Over 154 Years of Service to the Furniture Industry
Furniture World Logo

Polyurethane Foam Association Elects New Officers, Names Additions To Executive Committee for 2024

Furniture World News Desk on 12/7/2023


The Polyurethane Foam Association (PFA) has named its officers and Executive Committee for 2024. The slate of officers and committee members was approved by attendees at the General Business Meeting on November 2, 2023 in Toronto.

Officers include:

  • Philippe Knaub, FXI, President
  • Rob Heller, Future Foam, 1st Vice President
  • Cam McLaughlin, Elite Comfort Solutions, 2nd Vice President
  • Hamdy Khalil, The Woodbridge Group, Treasurer
  • Bill Gollnitz, Immediate Past President.

Additional PFA Executive Committee members include:

  • Frank Donato of VPC
  • Karl Gust, BASF
  • Scott Skolnekovich, Covestro
  • Susan Kilpatrick, Evonik
  • Rob Einterz, Monument Chemical
  • Robert Smith, Wanhua
  • Barry Gabelman, Chemfoam.

Knaub takes over the presidency from Chip Holton of NCFI Polyurethanes, who had served in the position since 2015. 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.

“PFA is a vital organization in the flexible polyurethane foam industry,” Knaub said. “I look forward to working with my colleagues in the industry to further PFA’s programs in advocacy and education.”

 

 

About The Polyurethane Foam Association
The Polyurethane Foam Association is a trade association founded in 1980 to help educate foam users, allied industries and other stakeholders. PFA provides facts on environmental, health and safety issues and technical information on the performance of flexible polyurethane foam (FPF) in consumer and industrial products. FPF is used as a key comfort component in most upholstered furniture and mattress products, along with automotive seating, carpet cushion, packaging, and numerous other applications.

To learn more, visit www.pfa.org.