The FSK Board
The FSK board represents the association in accordance with association law and the FSK statutes, manages the business of the association and carries out all administrative tasks, as far as they have not been transferred to the managing director. The board supervises the implementation of the membership fee regulations and takes all important decisions regarding the content and tasks of the association’s work as well as within the framework of the general assembly. In addition, it is the supervisory body for the management of the association and its committees.
The FSK Board of Directors (from left to right): Benedikt Broil (Covestro Deutschland AG), Manfred Werner (Sekisui Alveo GmbH), Jörg Teschner (Klöckner PolyPUR Chemie GmbH), Chairman of the Board Jörg Arntzen (DOW Anlagengesellschaft mbH), Dr. Ulrich Fehrenbacher (Rühl PUROMER GmbH), Dr. Eva Emmrich-Smolczyk (Evonik Operations GmbH), Christian Loretz (Getzner Werkstoffe GmbH).
News from the Board
Stuttgart, 05.12.2023 – It was his last official appearance. At the regular general meeting of the Foamed Plastics and Polyurethanes Association (FSK), outgoing Chairman of the Board Albrecht Manderscheid welcomed the members. After 27 years as Chairman of the FSK Board, Albrecht Manderscheid thanked all his colleagues who had accompanied him during this time. “These 27 years, with everything that has happened during this time, cannot be summarized in 10 minutes,” he continued. But the examples he gave, from the work of the various working groups to the many events and the training platform for the REACH restriction procedure for handling diisocyanates, gave an idea of what the FSK has achieved with him as a driving force during his time in office.
In recognition of Albrecht Manderscheid’s importance not only for the association, but for the entire polyurethane industry, it was none other than Dr Markus Steilemann, CEO of Covestro AG and President of the German Chemical Industry Association (VCI), who gave the laudatory speech for Albrecht Manderscheid. “It is a great honor for me to be able to honor Albrecht Manderscheid today for his life’s work,” he said in his opening remarks. “Anyone who knows him knows that he is a man of great integrity, subtlety and respect, who has presided over the FSK in a professional, competent and committed manner over the years.” But Albrecht Manderscheid has not only steered the fortunes of the FSK. He worked for the world-renowned Cannon Group for decades, from 1991 to 2021, i.e. 30 years as Managing Director of Cannon Deutschland GmbH. Listing the highlights of Albrecht Manderscheid’s association activities would go beyond the scope of this article, but here are a few keywords: In 1994, he initiated the founding of the “Polyurethane Molded Parts” specialist group and in 1998 he launched the FSK Innovation Award. He also made his influence felt in politics, for example at a personal meeting with Angela Merkel, who was still the leader of the CDU opposition at the time.
“Albrecht Manderscheid was a special, outstanding and worthy chairman of the FSK for over 27 years. Now he is leaving his position at the zenith of his career. The award of the FSK Medal of Honor is therefore well deserved. We are all deeply indebted to you,” were the concluding words of Dr Markus Steilemann.
From left to right: Albrecht Manderscheid receives the FSK Medal of Honour from laudator Dr Markus Steilemann for his 27 years of work as FSK Chairman of the Board (Source: FSK)
Following a unanimous vote, Albrecht Manderscheid was succeeded as Chairman of the Board by Jörg Arntzen (Dow Produktions- und Vertriebs- GmbH & Co. OHG). Benedikt Broil (Covestro Deutschland AG) was elected as his deputy. Manfred Werner (Sekisui Alveo GmbH) continues to act as Chief Financial Officer. Dr Ulrich Fehrenbacher (Rühl Puromer GmbH), Christian Loretz (Getzner Werkstoffe GmbH) and Jörg Teschner (Klöckner polyPUR Chemie GmbH) were also confirmed in their positions as assessors. The honorary board team is complemented by the newly added assessor Dr Eva Emmrich-Smolczyk (Evonik Operations GmbH).
From left to right: Benedikt Broil, Manfred Werner, Jörg Teschner, Jörg Arntzen, Dr Ulrich Fehrenbacher, Dr Eva Emmrich-Smolczyk, Christian Loretz.
Further information on the Fachverband Schaumkunststoffe und Polyurethane e.V. (FSK) and its events, as well as on the work of the expert committees, is available online at www.fsk-vsv.de/eng or by phone: 0711 993 751- 0.
The Association Foamed Plastics and Polyurethanes (FSK) expressed its sincere thanks to its board member Jens-Jürgen Härtel for his special commitment and dedication during the FSK symposium 2011.
Jens-Jürgen Härtel, Head of Planning for the Plastics Business Unit at Volkswagen, played a key role in initiating and coordinating the 2011 FSK conference on polyurethane together with Volkswagen. “Our industry thrives on networks and active personalities who open up new opportunities and bring people together on interesting topics,” is how Albrecht Manderscheid, FSK Chairman, describes the thanks of the FSK to Jens-Jürgen Härtel.
With its Polyurethane 2011 symposium, the FSK had for the first time held a symposium in cooperation with an automobile manufacturer and offered the almost 300 participants an unusual program with highly interesting topics. The conference was held at Volkswagen’s own AutoUni at the beginning of October 2011.
For many years, the FSK has increasingly sought dialogue between raw material and machine manufacturers, additive suppliers, processors and OEMs. In this context, the FSK and its members visited companies such as Airbus, John Deere, BMW and Schmitz Cargobull: “We have always maintained a dialogue within the association and in our industry, from raw material suppliers to processors and customer industries, who also regularly give presentations at our conferences. This dialogue is not only important for technical topics, but also especially for environmental aspects and new legal regulations or the topic of waste, and facilitates communication”, says the chairman of the polyurethane specialist group in the FSK, Dr. Wilhelm A. Strietholt, describing the regular contacts of the FSK and its member companies with customer industries.
Jens-Jürgen Härtel has been active in the FSK for decades and has been a member of the FSK board since 2010.