The eleventh annual INDA Award for Lifetime Technical Achievement was presented to industry veteran David Lunceford, HDK Industries, while the Lifetime Service Award was given to Peter Wallace, Arclin, at the third annual Research, Innovation & Science for Engineered Fabrics (RISE) Conference held October 23-25, 2012 at the Hilton Baltimore, Baltimore, Md.

These award recipients are determined by INDA’s Technical Advisory Board who screen all the nominees using the Award Qualifications and Guidelines. Both men were recognized by their peers in the nonwovens industry for their service and technical expertise throughout their long careers.

“David Lunceford has played an important role in the technical development of the nonwovens industry throughout his impressive career and he richly deserves this recognition from the nonwovens technical community,” said Dave Rousse, president of INDA, Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry, organizer of RISE.

Lunceford, who holds a BS in Textile Technology from North Carolina State University, is currently president and CEO of HDK Industries, Rogersville, Tenn. He has served on the INDA Board of Directors and is an active supporter of HDK employee participation on INDA committees.

Lunceford worked for Eastman Chemical Company’s Fiber Division for 20 years (1967-1987) and in the past 25 years has grown HDK Industries using new powder bonding technology. Credited with the development of hundreds of commercial products over the course of his long career, Lunceford is a strong proponent of Made in America products and is credited with investing in new nonwovens production lines and doubling HDK’s business during the recent difficult economic conditions.

“Peter Wallace is well deserving of the Lifetime Service Award and has contributed greatly to INDA and to the industry as a whole. He has helped both grow throughout his distinguished career,” said  Rousse.

Wallace, who is retiring this year as Business Director, Nonwoven Resins from Arclin, has more than 30 years of technical and business experience as leader of multi-disciplinary sales, technical and marketing teams to develop binder chemistries including application testing for the nonwoven, fiberglass mat, thermal insulation, wood products, and specialty resin markets. He holds a BS-Wood Products Engineering from the New York State College of Forestry and Environmental Science at Syracuse University.

Wallace has been involved with INDA and other industry associations for much of the past three decades. He presented his first paper at an INDA technical conference in 1979, and has presented papers at INDA nonwovens conferences periodically over the last 30 years. He joined INDA when his employer at the time, Hexion, became a corporate member in 1995 and he was an active TAB member until 2009.