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Expanding processing options with bio-based polymer composites

Expanding processing options with bio-based polymer composites

Jun 27, 2024 | News

Helfende Hände für alle Unternehmensbereiche: Studentische Unterstützung für Polytives.

In the world of the plastics processing industry, innovative ideas and sustainability in product design are emerging as a guarantee for long-term economic success. We recently met this dual requirement in collaboration with Holzmühle Westerkamp: our flow improver bFI A 3745 was used as a processing aid to optimise the production of fast-food products under the Arweco brand made from PLA, natural fibres, oat husks and other renewable raw materials. The result is a fully organic product which, on the production side, is characterised above all by excellent handling during processing in the hot runner. Of course, this is not the only advantage of this innovative combination of materials.

Our polymer additives are ideal for bio-based polymer composites, as they counteract high processing temperatures, which often lead to material damage and consequently to rejects in the process. Anyone processing PHA or similar materials, for example, may find a new technological approach to previously uninteresting materials. We also recently reported on the potential and challenges of handling PHAs in our blog post.

The temperature-reducing use also has an impact on the energy costs incurred. Savings here lead to more cost-efficient production and, in terms of sustainability, also to a corresponding reduction in the CO2 footprint. This circumstance also helps in the endeavours to become generally more committed to and fit for a circular economic system and to become more resilient in terms of raw material procurement and supply chains.

Conclusion: Better product quality and a more balanced environmental footprint - that sounds like optimisation through bio-based polymer composites. If you are interested in an environmentally friendly addition to any production process, please get in touch with us, because some obstacles are overthrown faster than you can imagine.

Replacing virgin material with recycled material: It’s not that simple

Replacing virgin material with recycled material: It’s not that simple

May 7, 2024 | News

Helfende Hände für alle Unternehmensbereiche: Studentische Unterstützung für Polytives.

How the use of recycled goods can be facilitated. An overview of challenges and opportunities.

The use of recycled materials is an issue for manufacturers of a wide range of products, and not just in the context of the need to reduce CO2 emissions. Replacing virgin material with recycled material wherever possible and, above all, wherever it makes sense, is the declared aim, which is also being pursued by an increasing number of processors due to the standards and specifications that have been set. Unfortunately, it is not as simple as it may sound to the layman. Manufacturers of plastic goods face various challenges, which we would like to briefly discuss here. And also, what solutions might look like.

 

Quality and consistency

Virgin materials do not have these problems, but unfortunately recycled materials do. They come from different sources and have undergone different processing methods. This can lead to difficulties in the manufacture of consistent products and is critical for the quality assurance of producers.

 

Contamination and impurities

Returned materials may contain impurities that have not been completely removed during the collection and recycling process. These impurities can affect the mechanical properties of plastic products and make processing more difficult.

 

Material properties and availability

The properties of recycled materials can sometimes differ greatly from those of virgin materials. This in turn can have an impact on the mechanical, thermal and chemical properties of the plastic products and affect their performance. In addition, the procurement of recycled materials can be relatively expensive due to the collection, sorting and processing required and, depending on the case, the availability of high-quality materials may be unclear.

And yet, in addition to these challenges, there are also clear opportunities. Replacing virgin material with recycled material also means several advantages, which can be seen in the increased demand, among other things.

 

Resource efficiency, waste prevention and circular economy

By using recycled materials, companies can reduce the need for new virgin resources and thus contribute to the conservation of natural resources. The use of recycled materials supports the idea of the circular economy by reducing waste and integrating reusable materials into the production process.

 

Cost savings and environmental benefits

In some cases, recycled materials can be more cost-effective overall than virgin materials, especially if they are locally available and the cost of sourcing and processing is lower. The use of recycled materials can lead to a reduction in environmental impact, as less energy and resources are required to produce new materials. At the same time, the amount of plastic waste can be reduced as it is given a second life.

 

Customer requirements and image

Many consumers and companies value sustainable and environmentally friendly products. The use of recycled materials can therefore help to increase customer satisfaction and improve a company's image. Companies can respond to demand by offering recycled materials and not miss out on the trend towards greater sustainability.

Overall, the use of recycled materials in the plastics sector offers several advantages that consider both ecological and economic aspects and can contribute to the creation of a more sustainable and environmentally friendly industry.

 

How to overcome these hurdles?

There are various starting points for overcoming the challenges described above. On the one hand, it is worth analysing your own raw materials portfolio as well as the internal possibilities for reusing production waste and the like. This is often already standard practice in most companies today, as it achieves an immediate economic effect.

Furthermore, there is a positive effect if several materials are qualified for a part to be manufactured in order to protect against the sometimes poor availability, as far as this is possible. Of course, customer requirements always play a decisive role here. However, they are naturally also interested in maintaining delivery capability. This can mean, for example, making an ABS product fit for use with an rPET.

In addition, additives and processing aids can be a game changer, such as the flow-improvers from Polytives. These also make it possible to replace ABS with rPET for rather thin-walled or more complex parts, as described above, to name just one example. Inhomogeneous qualities of recycled materials can be matched or plastics that are difficult to process because they are too tough can be made processable. This removes a major obstacle to the goal of replacing virgin material with recycled material.

Get in touch with us if you would like to exchange ideas and give it a try, we would be happy to help!

 

 

Bio-based, biocompatible, biodegradable: PHAs as a sustainable alternative

Bio-based, biocompatible, biodegradable: PHAs as a sustainable alternative

Mar 27, 2024 | About us, News

Helfende Hände für alle Unternehmensbereiche: Studentische Unterstützung für Polytives.

To open more and more polymer systems based on Polytives' platform technology, development, trials and sometimes adaptations at molecular level are required. Polytives would like to take these steps, especially for sustainable polymers, to offer an answer to the constantly growing demand. Polymer additives are also a game changer when it comes to processing (previously) unusual materials.

 

So-called PHAs and what they are all about

The group of polyhydroxyalkanoates, known as PHAs for short, are not yet particularly widespread and are therefore not necessarily the best-known group of polymers. They are sustainable biopolyesters that can be obtained naturally - for example from bacteria. The fact that they can be processed thermoplastically makes them highly interesting for plastics processors who are looking for sustainable alternatives to meet customer needs.

 

What is the advantage for processors?

To be able to offer a sustainable alternative for certain applications that is also permanently available in good quality, it is worth taking a look at the area of so-called biopolymers. As already described, PHAs are a group of materials that are attracting more and more interest. Because they are biobased, biodegradable and biocompatible, they combine a whole range of added values in terms of sustainable alternatives.

 

Why are PHAs not yet in widespread use?

Although polyhydroxyalkanoates have thermoplastic properties, the processing windows for users have so far been so narrow that it is unfortunately difficult to talk about simple implementation in existing processes. This is now set to change.

There is only a temperature difference of around 25°C between the melting point and the first signs of decomposition. This, coupled with the brittleness that occurs in the process even before decomposition, is currently usually a knock-out criterion when selecting materials. The shearing during processing and its additional negative effect on the material do the rest. But what could a solution look like to make sustainable materials more usable for plastics processors?

With the help of the Thüringer Institut für Textil- und Kunststoff-Forschung e.V., several PHA types are to be optimized with the available and possibly adapted bFI additives from Polytives. Their effect in the polymer matrix will be closely monitored and documented so that important conclusions can be drawn for the best possible process control. Important factors here include the processing conditions in injection molding, especially the temperatures and injection pressures, but also the subsequent mechanical properties of the resulting products. And, for example, how biodegradability can be classified.

If you would like to find out more about this topic, please contact us!

The outstanding properties of PMMA

The outstanding properties of PMMA

Jun 28, 2023 | News

Helfende Hände für alle Unternehmensbereiche: Studentische Unterstützung für Polytives.

It is impossible to imagine our everyday life without PMMA (polymethyl methacrylate). The material, also known as acrylic glass or Plexiglas, is versatile and is used in a wide variety of areas - from the construction industry to the automotive industry to medical technology. In addition to its formability, the most important properties of PMMA are its

  • transparency/transparency
  • weather resistance and
  • fracture and flexural strength

An absolute must in road traffic or on unlit paths is visibility. The fact that we can move around safely by day and night is also thanks to the versatility of plastics. PMMA in particular is used in LED-based light sources. In these, the filigree core element is the lens, which is responsible for conducting light through the luminaire geometry. The most important property of a plastic used here is therefore light transmission. Among high-performance plastics, acrylic glass ensures the highest transparency, which remains stable even after a long period of use.

The weather in particular always affects plastics that are present outdoors. PMMA is an exception here. As the basis for high-performance polymer applications, it has proven reliable and resistant to strong sunlight. The material withstands acids and alkalis of medium concentration, gasoline and oil - but it is not immune to ethanol, acetone and benzene. The material must be durable and weatherproof, especially in the construction industry or for outdoor applications. Here, the acrylic glass is subjected to a constant stress test in safety lighting or illuminated advertising. The material nevertheless performs a stable transparency!

Polymethyl methacrylate has also gained acceptance in surface-sensitive applications. It shows good fracture and flexural strength and, due to its excellent transparency, is also a standard answer for optical issues
addition to these properties, which are important in many areas of everyday life, PMMA also excels in another area: it is one of the more frequently recycled plastics. The recyclates come close to the performance of the original material in terms of quality. This is where the circular economy can set a standard!

With our polymer flow improver bFI A 3745, these properties of PMMA can be optimized without having to fear a loss of performance in terms of brilliance or transparency. First field reports from samples taken by our customers can be viewed here.

Customized solutions for the plastics industry

Customized solutions for the plastics industry

Jun 19, 2023 | News

Helfende Hände für alle Unternehmensbereiche: Studentische Unterstützung für Polytives.

Development steps needed for your challenge from a single source

As a company with expertise in offering development steps from a single source, Polytives is looking for new ways to meet the challenges of the plastics industry. In doing so, we draw on a combination of scaling expertise and synthesis know-how. In addition to our additive, the flow improver bFI A 3745, which has proven itself in many applications, we are intensively dedicated to the research and development of further branched polymer components. In doing so, we can use both common monomers and specialty chemicals as a starting point. Our technical laboratory equipment allows us to handle the entire development process from small flask mixtures to 60-liter reactions. This allows us to produce a flexible set of experimental samples. This capability is particularly relevant for R&D concerns, while we naturally also have production capabilities for industrial applications. With our experienced team, we are able to develop customized solutions for each customer. Our holistic approach and our speed of innovation are decisive advantages that distinguish us as a company for development steps from a single source. In this way, we offer companies an efficient alternative in the form of a service that stands out from university-based basic research and development in the context of long-term projects.

In addition to our efficient decision-making processes, flexible capacity and adaptability, we are also characterized by a clear cost structure. In contrast to universities, we have focused on cost-efficient action and management as central principles from the very beginning. This is also reflected in the properties of our additives, which enable sustainable plastics processing and compounding through material savings and energy efficiency.
Another advantage lies in our continuous research work. Our expertise continues to develop and consolidate, experience does not remain limited to one project and is therefore constantly being expanded, already since 2014.

The ability to adapt quickly to changes in a highly complex world, whether due to global market requirements or necessary changes in the synthesis route for a customer product, continues to help us maintain a continuous innovation process. Through dialog, we define specific material properties that are aligned with our customers' processes and extend previous application boundaries through the results of our work and our tailored solutions.

As befits a company for development steps from a single source, we are eagerly committed to making our customized plastic additives qualitatively reliable to your competitive advantage. Please feel free to convince yourself of our competences: Our Sales Director Steffen Felzer is looking forward to your questions and comments.

Our Polytives bFI A 3745 in action

Our Polytives bFI A 3745 in action

Mar 30, 2023 | News

Helfende Hände für alle Unternehmensbereiche: Studentische Unterstützung für Polytives.

Polytives bFI A 3745 in application

Polytives is a young company that develops and distributes polymer additives for the plastics industry. The first product family we are entering the market with includes polymer flow improvers (bFI) to improve the flow behavior of different plastic systems. In addition, we are always motivated to find innovative solutions for new applications. In this article, we will look at what insights and innovations our customers can report to us from the use of our additives in recent months.

Innovative, unusual, powerful

The first representative of the bFI product family, our Polytives bFI A 3745, was designed on the basis of an acrylate. One would think that the flow improver could thus be used mainly for acrylate-containing materials, but the opposite is true: As we have been able to prove in cooperation with innovation-enthusiastic customers, there is also lively interest in our additive solutions in other areas and a lot of potential for optimization. Findings on the use of one of our flow improvers in polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), in polycarbonate (PC), in polystyrene (PS), partly as a solution for crystal-clear applications and while maintaining grade purity, are currently available to us from the market.
We also have results for processing with PET, polyamides, ABS, PC-ABS, polyurethane, natural rubber (NR), polyolefins (PO) and other plastic systems. Here it is possible to blend our additive with the target system (i.e. to mix and process it with another type of plastic) and consequently implement outstanding performance increases with the blend.
The plastics mentioned above can be found in a wide variety of applications across virtually all industries. Car headlights, beverage bottles, yogurt pots and suitcases are just a few examples.

Temperature reduction, energy saving, performance increase.

We would like to elaborate on this: In the extrusion process, a temperature saving of a good 20% was achieved with a dosing range of 5-7%. In the injection molding process, similar savings potentials were measurable at comparable dosages. Overall, we generally observe a performance increase in the 2-digit range already with an addition of 1-3%, which increases the scope in processing for our customers. Particularly in ABS and PC-ABS, very good effects have been demonstrated. Here, too, we are talking about considerable energy savings and a significant improvement in flow.

Performance increases of between 50-100% were also possible in PET, PBT and PETG - a result we had not expected to this extent. With all these positive findings, another sampling was almost more extraordinary: our Polytives bFI A 3745 was incorporated into a polyurethane foam system. The novel, sustainable systems basically suffer from very tough melt flow conditions, which make foaming impossible at all or only with a great deal of additional effort. Only by adding our bFI A 3745 was it possible to achieve processability in a sustainable and process-safe manner.

Our conclusion

Once again it proves true that trial and error is the best policy! That's why we are grateful for every new customer who is happy to sample even unusual systems with us in order to reveal the full potential of our flow improver family bFI piece by piece. Be the first in your field. It pays to ask and try out! Contact us or take the opportunity to meet us in October in Friedrichshafen at the FAKUMA, where we exhibit for the first time.

Operational experience with Polytives

Operational experience with Polytives

Dec 6, 2022 | News

Helping hands for all areas of the company: Student support for Polytives.

 

Mutual learning motivates and creates innovation

Three clever heads and three pairs of helping hands support us from the background. The work that comes to the usually small team of a young company does not become less as time goes on. It only becomes different, that much we can say thanks to our own operational experience with Polytives. However, the distribution of our daily small tasks has been made easier for us for quite some time by Jana, Paul and Alex.
When not active in public relations, the three of them seem invisible to outsiders. One more reason to let them speak personally about their time and operational experience with Polytives so far:

Alex (for over a year at Polytives): "Polytives shows me a new world as well as a new professional field besides humanities at university, which expands my knowledge and skills tremendously."

Jana, Paul and Alex support us with interdisciplinary as well as professional outside perspectives and bring in knowledge from training and university. In return, they also gain operational experience with Polytives: integrated true-to-life into our day-to-day business, they experience strategic discussions, see how decisions are made, what consistent action requires and what it can achieve. For example, whether they are sitting at the table during our creative brainstorming sessions, actively accompanying our R&D projects, or collecting data with us for our first sustainability report - we appreciate their enthusiasm and are glad that our student support is now entirely part of our small but innovative team.

Jana (for just over a month at Polytives): "Polytives is as versatile as plastics - I will gain valuable experience here!"

Of course, it is impossible to assess what concrete impact your contribution has had on our success. Nevertheless, without you, some e-mails would not have been written on time, some customer approaches would not have been successful, and some research findings would not have been made until later. In business, that can make all the difference. We can also say with certainty that working with you enriches us, not least because it is characterized by the knowledge that you too have been infected by the enthusiasm for Polytives - and we thank you for that.

Paul (for just over two months at Polytives): "At Polytives, I can apply what I've already learned at university and also gain professional experience in polymer chemistry."

Innovation is based on creative ideas, on thinking outside the box, and sometimes it also needs a pinch of luck. However, we cannot rely on the latter, so we are also dependent on new impulses from outside. That's why we want to and will continue to offer professional and operational experience with Polytives.

 

Polytives at the K trade fair 2022 in Düsseldorf

Polytives at the K trade fair 2022 in Düsseldorf

Nov 24, 2022 | News

The young company from Jena at the K trade fair 2022

3,037 exhibitors and 176,000 trade visitors gathered in Düsseldorf from October 19 to 26, 2022, after a three-year break. And we were there too: Polytives exhibited at the K trade fair for the first time. As the central innovation driver of the international plastics and rubber industry, the trade fair not only held a large amount of new products, innovations and problem solutions, but was also a platform for establishing as well as maintaining existing customer relationships. All participants were happy that the trade fair could take place in their presence, and the discussions started with corresponding anticipation and openness. The exhibitor party dedicated to the 70th anniversary offered the Polytives team once again the opportunity to deepen conversations with other exhibitors in personal networking and to generate new ideas.

For us as Polytives at K trade fair 2022, these were extremely successful days that flew by. We noticed how eager the visitors are to exchange ideas and how open they are to innovations. Accordingly, we were right on target in Düsseldorf. The fact that our products and visions were received with enthusiasm is shown not only by the over 100 discussions we held with potential customers, possible partners and research institutes, but also with the press. Interested parties came to our stand - not infrequently with specially printed versions of our flyers that they had received in advance - and sought personal talks to find out more. "Even the big players in the industry found themselves at our stand," is how Viktoria Rothleitner sums it up.

Polytives GmbH exhibition booth at the K trade fair 2022

The focus of our exhibition was on our flow improver bFI, but we were also able to present the many possibilities of our platform technology, showing our vision for our contribution to more sustainability and likewise the circular economy. Finally we had the opportunity to present our product itself as well as the processed product to all interested parties - apart from our flyers - which caused shining eyes on both sides of the booth. This is also reflected in our stock of sample quantity, which has been shrinking day by day since the fair.

The part of the team that remained in Jena naturally followed Polytives' activity at the K trade fair 2022 closely from a distance. A big thank you goes to the fair team, TecPart e.V. for the wonderful organization of the stand as well as the opportunity to be represented in the fair newspaper. We are already looking forward to the next K trade fair in 2025.

Die Geschäftsführung der Polytives am Messestand 

New Sales Director of Polytives GmbH

New Sales Director of Polytives GmbH

Sep 21, 2022 | News

New sales director at Polytives

Jena-based start-up brings expertise from the plastics industry into the team with Steffen Felzer

The team of Polytives welcomes Steffen Felzer as new Sales Director. Since the beginning of September, the engineering graduate has been supporting the further development of the Jena-based specialist for polymer additives. Over the past 25 years, Felzer has worked as a sales and marketing manager as well as in C-level positions in the plastics industry. In particular, he accompanied the topics of "tailor-made" plastic solutions and high-performance plastic applications.

Polytives produces for the market of customized polymer modification and polymer application. The newly developed proprietary polymer additives serve in particular to optimize application-specific or customer-specific polymers and polymer processes. Polytives thus sets trends that herald a more efficient plastics era: cost-reducing, energy-efficient, resource-saving, process-optimizing and customer-specific.

This shaping of the future of the plastics industry is the motivation of the Polytives team and likewise that of the new Sales Director Steffen Felzer: "Together we will further develop and build up the young company. We will face the dynamic challenges and changes of the customers and the plastics market in Germany, Europe and the world!". Managing Director Viktoria Rothleitner adds: "Steffen has valuable expertise in various management and leadership positions with industry leaders and hidden champions. He will accompany our company in the process of growing into an industrial enterprise. We are very pleased to have won him for this position."

 

An internship at Polytives

An internship at Polytives

Jul 18, 2022 | News

Foto: Steffen Walther

Trainees of the Staatlichen Berufsbildenden Schulzentrums (SBSZ) Jena-Göschwitz do an internship at Polytives

For six weeks, Anton and Yannik completed an internship at Polytives as part of their training as chemical-technical assistants. They were able to put into practice the theoretical knowledge they had already acquired in their school lessons. This brings a professional future in chemistry closer for both of them. In line with the award of the Stifterverband's research seal, we promote education by offering internships. After all, innovation, science and education are our core resources. Only through our chemical know-how we can bring about sustainable change in industry as well as in society as a whole.

The expectations of our interns regarding their time in the laboratory and their tasks corresponded quite well with reality: They had to handle solvents, prepare their own synthesis approaches, operate and maintain the measuring equipment - and of course also manufacture their own products and check them for correctness and purity at the end. An internship at Polytives does not necessarily promise excitement every day - monotonous work is also part of it, as in other companies. It is therefore important to develop a certain degree of routine and still be open to new things. Yannik and Anton decided on a career in chemistry because they already liked chemistry at school and wanted to pursue this in their professional lives. The deciding factor was a career fair and career counseling. Both positively emphasize the active search and advertising of polytives at the SBSZ. Christa Schulze, the supervising teacher, also sees this as an outstanding feature since fewer companies usually come directly to the school.

According to Ms. Schulze, a good connection between schools and industry is particularly important in times of a lack of skilled workers and a decline in applications for training. An active approach of the companies to the trainees is necessary. In this way, feedback from the companies can be used to evaluate whether the content of the training needs to be adapted. In this way, a solid professional future in chemistry can be guarantee.

In addition, according to Ms. Schulze, an internship can teach learners more responsibility as well as teamwork and reliability. We at Polytives agree that both components - the "soft skills" and the implementation of theoretical knowledge in practice - are important and necessary. Only then a professional future in chemistry can become a valuable, reliable foundation for future colleagues on which we all want to build and continue to build.

East German economic forum – our management uses personal networking

East German economic forum – our management uses personal networking

Jun 30, 2022 | News

Thüringen ist stark vertreten: Ostdeutsches Wirtschaftsforum

East German economic forum & panel discussion in Hamburg

Face-to-face networking has been lacking - that's why we currently value on-site events very highly. In May and June of this year, personal networking picked up again. We at Polytives not only perceived this positively but also made active use of it at a number of high-profile events (e.g. the "East German economic forum").

Exactly one month ago, our CEO Viktoria Rothleitner was first a guest in Hamburg at City Hall. As part of Thuringia's presidency of the Bundesrat, a series of events was launched to bring Thuringia into an exchange with other German states on various topics. Under the topic of the presidency "growing together", personal networking in the form of a panel discussion followed by a get-together was used to discover existing common ground and learn from each other. On this occasion our CEO was part of the panel and spoke with other founders and stakeholders about, among other things, the current situation for young startups overall as well as some of the advantages of starting a business in Thuringia.

The result was an exciting exchange between the panelists:

Dr. Katja Böhler (Thuringian State Secretary for Research, Innovation and Economic Development)

Lutz Birke (Head of the Department of Ports and Innovation at the Ministry of Economics and Innovation of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg

Natalia Tomiyama (NÜWIEL GmbH Hamburg)

Heidrun Twesten (Co-Managing Director Impacct GmbH Hamburg)

Dirk Wegler (Head of the Thuringian Center for Start-ups and Entrepreneurship)

...and the wonderful moderator Diana Huth who has also founded a company herself.

And once the journey to beautiful Hamburg has been made, it makes sense to take full advantage of the opportunity for personal networking. For this reason, Polytives visited the team of port F last month. Port F is an initiative of the Feddersen Group which is looking for fellow campaigners under the motto "transforming together" in order to make "common cause for the big picture". Clearly, this appealed to us and we are very happy about the networking to Hamburg and we would like to expand it further because we can only solve the big tasks of our time together and with the help of innovation. For this, every networking point can support and we basically appreciate the openness towards us as a young company very much.

After these two stops in Hamburg, which were a wonderful start to personal networking for our CEO this year, the East German economic forum in June provided an opportunity for a direct continuation of the exchange. The "East German economic forum" event was dedicated to the topic of transformation. "We are shaping transformation" - a motto under which many inspiring contributions and discussions took place. In addition to experts from various areas of the economy, Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Economics Minister Dr. Robert Habeck were also guests and answered the questions of the participants. Polytives will gladly be present again next year in Bad Saarow.

If you too would like to meet us in person again sometime don't hesitate and get in touch with us!

 

The Next Generation at the research summit

The Next Generation at the research summit

May 3, 2022 | News

Exchange of new ideas by the Next Generation at the research summit

On May 04, 2022, the research summit of the Stifterverband der Deutschen Wirtschaft e.V. will take place at the Allianz Forum in Berlin. Our CTO Oliver Eckardt represents the Next Generation at the research summit as a member of the Central German State Board of Trustees of the Stifterverband.

Oliver Eckardt has been a member of the Central German State Board of Trustees since February 2022. The Board of Trustees is part of the Stifterverband and carries out its tasks in the individual federal states or individual regions - in our case Central Germany. The members are individuals, representatives of the regional economy and representatives of the regional science organizations. They are appointed by the president of the Stifterverband in consultation with the chairman of the respective state board of trustees for a period of three years.

Together with Dr. Erik Weber from SpinLab Leipzig, Oliver Eckardt represents a new generation - the Next Generation at the research summit. The Next Generation network brings together young personalities from the business community who, across generations, compile and elaborate new ideas on the core topics of the Stifterverband in order to contribute to a strategic renewal of the joint initiative. In this way the Next Generation is committed to a shared responsibility to the German economy and to a sustainable society worth living in - and thus to the successful basic idea of the Stifterverband.

The research summit of the Stifterverband der Deutschen Wirtschaft in Berlin will be held under the motto "Innovation policy after the turn of the millennium. More dynamism and new priorities?" It thus picks up on the association's central themes of "Education, Science and Innovation" to which we are also committed. In times of increasingly important sustainability and rising raw material prices the summit is dedicated to the challenges of the future which face the German economy as well as the global economy.

Oliver Eckardt is delighted to have the opportunity to make contacts at his first Stifterverband event. In addition to his presence as a representative of the State Board of Trustees he also stands for a new polymer chemistry that develops future-proof, innovative and sustainable products from the plastics of the present - as is also the goal of the Covestro company in addition to Polytives.

Sources: