Tuesday, December 22, 2015
One December 16, 2015, the award presentation of the coveted “Wood and Natural Fibre Composite Award” took place in Cologne at the biggest International “WPC & NFC Conference”. The award highlights new materials and products from the world of Wood-Plastic Composites (WPC) and Natural Fibre Composites (NFC) that entered the market in 2015 or will soon be launched. More than 220 participants choose the three winning products out of six nominees.
About 400,000 tonnes of Wood-Plastic Composites (WPC) and Natural Fibre Composites (NFC) are produced in Europe every year. The most important markets are decking, light-weight components for automobile interiors and consumer goods, for example toys, as the organizer of the conference, nova-Institute (DE), presented in its latest market study.
Yesterday the well established “Wood and Natural Fibre Composite Award” was awarded for the fifth time. Out of 25 companies that applied, a jury nominated six. Each of the nominated companies introduced its new material or product to the conference participants in a 10-minute presentation on the first day of the conference. The 220 participant of the conference choose three winners. The award nomination took place during the gala dinner. The award was sponsored by Coperion GmbH (DE), international market leader in compounding and extrusion technologies.
First place: ONORA BV (NL), 100% bio-based coffin with hemp fibre reinforcement in injection moulding technology
The participants choose by far the natural fibre-reinforced, 100% bio-based coffin as their winner. The product is injection moulded which allows for great freedom of design and a variety of shapes and colours. The bio-based compound makes the coffin biodegradable and is an example for new large-volume applications of biocomposites. Life cycle assessments show a CO2 footprint that is not only lower than the CO2 footprint of conventional but also other eco-coffins
Second place: Millvision BV (NL), Flower pots made of biodegradable biocomposite with agro rest fibres
These flower pots producedof agro rest fibres from pepper and tomato cultivation and bio-based plastics are price competitive. They are used for tree nurseries and market-gardens and are cold soil biodegradable within just a few months. This new pot acts as fertilizer, improves plant growth and therefore prevents plastic waste from oil based containers and the associated expense.
Third place: AqvacompOy and FlaxwoodOy (FI), Cellulose fibre-reinforced polystyrene for music instruments
Those composites have the potential to replace the use of a number of rare and threatened wood species.Several recipes have been developed for variousmusical instruments with equivalentproperty profiles, for example a cellulose fibre composite replacing granadilla wood in clarinets. The components have excellent thermal and humidity resistance, reducing the typical tuning problems of wooden instruments.
Tags: Cologne, winners, wood and natural fibe composite award, wpc and nfc conference
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