ultimately enhancing product quality. This emphasizes the importance of choosing the right pink stain test method to obtain accurate and reliable results when assessing staining caused by microbial contamination in polyurethane foams.