MATERIALS KTN OPEN DAY

PRESS RELEASE

BPF PR REF: 17/07

Date: 11th March 2007

BPF PRESS RELEASE: MATERIALS KTN OPEN DAY

“Love Affair with Plastics”, says famous designer at Materials KTN Annual event”.

At the recent Materials Knowledge Transfer Network annual event entitled ‘Making a difference with materials’, designer Sebastian Conran told the audience how he has developed a love affair with plastics materials in his work.

Conran then went on to extol the virtues of the magnificent design ethos of the largely plastic iPod. Not just the product itself, but the presentation, packaging and usability of the product.

Sebastian Conran has previously won two prestigious Horners’ Awards for his revolutionary plastics Mothercare “Via” pram. The first multipurpose pram to be made almost entirely from Engineering polymers, and more recently he accepted an award for his no-spill baby cup.

He said, “Design should be systemic in business to gain advantage and should permeate every aspect of a business”. He also spoke of bringing the three creativities together; emotional, rational and business. He cited Apple and Dyson as prime examples of this.

Faraday Plastics becomes Polymer Innovation Network

Faraday Plastics Network Coordinator Brian Turtle also speaking at the event, told of the changes ahead for Faraday Plastics. From mid May it will be known as the Polymer Innovation Network embracing rubber as well as polymers.

A new board under the stewardship of Colin Richards has been formed as well as a new development committee. The new strategy of PIN is going through the approval process of the board at present. Additionally, the website has been revamped and the results of a study on how the network should work with the Regional Development Authorities will be used for input to the strategy.

Brian also identified the BPF as a key partner to PIN, with its unique access to the UK plastics industry through its members, and with representation at various trade fairs. PIN will be represented on the BPF stand at the Künstoffe Plastics Exhibition, attracting over 250,000 visitors, in Düsseldorf from the 24th to the 30th of October 2007.

Spark Awards

Brian went on to talk about the success of the SPARK awards for innovation. These are “proof of concept” awards of £5000 awarded to collaborations between companies in the plastic and rubber industry and a research provider (usually a university). There had been a good uptake of awards for innovative projects and with a good regional coverage.
The first newsletter produced for the network by the BPF was released on the 1st of May and gives details of some of the SPARK Awards.

Faraday Plastics Scoops award

The event was brought to a close with a prize giving for the poster competition held during the day. Faraday plastics won the prize in the best Materials and Design Innovation category. This was for its work with Polymer IRC at Bradford University on 3D simulation of Water Assisted Injection Moulding.