In our fifth UTECH Europe preview, we’re looking at the UTECH Europe Awards 2024. This is the last UTECH Europe newsletter before the event but there will be two follow-up newsletters in the fortnight following the event.
Finalists in the UTECH Europe Awards 2024, which recognise and celebrate the achievements and innovations of the European polyurethane industry were announced today. The seven award winners will be revealed in a lunchtime ceremony on 23 April, presented by myself and Crain Communications Global Polymer Group Vice President and General Manager, Chris Taylor.
“Congratulations to all of our finalists across the seven categories,” said Matt Barber, Global Events Director of UTECH Europe organiser Crain Communications. “These innovations and achievements are a testament to the industry's commitment to drive the use of polyurethane materials into more product niches, to meet the demands of the industry's downstream clients and to meet the global challenges of increasing sustainability to protect the environment.”
The Machinery Innovation Award recognises advancements and outstanding innovation in machinery by any organisation that hires, sells or supplies equipment to the polyurethane industry. The three finalists in this category are:
- Bäumer
- Covestro Elastomers
- MattressTek
The Material Innovation Award (not including flexible foam) recognises innovation and forward-looking vision for the delivery of services, processes or products to the market. The seven finalists in this category are:
- Dow for SPECFLEX Circular
- Checkerspot for WING™ Platform
- Kimpur
- Mevaldi for its bio-based platform chemicals for PUR
- SIMALFA for SIMALFA® 381
- Thermal Insulation Solutions for TIS Ecotif
- The Vita Group
The four finalists in the Material Innovation, Flexible Foam Award are:
- Arneplant for its high performance renewable flexible polyurethane foam
- Econic Technologies for its viscoelastic foams prepared with CO2-based polyols
- Evonik Operations for TEGO® RISE
- The Vita Group for its Orbis™ Range
The Polyurethane Processor Award is open to polyurethane processors that can demonstrate their overall excellence. This year’s three finalists are:
- Sixinch
- Spanset Secutex
- Vulkoprin
The Rising Star Award recognises emerging leaders within the polyurethane industry in Europe. The three nominations are:
- Sam Hill, The Vita Group
- Herbert Kaboggoza, Pluskim
- Manon Manaranche, Covestro
Nine finalists have won through in the Sustainability Initiative (Sponsored by Evonik), this category recognises companies and initiatives making the sector more sustainable.
- Covestro Elastomers for its roadmap to climate neutrality
- Dow for SPECFLEX Circular
- Econic Technologies
- essenscia Polymatters for its PU insulation board collection system
- Kimpur’s Eco-Friendly Slipper Raw Material Production from PET Bottle
- PLIXXENT for PUre³ Solutions
- Polylabs for its Bio Polyol UPT product range
- SIMALFA’s Debonding Adhesive
- The Vita Group for its Orbis™ Range
The seven award winners will each receive a sleek UTECH Europe Awards ‘Column of Victory’ trophy designed by Better Future Factory. The distinctive trophy’s UTECH ‘U’ logo is 3D printed in thermoplastic polyurethane and its column is 3D printed using recycled PET plastic.
The winner of the Polyurethane Ambassador award will also be inducted into the UTECH Europe Hall of Fame, which recognises leaders who have made a significant contribution to the polyurethane industry.
The panel of judges for the UTECH Europe Awards 2024 is chaired by me and comprises Michel Baumgartner, Secretary General, Europur; Jörg Palmersheim, Secretary General, Isopa & Alipa; Grazyna Mitchener, Director and Principal Consultant, PolyChemTech; Per Henning Vaagen, General Manager & CEO, Laader Berg and Simon Robinson, former editor of Urethanes Technology International.
