Intertech 2008, the fourth offering in the continuing series of international conferences on diamond, cubic boron nitride and their applications was hailed as a great success by all attendees. The conference, held between May 5th and 7th at Disney's contemporary resort in Orlando, Florida, USA, once again hosted global business leaders from major suppliers, tool manufacturers and end users.



Around 200 attendees were given presentations by leading international companies and research facilities on topics ranging from CVD development and drilling advancements to grinding innovations and saw diamond applications. IDR will be publishing a selection of these papers over the coming issues.

Intertech continued it's global reach with participants from 19 countries. The breakdown by percentage showed 50% from the Americas, 30% from the Pacific and 20% from Europe.

There were just under 50 papers and presentations presented at the conference. One of the highlights was the diverse range of keynote speakers:

William J. Walker, Jr., Ph.D., Manager - Ceramic Research Engineering Ignition Products Group Federal-Mogul Corporation spoke on ceramic research and applications in the automotive industry.


Jeffrey E. Post, Ph.D., Curator National Gem and Mineral Collection Smithsonian Institution covered areas of research including mineralogy, gemology, geochemistry, crystallography, and electron microscopy on gems and materials at the Smithsonian.


James D. Campbell, CSMC Machining Discipline Chief Pratt & Whitney gave the attendees an interesting behind the scenes look at applications in aerospace as well as new materials being developed.


Jeffery K. Taylor, MD Chief Science and Technology Officer Dimicron, Inc. spoke on the fascinating developments and applications of diamond in prosthetics and joint replacement.


Takeru Nakashima, Superabrasives Manufacturing Engineering Manager, Sumitomo Electric Hardmetal Corp. gave an interesting and informative overview of the Asian superabrasive market and statistics related to how the Asian market compares to the rest of the world.


Mark Schweizer, Vice President, Global Product Management and Marketing Diamond Innovations explored the superabrasive tool value chain - from superabrasive manufacture to toolmaker to end-user - and the reason for different business models.
Initial reviews showed attendees were positive about all aspects of the conference, with most looking forward to the next Intertech in 2010 at the Lake Las Vegas resort in Henderson, Nevada, USA.

On the eve of the conference, E. Louis Kapernaros was given a Lifetime Membership by the Industrial Diamond Association of America in honour of his significant contribution to the growth of the superabrasive industry. Mr. Kapernaros is the retired General Manager of GE's Specialty Materials Department, the predecessor of GE Superabrasives and Diamond Innovations.