Covestro and the Brazilian footwear manufacturer Calçados Beira Rio are jointly developing concept shoes with more sustainable material solutions. An elegant women's shoe and a comfortable casual shoe are used as examples to illustrate the variety of possibilities – from upper to lining, from sole to heel.

The Automotive Division of the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) announced a new category for its 50th annual Automotive Innovation Awards Gala, the oldest and largest recognition event (established in 1970) in the automotive and plastics industries.

Ten leading personalities from the international plastics industry were recently inducted into the "Plastics Hall of Fame" - one of them is Ulrich Reifenhäuser, CSO of the Reifenhäuser Group, Chairman of the Exhibitors' Advisory Board of the “K” plastics show and Chairman of the Plastics and Rubber Machinery Association in the VDMA.

On 17 May 2021, Toyoda Gosei Co., Ltd. announced that it has established a new plant in Mexico, the Tapex Mexicana, S.A. de C.V. Monterrey plant, and has started production of the bags that are a main component of automotive airbags in March 2021.

Bryan Whitfield has been appointed as new Group Sales Director at Texon, a producer of sustainable footwear components, materials for consumer accessories and performance fabrics. He succeeds Matt Smith, who leaves Texon after almost a decade of successful service. Whitfield will be based in Dallas, TX, USA.

Datwyler announced that it is further expanding production capacities for the Healthcare and Food & Beverage businesses as well as logistics capacities of the online distributor Reichelt. The company said this is driven by encouraging order intake and customer demands. In 2021, the company expects to invest a total of CHF 120 million to CHF 130 million. Datwyler said it will invest at least CHF 80 million between 2020 and 2022 in its Swiss plant. With a new competence centre for surface technology, the company will strengthen its position for multi-component parts, which play an important role in systems for electric vehicles.

The long-standing CEO of the Boge Rubber & Plastics Group, Dr. Torsten Bremer, will hand over his position to his successor Torsten Gehrmann as of 1 July 2021. As a member of the management board of CRRC New Material Technologies GmbH, the globally responsible umbrella company of the Boge Rubber & Plastics Group based in Damme, Torsten Gehrmann has been jointly responsible for the Boge Rubber & Plastics Group since 1 December 2020. Dr. Torsten Bremer is moving to the Supervisory Board of CRRC New Material Technologies GmbH, which is currently being constituted.

KraussMaffei has appointed Jörg Bremer as new Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the KraussMaffei Group and the Shanghai-listed KraussMaffei Company Limited (KMCL), effective 1 July 2021. Jörg Bremer will also become a member of the KraussMaffei Group Management Board. He succeeds Dr. Harald Nippel, who has the company effective 31 May 2021 at his own request, after six years of successful cooperation.

DSM is launching a new portfolio of engineering materials for medical devices. The new portfolio of medical grades was developed to address growing customer demand for advanced material solutions. It is intended to build upon and complement the company’s biomedical business.

Songwon Industrial Co., Ltd., announced the establishment of its new business entity in China, Songwon International-Qingdao Co., Ltd. The new organization will ensure that the South-Korean company remains well-positioned to continue providing customers in this important strategic region with high quality products and service.