Omni Hotel Louisville
The 64th Annual Society of Plastics Engineers Color and Appearance Division RETEC® will be held in Louisville, KY during September 13-15, 2026. Come join us at the Omni Hotel to celebrate Where Color Leads the FIELD and engage in topics related to plastics coloration and appearance.
- Preconference Color Seminar (separate registration required)
- Preconference golf outing (separate registration required)
- Two full days of technical sessions
- PlastiVan presentation for local schools
- 60+ exhibitors showcasing products and services
- Opening reception, Sunday evening September 13
- Network Reception, Monday evening September 14
- Fun Run for local charity
CAD RETEC® is the longest running and largest technical conference in North America devoted to the coloring of plastics. It started as a technical conference focused on development, manufacturing and research in the field of color science, color measurement, and coloring plastics but has grown to be THE place to network with others in the industry.
Register for CAD RETEC® 2026 as an attendee, exhibitor and sponsor.
Hotel Registration is through Omni Hotel Louisville.
Type |
Advance(By 8/15/2025) |
Late(After 8/15/2025) |
SPE Member |
$480 |
$580 |
SPE Non-Member |
$740 |
$840 |
Tabletop |
$1,650 |
$1,850 |
Speakers/Moderators |
$225 |
|
Student (w/valid student ID) |
$100 |
|
Emeritus |
$200 |
Registration
Exhibitors
5-Pack
Sponsorships
Hotel
++We are working on securing additional rooms for Tuesday, September 15. As of June 22, September 15 is sold out. You can still check out on the 15th, you just can’t reserve the 15th until further notice.
Technical Program
Updates will be posted as they become available. The conference will be held at the Omni Hotel, Louisville, KY .
Monday, September 14, 2026
Omni Hotel
Morning Program
| Time | Category | Speaker/Company | Title/Sponsor |
| 7:00-8:00 AM | Breakfast | Omni Hotel
Olmstead Ballroom 5-7 |
Sponsored by The Shepherd Color Co. |
| 8:00 AM | Opening Remarks | TJ Stubbs – Teknor Apex
Commonwealth Ballroom 1-3 |
Welcome to CAD RETEC® 2026 |
| 8:05 AM | Keynote | Patrick Krieger – PLASTICS | Appearances Aren’t Deceiving: PLASTICS and SPE Look Good |
| 8:30 AM | Keynote | Robby Helminiak – CPMA | Color at the Crossroads: Navigating the Policy Landscape of the Color Value Chain |
| 9:00 – 10:00 AM | New Technology Forum | Tony Tanner – Trust Chem | |
| 10:00 AM | Break
Exhibits Open |
Exhibits Area
Commonwealth Ballroom 4-8 |
Sponsored by |
| 11:00 AM | Presentation | Dr. Breeze Briggs – Sun Chemical | Expanding Role of Heat‑Management Pigments in High‑Performance Technologies |
| 11:30 AM | Presentation | Bonnie Piro – Sudarshan | Solvent Dyes in Plastics: Performance, Processing, and Regulatory Considerations |
| 12:00 – 1:30 PM | Lunch | Open – on your own |
Afternoon Program
| Time | Category | Speaker/Company | Title/Sponsor |
| 1:30 PM | Presentation | Mark Ryan – The Shepherd Color Co. | Something old, something new, something borrowed, and two things Blue: Updates on recent inorganic pigment advances |
| 2:00 PM | Presentation | Anne Stelzer | High-Tech Dyes for Plastics and New Mobility |
| 2:30 PM | Presentation | Kelsey Anlicker | Updates on the Regulation of Chemicals in Food Packaging |
| 3:00 – 3:30 PM | Break | Exhibits Area | Sponsored by Susonity |
| 3:30 – 5:00PM | Exhibits Open | Exhibits Area | Commonwealth Ballroom 4-8 |
| 8:00 – 11:00 PM | Vendor Hospitality Suites | Omni Hotel | Multiple Vendors |
Tuesday, September 15, 2026
Omni Hotel
Morning Program
| Time | Category | Speaker/Company | Title/Sponsor |
| 7:00 AM | Fun Run / Walk | Omni Hotel | Sponsored by Chroma Specialty |
| 8:00 AM | Pre-Conference Break | Omni Hotel
Olmstead Ballroom 5-7 |
SPE Color & Appearance Division |
| 8:55 AM | Opening Remarks | TJ Stubbs – Teknor Apex
Commonwealth Ballroom 1-3 |
Welcome Day 2 |
| 9:00 AM | Presentation | Doreen Becker – Ampacet | Regulatory & Sustainability Updates for Colors, Effects and Plastics |
| 9:30 AM | Presentation | John Howard – Tronox | Green today, Red tomorrow? A traffic-light framework for regulatory-resilient substitution |
| 10:00 -10:30 AM | Break | Exhibits Area
Commonwealth 4-8 |
Sponsored by Tomatec |
| 10:30 AM | Presentation | John Seymour – John the Math Guy | CIELAB at 50 |
| 11:30 AM | Presentation | Jack Ladson | Why D65 Spectral Fidelity Matters in Industrial Spectrophotometry |
| 12:00 – 1:30 PM | Awards Luncheon | Omni Hotel | Sponsored by Liberty |
Afternoon Program
| Time | Category | Speaker/Company | Title/Sponsor |
| 1:30 PM | Presentation | Kevin Lucero – Susonity | Additives for durable, fast and accurate laser marking silicones |
| 2:00 PM | Presentation | Frank Neuber – Clariant | Maintaining clarity, smoothness, printing, labelling and hot-sealing properties while using an FDA-approved, PFAS-free PPA to eliminate sharkskin in LLDPE films. |
| 2:30 PM | Presentation | Doug Koerner – Paramount Colors | The Influence of Carbon Black on Dye Photodegradation in Polymer Coloration Systems |
| 3:00 – 3:30 PM | Break | Exhibits Area |
Sponsored by Vivify |
| 3:30 PM | Presentation | Ed Gay – KraussMaffei | Color Compounding with Co-Rotating Twin Screw Extruders |
| 4:00 PM | Presentation | Dean Elliot & Philip Brunner – Entek & BioRegion Technology | Innovative Color Compounding applied to a renewable pigment. A Collaborative Approach to Circular Plastics |
| 4:30 PM | Closing Remarks & Raffle | TJ Stubbs – Teknor Apex | Closing Remarks & Raffle
Must be present to win |
| Conference Ends | Conference Ends |
Activities
|
Activity |
Date |
Cost |
|
Sunday Sept 13 |
$550 |
|
|
Golf Outing at Covered Bridges |
Sunday Sept 13 |
$120 |
|
Welcome Reception |
Sunday Sept 13 |
Included w/registration |
|
Breakfast |
Monday Sept 14 |
Included w/registration |
|
5K Fun Run/Walk |
Tuesday Sept 15 |
$25 |
|
Breakfast |
Tuesday Sept 15 |
Included w/registration |
|
Awards Luncheon |
Tuesday Sept 15 |
Included w/registration |
Covered Bridge
Sunday, Sep 13, 2026
Registration 8:30 AM, Tee Times beginning at 9:30 AM)
Awards (hole prizes)
Scramble Format
Price: $120 per golfer
Includes: Golf, Green, Cart fees and includes lunch
Platinum Sponsors
Gold Sponsors
Silver Sponsors
Platinum Sponsors
