The motto of this year’s International Conference Polyurethanes of the Association of Foamed Plastics and Polyurethanes e.V. (FSK) was: “Innovations, lectures, contacts, trends around polyurethane”. The conference took place on November 13th and 14th in Reutlingen, near Stuttgart.
International FSK Symposium on Polyurethanes 2019 in Reutlingen City Hall
On November 13 th and 14 th the Association Foamed Plastics and Polyurethanes e.V. (FSK) invited to this year’s International Conference Polyurethanes. The conference took place in 2019 in Reutlingen, near Stuttgart. Participation in the get-together the evening before the conference was optional, which gave participants the opportunity to make contacts and get to know each other in a relaxed atmosphere. The Get Together has already been accepted by numerous event participants and was evaluated positively. The focus of the International FSK Conference 2019 was on polyurethanes. It comprised a two-day conference program. On the morning of November 13, immediately before the start of the industry event, the annual FSK general meeting took place. This year’s annual meeting included, in addition to the report on the current business year 2019, the closing of the business year 2018, the discharge of the board, the managing directors and the cash auditors as well as the board elections. In addition, Rudolf Rampf, founder and supervisory board member of the Rampf Group, was honoured for his life’s work by the FSK e.V. A detailed report on the General Assembly 2019 will be published in a separate press release. For all participants of the event, the International Symposium started after the FSK General Assembly. In 2019, the venue was the Stadthalle in Reutlingen. FSK Chairman Albrecht Manderscheid opened the International Conference Polyurethanes 2019 and wished all participants numerous and varied information for their daily work as well as good discussions and new contacts. At the beginning of the conference, FSK member Rampf introduced himself. The company from Grafenberg, near Reutlingen, was a cooperation partner of FSK e.V. for this year’s International FSK Conference. This was followed by interesting technical presentations on the topics of “Plastics material flow in Germany”, “From waste incineration to multi-output plants”, “Chemical recycling of polyurethanes and polyesters”, “How expanded graphite improves flame retardancy in foamed plastics” and “Processing expanded graphite as a flame retardant – machinery and process technology”. The first day of the event ended with the ceremonial presentation of the FSK Innovation Award 2019, which was awarded jointly for the first time in 2019 for foam plastics and polyurethanes in the categories “Technology” and “Design and Creation”. A total of 16 applications were submitted, which were judged by a jury of experts selected by the association according to criteria such as new and innovative strength and the expected market and competitiveness of the products and technologies. In the “Technology” category, two winners were honored in each of the professional and junior categories: in the corporate/professional category, Bomix Chemie and BASF Polyurethanes. In the newcomer category, Markus Rottmar, researcher at the EMPA Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, and Lukas Knorr, doctoral student at the Friedrich-Alexander University of Nuremberg/Erlangen. In the “Design and Creation” category, the newcomer award was given to Michael Bettati, Product Design Engineer at Dolfinos AG in Switzerland.
Matthias Rampf, Managing Director of Rampf Holding GmbH & Co. KG, presented the Rampf Group at the International FSK Conference on Polyurethanes 2019.
The second day of the International FSK Conference on Polyurethanes 2019 was opened by the speaker of the FSK Expert Group Polyurethanes. This was followed by technical presentations on the global development of the PU industry, cybercrime and hacker attacks, as well as on the use of data throughout the life cycle of machines and plants. In addition, PU sealing systems for applications in the field of electromobility and high-performance plastics in model and mold making with polyols based on recycled PET residues were presented. At the end of the International FSK Symposium on Polyurethanes 2019, FSK member Rampf invited all interested parties to a tour of the plant at his headquarters near Reutlingen. Numerous participants accepted this invitation and rated it as a successful conclusion to this year’s International Conference of the Association. The FSK itself draws an extremely positive balance of the two days of the event and thanks all those who were involved in the organisation and implementation and thus contributed to the success of the International FSK Symposium 2019. “With the annual International FSK Symposium, the trade association wants to offer the industry a platform on which the topics in the field of polyurethanes and foam plastics can be viewed and discussed in a wide variety of ways and from different perspectives”, explains FSK Managing Director Klaus Junginger and gives an outlook for 2020: “In 2020, the FSK will again invite to an International Conference where foam plastics and polyurethanes will be the focus of the event”. The International FSK Conference Foamed Plastics and Polyurethanes will take place on 25/26 November 2020 in Dortmund.