The book is addressed to the reader without an extensive chemical knowledge and will, I hope, be of interest to all who are concerned with materials or in cost savings. Throughout the book units of force are given in both Ibf/in2 and in SI units such as MN/m2 • The reader will recall that 1 Ibf/in2 = 6.895 kN/m2 • In converting Ibf/in2 into SI units I have therefore adopted the approximation 1 Ibf/in2 = 7 kN/m2 and therefore 1000 Ibf/in2 = 7 MN/m2 • 

One difficulty in making a study of this nature is the lack of authoritative and detailed reports in the published literature on the economic considerations that underlie the use of epoxy resins in a particular situation. It has therefore been necessary to seek the views of resin manufacturers and end-users on the total set of considerations that lead to the choice of an epoxy composition for a particular job. I therefore wish to thank all of the many individuals and organisations that generously gave me their time. They are too numerous to mention individually, except that I particularly wish to record my gratitude to ClBA-Geigy for their help.

However, the book would not have been written at all without the generous help and cooperation of the Shell Group of Companies. I have been able freely to consult Shell International Research, and have had great assistance from both Shell International Chemical Company and Shell Chemical Company U.K.