More than 170 companies at 5th European Bioplastics Conference in Düsseldorf

This year, European Bioplastics organised its industry conference already for the fifth time. On 1 and 2 December, over 360 experts from all around the globe came together in Düsseldorf to exchange information and insights about new bioplastic materials and products. Hence, European Bioplastics was able to tie in with the success of last year’s record-breaking event.
“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.
Besides numerous speeches focusing on new products and applications for bioplastic materials, 28 exhibitors showcased a variety of their samples at the conference. Many products introduced in the presentations could be seen and examined at the exhibition.
Another highlight of this year’s event was the Bioplastics Award 2010, which was conferred for the first time during the European Bioplastics 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.
European Bioplastics’ Managing Director, Hasso von Pogrell, was very satisfied with the course of the conference: “The demand for exchanging information, creating networks and forming cooperations obviously increases with the opportunities offered.

Our association and the annual conference provide an optimal platform to do so,” he concluded.

Speakers:
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); Dr. Rainer Hagen, Uhde Inventa Fischer

Exhibitors:
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, Xinfu Pharm