Thimister-Clermont, 26 August 2015. – ArmaFORM® PET structural foam cores 100% made of post-consumer PET convince the Chinese Composite Industry
Armacell has been awarded the Ringier Technology Innovation Award for its highly sustainable ArmaFORM® PET GR product group.
Scientists from the global R&D team have invested several years in the development of a technology that enables the production of structural PET foam boards with consistent, reliable qualities 100% made from post-consumer PET materials, called ArmaFORM® PET GR.
In addition to its sustainable raw material base, ArmaFORM® PET GR is manufactured according to an energy and resource-optimized production process: 100% re-use of material loss and no use of ozone-depleting HFH or CFC blowing agents. Furthermore the product is fully recyclable at its end of life. Compared with common core materials currently available on the composite market, like PVC, SAN or PUR for example, ArmaFORM® PET GR is a highly environmentally friendly product: cross-linked PVC foam releases 2 times the CO2 emission but stays non-recyclable, whilst ArmaFORM® PET GR still serves the next generation after proper recycling. The difference is even bigger compared to PUR foams, the foaming process causes 2.6 times more CO2 emission than ArmaFORM® PET GR for the same amount of material (source: Armacell LCA report, data from 2015).
Ringier Technology Innovation Awards for industrial manufacturing are given by Ringier Trade Media and, according to the awards organizer, are recognized as the most influential industrial awards in China. Inaugurated in 2006, the purpose these awards is to encourage, acknowledge and reward those companies who have introduced and developed a new idea, a new production method, a new product or a new technology for promoting production efficiency, cost effectiveness, user convenience, which could result in energy saving and more responsible clean manufacturing in the composite materials industry.
“Those nominated must be relevant to China, be at the forefront of the international plastics industry, and have helped take China's plastics industry to new levels” explains the organizer.
Following a strict selection process from the independent panel of judges comprising industry associations and research institutes, 23 products from 20 companies participated in the final competition across 6 categories: Material, Processing, Techniques, Equipment, Software/Testing and Application. In the category ‘Materials’, Armacell was awarded for its environmentally friendly and unique structural foam core, ArmaFORM® PET GR.
“We are proud to that ArmaFORM® PET GR has been acknowledged by the Chinese composite industry”, says Henri Chapelle, Head of Global Sales & Marketing. “PET foam core 100% made of recycled PET is innovative and unique. You cannot find it elsewhere in the world. To put it differently, we are making a high-tech product from post-consumer PET that would otherwise pollute the environment”, he adds.
