Dr. Elke Metzsch-Zilligen
Director Division Plastics | Fraunhofer Institute for Structural Durability and System Reliability LBF
Dr. Metzsch-Zilligen studied chemistry at the University of Cologne and received her PhD in physical chemistry in 2006. After working in the food industry for several years, she joined the German Plastics Institute (DKI) in 2011, which was integrated into Fraunhofer LBF in 2012. There she headed the “Additivation and Durability” department until April 1, 2024, when she subsequently took over as director of the plastics division at Fraunhofer LBF.
Her research focuses on the synthesis of new additives and the selection and evaluation of optimized additives/additive systems for thermoplastics depending on the application. She has also been working on the sustainability of plastics for many years. This includes significantly improving the quality of recyclates through adapted post-stabilization to improve the mechanical, sensory and optical properties in order to increase the amount of recyclates used or to enable the substitution of virgin material by recyclates in the first place.
Dr. Christian Beinert
Head of Department Polymer Processing and Component Design Ι Fraunhofer Institute for Structural Durability and System Reliability LBF
Christian Beinert studied mechanical engineering at the University of Darmstadt and received his PhD in 2007 in the field of numerical flow simulation. At the German Plastics Institute (Deutsches Kunststoff-Institut, DKI), he initially headed the research group "Compounding" and, prior to the integration into Fraunhofer LBF in 2012, the department "Thermoplastics Processing". At Fraunhofer LBF, Mr. Beinert currently heads the department "Plastics Processing and Component Design".
The department is part of the division "Plastics" at the Fraunhofer LBF and develops solutions for the resource-conserving use of plastics in technically demanding applications. It covers the entire spectrum from the determination of material properties to the simulation and development of processing methods. With a focus on the design of structural components, the department develops methods and models that can optimally and user-specifically represent material-, process- and/or application-specific influencing variables under complex load situations.
Christoph Lindner
Managing Partner | Conversio Market & Strategy GmbH
Christoph Lindner is a graduate industrial engineer and managing partner of Conversio Market & Strategy GmbH. He has been working as a management consultant for the top management of associations and companies for almost 30 years. He is a recognized expert in the fields of chemicals and plastics, environment and circular economy, and mechanical and plant engineering.
His areas of expertise are:
He has excellent references and contacts with leading companies in these industries as well as with German and European industry associations.
Dr. Madina Shamsuyeva
Head of Department Plastics technology and recycling, plastics analytics | IKK – Institut für Kunststoff- und Kreislauftechnik der Leibniz Universität Hannover
Madina Shamsuyeva studied chemistry at the Middle East Technical University and at the University of Siegen and completed her doctorate at the Technical University of Braunschweig. Through her work at Bayer MaterialScience, the Fraunhofer WKI and now at the IKK, she has extensive experience in the development and characterisation of plastics and composites. Her current focus is on the mechanical recycling of plastic-based waste and the standardisation of plastic recyclates.
Ansgar Schonlau
Managing Director | Maag GmbH
Ansgar Schonlau is an international packaging expert with over 25 years of experience in the plastics industry. The graduate industrial engineer (FH), specialising in printing, has held various sales and management positions and focused on flexible packaging at an early stage. The focus of his work was on the restructuring and internal optimisation of companies, always with the aim of sustainable, cost-effective products and processes. Since 2018, Ansgar Schonlau has been the owner of the highly innovative packaging manufacturer Maag.
He is an advocate of the circular economy and the sustainability of flexible packaging. Together with Dr Dirk Textor, Chairman of the Plastics Recycling Section at bvse e.V., and Dr Michael Scriba, he founded the start-up Certified Recycled Content CRC GmbH in 2022 with the declared aim of strengthening virgin material-replacing recyclates and making a significant contribution to CO2 reduction.
Rudinei Fiorio
Assistant Professor | Maastricht University
Rudinei Fiorio has a bachelor's degree (2003), an M.Eng. (2007), and a Ph.D. (2011) in the field of Polymer Science and Engineering. He has worked in Brazil, the USA, and Belgium, before joining Maastricht University (UM), the Netherlands, in 2022.
Dr. Fiorio is currently leading the team "Polymer Analytics for Circularity" in the Circular Plastics group at UM, applying the fundamentals of polymer science to solve technological challenges related to plastics recycling. He has been studying strategies to improve the sustainability of polymers, specifically the degradation, stabilization, and modification of discarded plastics, exploring new routes to enhance their properties and recyclability. Relevant research topics are the effects of contaminants in the environmental stress crack resistance (ESCR) of recycled HDPE; the impact of adhesives on the recyclability of LDPE-based laminated films; re-stabilization of discarded polyolefins during recycling; upgrading of PET contaminated with bio-polyesters; and recyclability assessment through off-line, at-line, and in-line characterization of polymers during mechanical recycling.
Kathrin Lehmann
Technical Senior Expert Polymers, BL Interface&Performance | Evonik Operations GmbH
Mrs. Kathrin Lehmann has more than 25 years experience in the polymers industry working in different positions in the raw material industry for polymer, compounding, adhesives, composite and paint application after her education as chemist at the Humboldt University/Berlin.
Since 2004 she has been working with Evonik at the BL Interface & Performance where she takes care on customers globally (technical service and development responsibility for additives used for compounds, masterbatches, and composites.
Since June 2023 she is working for the Technical Marketing at the BL Interface & Performance using the polymers expertise background especially for recycling and other sustainable aspects in the polymer and plastic industry leading various projects for recycling and sustainable developments.
In 1999 she joined Evonik (previously called Degussa) and took over the development of surfactants and dispersants for coating application.
From 1994 until 1999 she worked for a titanium dioxide manufacturer and did European technical service for that company called KRONOS International Ltd.
Michael Kriebitzsch
New Business Development Manager | BAERLOCHER GmbH
Education: Degree in Business Administration; MBA with a focus on marketing; technical focus on polyolefins
Professional: With BAERLOCHER GmbH since 2006; focus on sales and marketing of polymer applications in Europe
Core responsibilities:
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Achim Grefenstein
Scientific Director Circular Economy | Institut für Kunststoffverarbeitung (IKV) in Industrie und Handwerk an der RWTH Aachen
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Achim Grefenstein, born in 1965, studied mechanical engineering at the technical university of Aachen/Germany where he finished his PhD in the area of plastics processing. Until today, he teaches the subject “Plastics Compounding and Recycling” at the RWTH Aachen. Between 1996 and 2004 he worked at BASF SE in Ludwigshafen/Germany
in the departments of technical thermoplastics and styrenics mainly for the automotive industry. From February 2004 to June 2013 he has been working as Director Corporate R&D for RKW SE in Frankenthal/Germany. Since July 2013 he is Senior Vice President Group R&D at Constantia Flexibles GmbH, Vienna/Austria. For the German Plastics Packaging
Association (IK) he was from 2016 to 2019 chair of the working group “Bioplastics”. At EuPC he was Chair of the Packaging Division from March 2020 to July 2024 and at Recyclass/PRE he is member of the Advisory Board and the Technical Committee Polyolefin Films since July 2019. In addition to his assignment at Constantia Flexibles, he is working at
the Institute for Plastics Processing (IKV) as Scientific Director Circular Economy in order to further strengthen the recycling research in alignment with the actual industrial challenges.
Dr. Kylie König
Business Development Manager Compounding | SÜDPACK VERPACKUNGEN SE & Co. KG
Dr. Kylie König has been Business Development Manager for Compounds at SÜDPACK Verpackungen SE & Co. KG since October 2021. Her focus is on implementing sustainable material solutions with recyclates and biopolymers for extrusion and injection molding. Another goal is to close material loops in close collaboration with customers, making a valuable contribution to conserving resources and reducing CO₂ emissions.
Her academic career began with a degree in aerospace engineering, followed by a doctorate in plastics technology from RWTH Aachen University and Maastricht University. This combination of technical know-how and innovative research forms the basis for her expertise in the field of modern material technologies.
Before joining SÜDPACK, Dr. König gained valuable experience at Technimark, where she worked in quality assurance for injection molding applications. There she deepened her technical understanding and her ability to combine complex industrial requirements with innovative solutions.
Joachim Stricker
Marketing/ Global Focal Team Leader E&E Market | RadiciGroup High Performance Polymers
Joachim Stricker received a university degree in plastic engineering (Dipl.- Ing.) from RWTH Aachen in 1994.
Mr. Stricker began his professional career in the automotive harness business. He worked for important companies in the area of manufacturing of harness assembling and harness components’ manufacturing, serving in various positions: logistics and project manager, technical assistance manager and production manager.
After joining Radici Plastics GmbH – member of the RadiciGroup, Italy - in 2004 as regional sales manager he changed in 2007 to the “Application & Technical Service”.
Starting from 2009 his role was extended to “Marketing and Technical Service” becoming the “technical responsible” mainly for global customers in the business area RadiciGroup High Performance Polymers.
Since January 2019 Mr. Stricker has taken over the role of the “Focal Team Leader” regarding the marketing activities in Electric & Electronic industry.
Dr. Jan Sültemeyer
Global Sustainability Leader | Avient Corporation
Jan is a PhD Chemist, graduated from the University of Bonn / Germany. He started his career in CIBA Specialty Chemistry in Basel Switzerland in chemical process development in 2001. From 2004 onwards he took over various roles in product development and marketing in the area of specialty chemicals for the electronic industry with focus on LCD flat panels in CIBA and later in BASF.
In 2015 he joined Clariant as Global Head of Product Management and Innovation for Masterbatches. In 2019 he was appointed to the role of Global Head of Innovation and Sustainability in which he was driving the sustainability agenda for the Masterbatch Business with a strong focus on developing innovative solutions for plastic recycling and biopolymers. In July 2020 the Clariant Masterbatch Business was acquired by PolyOne and is now merged into one business under the name Avient. Also in the new company Jan is globally leading Innovation & Sustainability initiatives and workstreams. In addition, he is co-chairing the Design & Market Solutions Technical Expert Group for the Alliance to End Plastic Waste, and he served for 3 years on the board of the Responsible Mica Initiative.
Dr.-Ing. Patrick Hirsch
Head of Research Group „Sustainable Materials and Processes“ | Fraunhofer-Institut für Mikrostruktur von Werkstoffen und Systemen IMWS
Patrick Hirsch studied industrial engineering with a focus on controlling and plastics technology at the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, where he also completed his doctorate in the field of bio-based polyamides. Since 2008, he has been working at the Fraunhofer Institute for Microstructure of Materials and Systems IMWS. His activities include managing the “Sustainable Materials and Processes” working group and the scientific management of a large number of research and industrial projects on sustainable plastic products. Since 2016, he has been a lecturer in the field of plastics processing at the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg and the Merseburg University of Applied Sciences. He is also a board member of POLYKUM e.V. - “Association for the Promotion of Polymer Development and Plastics Technology in Central Germany” with a focus on biopolymers and a board member of BioEconomy e.V. for the development of the cluster region of Central Germany into an international model region for bioeconomy.
Dr. Elke Metzsch-Zilligen
Director Division Plastics | Fraunhofer Institute for Structural Durability and System Reliability LBF
Dr. Metzsch-Zilligen studied chemistry at the University of Cologne and received her PhD in physical chemistry in 2006. After working in the food industry for several years, she joined the German Plastics Institute (DKI) in 2011, which was integrated into Fraunhofer LBF in 2012. There she headed the “Additivation and Durability” department until April 1, 2024, when she subsequently took over as director of the plastics division at Fraunhofer LBF.
Her research focuses on the synthesis of new additives and the selection and evaluation of optimized additives/additive systems for thermoplastics depending on the application. She has also been working on the sustainability of plastics for many years. This includes significantly improving the quality of recyclates through adapted post-stabilization to improve the mechanical, sensory and optical properties in order to increase the amount of recyclates used or to enable the substitution of virgin material by recyclates in the first place.
Dr. Christian Beinert
Head of Department Polymer Processing and Component Design Ι Fraunhofer Institute for Structural Durability and System Reliability LBF
Christian Beinert studied mechanical engineering at the University of Darmstadt and received his PhD in 2007 in the field of numerical flow simulation. At the German Plastics Institute (Deutsches Kunststoff-Institut, DKI), he initially headed the research group "Compounding" and, prior to the integration into Fraunhofer LBF in 2012, the department "Thermoplastics Processing". At Fraunhofer LBF, Mr. Beinert currently heads the department "Plastics Processing and Component Design".
The department is part of the division "Plastics" at the Fraunhofer LBF and develops solutions for the resource-conserving use of plastics in technically demanding applications. It covers the entire spectrum from the determination of material properties to the simulation and development of processing methods. With a focus on the design of structural components, the department develops methods and models that can optimally and user-specifically represent material-, process- and/or application-specific influencing variables under complex load situations.
Ton Emans
President of PRE and Group Recycling and Procurement Director at Cedo as well as board member of Cedo | Plastics Recyclers Europe
Ton Emans has more than 34 years’ experience in the plastic recycling process. He is Group Recycling and Procurement Director as well as board member of Cedo.
Ton Emans started his career with DSM in Geleen, The Netherlands and worked as researcher in the field of environment and safety. In 1991, he relocated to a subsidiary of DSM called REKO, a company which started to recycle plastics in 1979. As an Quality, Environment, Safety and Health Manager he became familiar with plastic recycling. After the merger with Wavin Re-use into Arena Recycling he was named Purchasing Manager.
After the bankruptcy of Arena Recycling in 2000 Ton searched for a new owner for the site in Geleen and found CeDo willing to buy her own recycling plant. He was named Managing Director.
In 2004, Ton Emans extended his responsibilities and moved to Mönchengladbach, Germany where he was named Supply Chain Managing Director of CeDo Group.
Ton Emans holds a Master of Science in occupational health and safety from the University of Amsterdam in The Netherlands and has completed several business programs.
In 2011, Ton Emans has been named President of PRE, a non-profit organization whose members are European plastic recyclers. PRE represents National Associations and Individual companies covering 80% of the European market. PRE focuses on the promotion of plastic recycling and the creation of conditions which enable profitable and sustainable business.
Bruno Sallé de Chou
Founder and President | EUKEM S.A.S.
For several decades, Bruno Sallé de Chou has participated in the tremendous development of the plastics industry. As a chemical engineer and business executive, he has gained broad and global experience with world leaders in the plastic additives sector.
Now, with EUKEM, Bruno provides dedicated resources to its clients-partners. This means new customer acquisition, innovative product launches and commercial agility. He contributes to the plastics circularity efforts by providing sustainable additives and solutions to the players, compounders and formulators of the fantastic bio and recycled polymer materials.
Thomas Schmutz
Leader Technology, Regulatory Affairs & Sustainability | SONGWON Management AG
Thomas started his career at Dow Europe as TS&D polyolefins. Later-on he spent 15 years at Ciba Switzerland in the field of additives for polymers where he gained both, technology, and business knowledge in optimizing, developing, producing and selling additives. He was active in front of customers in the most competitive markets in Asia Pacific during his three and a half years international assignment in Singapore.
His professional career was enriched by experience in the field of innovation for the spandex / elastane fibers at INVISTA. After that he was responsible for Business & Technology Development for additives at Chemtura.
In 2013 he joined SONGWON and has now the position as Leader Global Technology, Regulatory Affairs & Sustainability.
Dr. Christian Schütz
Project Coordinator Plastics | Fraunhofer LBF
Christian studied chemistry at the Johannes Gutenberg-University in Mainz, where he also received his PhD in 2012, specialising in endoradiotherapy, nuclear and analytical chemistry. After his Post-Doctoral studies at the University of Birmingham, School of Cancer Sciences, he assumed positions as Head of Laboratory for UFAG Laboratorien AG in Sursee, Switzerland, and A&M Stabtest in Mainz, Germany. After that, returning to R&D, he worked as scientist in beverage technology at Hochschule Geisenheim University before joining Fraunhofer LBF in 2019.
At LBF he now works as Business Developer to ensure the transfer of R&D into industrial application, establishing and maintaining relations to industry partners and he manages cross-disciplinary R&D projects in the Division Plastics. Also, he is the relation for Fraunhofer's own Start-Up Incubator AHEAD and supports business development in Fraunhofers Cluster of Excellence Circular Plastics Economy.
Jochen Moesslein
Founder and CEO | Polysecure GmbH
Jochen Moesslein has studied and researched Physics and Economics at Stanford University and the Universities of Stuttgart, Konstanz and Kiel with master degrees in both subjects.
Throughout his life, Jochen has founded, managed and invested in several companies, among them a producer and installer of solar collectors, a manufacturer of biomass fuels, an eCommerce software developer and an innovative medical device company. The most relevant transactions were the IPO of a BioTech company (BioTissue AG), the trade sale of a dental implant manufacturer (Camlog AG to Henry Schein) and the trade sale of an innovative medical device company.
Together with other investors, Jochen founded Polysecure in 2009. His vision is again to use strong innovation in order to solve certain challenges towards a more sustainable and circular economy.
Dr. Kenny Saul
Managing Director, Product Owner – Vipra® (Virtual Assistance Systems) | SHS plus GmbH
Dr. Kenny Saul is Managing Director of SHS plus GmbH, a company that focuses on increasing efficiency, productivity and product quality in plastics processing and offers a wide range of solutions in the field of Industry 4.0 / digitalization and virtual assistance systems.
In addition to his position as Managing Director of SHS, Kenny Saul is a private lecturer at various universities and technical colleges in various subject areas. Dr. Kenny Saul also leads seminars and training courses at various institutes and trains management system officers and internal auditors.
After studying mechanical engineering, he began his career as a research assistant at the University of Duisburg-Essen. He then became group leader and later senior engineer at a research institute for plastics processing. In 2009 he founded the company SHS plus GmbH together with two partners and since then he is working there as managing director.
Alexander Scherer
Public Relations- and Project Manager | Symate GmbH
Alexander Scherer studied political science in Münster and has been working for Symate GmbH in Münster as a public relations and project manager since 2023. He works closely with the specialist departments to publish articles in trade journals on behalf of the company and promotes contact with partners in research and development.
Ana Rodríguez Sánchez
Research Engineer | Robert Bosch GmbH
Ana Rodríguez Sánchez studied mechanical engineering at the University of Stuttgart and holds a PhD in the field of polymer engineering. Since 2007 she works as research engineer at the Corporate Research of the Robert Bosch Company and since 2022 as senior expert in the group “Component Design, Reliability and Validation Polymers”. This research group focuses on developing simulation methods and tools for the virtual engineering of plastic components.
Timothy Glaz
Head of Corporate Affairs | Werner & Mertz GmbH
As a spokesperson for the Recyclate Initiative, he calls for the implementation of a value-adding circular economy for plastic packaging.
Marco Musto
Senior Research Scientist | Citrine Informatics
Dr. Marco Musto is a Senior Research Scientist at Citrine Informatics, where he focuses on publicly funded Material Informatics and digitalisation projects.
Before joining Citrine in 2022, Marco held a variety of industrial R&D roles spanning analytical modeling, numerical simulation and machine learning at Dunlop, Ansys, Osram, Element Materials Technology among others. His industrial research covered optimization of adhesive interfaces and characterization of long-term degradation in polymeric materials.
Dr. Musto earned his B.S in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Pisa in 2006, and his Ph.D. in Computational Mechanics at Brunel University, West London in 2013, where he focused on the application of fractional calculus to fracture mechanics.
Dr. Elke Metzsch-Zilligen
Director Plastics Division | Fraunhofer Institute for Structural Durability and System Reliability LBF
Dr. Metzsch-Zilligen studied chemistry at the University of Cologne and received her PhD in physical chemistry in 2006. After working in the food industry for several years, she joined the German Plastics Institute (DKI) in 2011, which was integrated into Fraunhofer LBF in 2012. There she headed the “Additivation and Durability” department until April 1, 2024, when she subsequently took over as director of the plastics division at Fraunhofer LBF.
Her research focuses on the synthesis of new additives and the selection and evaluation of optimized additives/additive systems for thermoplastics depending on the application. She has also been working on the sustainability of plastics for many years. This includes significantly improving the quality of recyclates through adapted post-stabilization to improve the mechanical, sensory and optical properties in order to increase the amount of recyclates used or to enable the substitution of virgin material by recyclates in the first place.
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