More than 360 experts gather at European Bioplastics Conference

More than 360 experts from around the globe came together in Düsseldorf to exchange information and insights about new bioplastic materials and products at the 5th European Bioplastics industry conference. According to show organizers, this continues the success of the event as the attendance equaled that of its record-breaking event last year.

“Despite the temporal proximity to other important plastics events, the European Bioplastics Conference has definitively established itself as the leading business forum for the bioplastics industry”, said Andy Sweetman, chairman of European Bioplastics. This year, more than 70 percent of the participants came from Europe, almost 20 percent from Asia, and the better part of the remaining 10 percent from North and South America.

The event provided an opportunity to attend several presentations about bioplastic products and applications, and speakers included: Bas Krins, API Institute; Dr. Stéphane Girois, Arkema; Dirk den Ouden, Avantium; Dr. Lars Börger, BASF; Fredric Petit, DSM; Richard Janssen, DSM; Dr. Karlheinz Hausmann, DuPont; Dr. Harald Häger, Evonik; Dipl. Ing. (FH) Christoph Lohr, FKuR; Steve Dejonghe, Galactic; Thomas Stintzing, Gehr; Fabio Marzorati, Goglio Cofibox; Peter Rushe, Henkel; Andy Sweetman, Innovia Films; Johann Axel Zimmermann, NaKu; Dipl. Ing. Uwe Bonten, NGR; Dr. John Williams, NNFCC; Stefano Facco, Novamont; Bruno de Wilde, OWS; David Webber, PA European Consulting; Marco Polenghi, Polenghi; Prof. Dr. Marina Franke, Procter&Gamble; Oliver Schmid, Propper; Sicco de Vos, Purac; Daniel Ganz, Sukano; Dr. Stanislaw Haftka, Telles (Mirel); and Dr. Rainer Hagen, Uhde Inventa Fischer.
Examples of bioplastic solutions were shown at the conference and the exhibition, which included API, BASF, Beta Analytic, Limagrain, BioSphere, BKG, Cereplast, DIN CERTCO, FNR, Fachhochschule Hannover, FKuR, Huhtamaki, Innovia Films, Messe Düsseldorf, Kaneka, Kingfa, Mirel, NatureWorks, Novamont, OWS, PolyOne, Proganic, Purac, Sukano, Synprodo, Taghleef Industries, Vincotte, and Xinfu Pharm among the exhibitors.

This year’s event included the Bioplastics Award 2010, a first for the conference. Presented by the Bioplastics Magazine, the 2010 award went to EconCore, a company offering core technologies with regard to cost efficient honeycomb panels and components. The jury based its decision on the potential to considerably reduce weight and materials needed in construction as a result of the consistently applied sandwich structure with its cost effective core. The products of EconCore would contribute decisively to more sustainable construction.


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