After more than eleven years in office, the CEO of Continental AG Dr. Elmar Degenhart has informed the Supervisory Board about his intention to resign from his position effective 30 November 2020 for reasons of immediately essential preventive health care. He has asked the Supervisory Board to accept the early termination of his Executive Board directorship and his contract, which would have run until 11 August 2024. Supervisory Board Chairman Prof. Wolfgang Reitzle has announced that he will convene the Supervisory Board shortly to decide on the appointment of the successor to Degenhart.

Very few policy initiatives in the last few years have received as much public attention as the recently adopted Single-Use Plastics Directive – also known as the single-use plastics ban. This legal act, however, is only one piece of the puzzle with which the European Union is attempting to curb plastic littering and transform the European economy into a circular one. The following article gives an overview on the EU Circular Economy Package and Plastics Strategy and explains what they mean for bio-based plastics.

HF Mixing Group announced that it is aligning its top management structure. As of 1 October 2020, Mark Meulbroek will be supported by Ian Wilson as Co-CEO focussing on external strategic aspects. In his new role, Wilson will concentrate on the areas of Sales, Aftersales, R+D and Engineering.

The first digital in-house exhibition called Xpert Forum of Klöckner Desma Elastomertechnik GmbH in Fridingen, Germany, took place from 6 – 30 October 2020. For more than 25 years the company has been organising a two-day open house event every three years, which has established itself internationally as a meeting point for the industry.

On 3 November 2020, JEC Group announced that due to the continued impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and after thorough consultation of clients and partners, the next edition of JEC World is postponed from 9 – 11 March to 1 – 3 June 2021 at Paris Nord Villepinte.

Otto Krahn Group GmbH announced on 2 November 2020 that from now it will operate as the holding company of the globally active Otto Krahn Group. It will in future define the strategic guidelines and at the same time take on the role of a professional service provider to support Group companies with the development of successful and sustainable growth strategies.

With the COVID pandemic continuing to have a detrimental impact on corporate travel, Smithers has decided to move their established industry event TPE & Silicone Elastomers World Summit 2020 to an online format. The new event will take place on the afternoons of 15-16 December, and delegates will still be able to move between both TPE and silicone online presentations by purchasing one Elastomers World Summit ticket.

On 22 October 2020, the first meeting of the exhibitors’ advisory board marked the kick-off to the next “K” in Düsseldorf, Germany, to be held from 19 – 26 October 2022. The body of experts has met to chart the course for the most important trade fair for the plastics and rubber industries worldwide and to enter into the concrete planning stage. The exhibitors’ advisory board supports Messe Düsseldorf in the preparations for K 2022 and provides consulting on basic conceptual and organisational issues. Here particular attention is paid to considering current developments as well as to the global economy and the discussion of forward-looking trends and technologies.

Lehmann&Voss&Co. has expanded its existing portfolio of Luvogel rheological additives with a new grade to improve storage stability and sag control. Luvogel G58 is a powdery rheological additive based on an organically modified layered silicate.

LG Chem successfully developed a new biodegradable material that could realize mechanical properties equivalent to synthetic resins. Regarding this, LG Chem announced on 19 October 2020 that it had developed a new material that significantly improved flexibility (elongation) and transparency compared to existing biodegradable materials through proprietary technologies and production processes.