Robert Duffy, a veteran of the chemical and flexible polyurethane foam industries, will succeed Doug Sullivan, who is retiring as executive director of the Alliance for Flexible Polyurethane Foam, a nonprofit organization that manages the CertiPUR-US certification program for flexible polyurethane foams used in the mattress and upholstered furniture industries.
“Doug Sullivan has done a superb job taking the CertiPUR-US program to new heights during the past two years and we are fortunate to have Bob Duffy step in as the new executive director,” said Mike Crowell, AFPF chairman.
Duffy, who has a chemical engineering degree from West Virginia University, has both technical and sales experience. He started as a process development engineer at Olin and went on to work with polymer, catalysts and surfactants at Union Carbide. He spent more than a decade as a senior research and development adviser at ARCO. For the past 12 years, Duffy has served as an independent consultant troubleshooting slabstock foam and carpet backing applications in the flexible polyurethane foam industry.
“Duffy provides a perfect balance of deep technical knowledge about polyurethane foam, along with an understanding the markets and the needs of our downstream customers,” Crowell said.“He has a unique combination of technical, sales, and marketing skills which will serve the CertiPUR-US program well.”
