More than 100 glass and ceramic decorating professionals attended the Society of Glass and Ceramic Decorated Products’ (SGCDpro) Deco 2012 event, which was held March 24-26 in Las Vegas, Nev. The meeting took place at the Flamingo Hotel, where the group previously met in 2006 and 2009. A major West Coast contingent was present at the conference.

Expert Information

The event kicked off Sunday with the annual “Ask the Experts” session. Attendees listened to presentations by several legislative experts, including Alex Stone, Ph.D., who represented the Toxics in Packaging Clearing House. He reviewed current packaging law and discussed recent enforcement efforts that have been undertaken by the group.

SGCDpro lobbyist Walt Sanders discussed the implementation of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) and the impact of the public database. He urged companies to register with the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) so that they will be promptly informed of any complaints involving their products.

Noted California Proposition 65 attorney Carol Brophy addressed the group about Proposition 65 and recent 60-day notices. Brophy again reminded attendees that Proposition 65 settlements only apply to the parties and products involved in those cases and that such settlements do not create a de factostandard for heavy metal content.

Richard Jacobs, U.S. Food and Drug Administration retiree, discussed proper use of X-ray fluorescence (XRF) as a test method for identifying heavy metal content in products. Jacobs recently completed a project with Olympus Corp. using one of its instruments, and the company offered instrument demonstrations following the session in the exhibit hall. SGS Consumer Testing Labs and Anseco discussed proper test protocol and CPSIA compliance and took questions from attendees regarding proper test protocol.

The Q&A portion of the session was led by SGCDpro past president Wayne Zitkus, who is retired from Libbey, Inc.

Additional Events

Following the session, attendees interfaced with more than 20 exhibitors, including companies offering new decorating technologies, equipment and services. New exhibitors this year included OMSO North America and Gapptec. Both companies are SGCDpro members.

The society installed new officers for 2012-13 on Monday, March 26, during the annual business meeting. New officers include Brian Deszell, president; Chad Yaw, vice president; Christine Fleek, treasurer; Jan Weyrich, secretary; and David Stanton, director.

The business meeting was followed by technical sessions, where member companies presented technical solutions to today’s decorating challenges. Speakers included representatives from Bayer, Inc., Gapptec, Ferro and Marabu. The meeting closed with the annual Awards Luncheon, which was held following the Monday session.

Deco ’13 will be held April 14-15, 2013, at the Hyatt Regency Louisville in Louisville, Ky. c

For more information, visit www.sgcd.org.

Sandra Spence serves as legislative liaison for the Society of Glass and Ceramic Decorated Products (SGCDpro). As executive director of the SGCD from 1991 to 2001, she was instrumental in the development of voluntary guidelines still used in the industry today. For additional details, or for information on joining SGCDpro, call (740) 588-9882 or visit www.sgcd.org

 Any views or opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not represent those of Ceramic Industry, its staff, Editorial Advisory Board or BNP Media.