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Editorial
A hot autumn to follow a hot summer
Let's start with the classic "about us", and combine it with a few controversial thoughts:
The new name was noticed by industry insiders and some readers in our last edition. For a few weeks now, we - Birgit Harreither and Thomas Schwachulla - have been working together as a team.
The "New Guy" has been a technical journalist in the plastics technology field, mainly injection moulding, for many years. This doesn't mean that I don't know anything about other technologies or that they're of no interest. Just understanding polyurethane - as a main subject - has been difficult at times. But this is mainly limited to the introduction of new machinery and equipment and - much to my regret - rarely any specific applications. Because, from my experience, this industry enjoys being cagey about what they do, which is a mystery to me.
Although everyone enthuses about the diverse application possibilities for polyurethanes and despite my previous knowledge, I was still stunned by the variety of places you could find this "stuff" during my research into the article "PU in renewable energies".
On the other hand - I hope that chemists will forgive an engineer for this - in my opinion, there is much, too much talk about chemistry. This isn't the optimal way to impress the advantages of the material on its' potential users and processors.
No harm meant, I know these sentences will cause some stomachaches, but that's the intention. At the end of the day we want to make a difference. There are many changes currently taking place, as we will see at the forthcoming fairs. For example, new processing combinations will be introduced which lead to new applications.
Now that the Summer break, with its unusually hot days, is almost over, a turbulent time of conferences and exhibitions begins. It looks like this autumn will be hot in its way. The No. 1 event for plastics - the "K 2010" - will be "Queen Bee". From 27th October till 3rd November 2010 it will be "K-Time" and it seems, that this exhibition will be exhausting for everybody, exhibitors, and visitors alike.
Expectations are high and, at the same time, excitement is growing. I almost get the impression that a whole industry and its customers are "chomping at the bit". So you'd better make sure you pack enough spray for cooling your feet ...
In preparations for the show, our website www.fapu.de, is worth a visit. Starting middle of September, we will include all PU-relevant press releases. For further information about K you should visit www.k-online.de, here you can also find general information and advice. With this in mind, I wish you success in Düsseldorf!
Thomas Schwachulla
PS: In the future you can contact us directly at birgit.harreither@fapu.de or
thomas.schwachulla@fapu.de. Irrespective of this, our general email address remains unchanged: info@fapu.de.
PPS: Some expressions in our technical article on „PU in renewable energy" might not be translated 100% correctly - we would appreciate your help with the true meaning of these phrases ...
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