With a record number of projects, the INOVYN Awards 2019 gala gave top honours for PVC innovation in Sustainability, Design, Process and New Product. Before a capacity audience, the gold awards honoured innovations for pharmaceuticals, young neurological patients, more efficient PVC processing and more sustainable construction materials.
The gala also featured two talking robots named Pepper and two inspirational speakers. Conor Taylor of Team INEOS spoke of his work as coach and performance scientist in powering the team to victory in the Tour de France and other events. Dr. Carsten Sorensen of the London School of Economics gave a pep talk on managing innovation.
“We had nearly 100 projects this time, about 25% more than the last awards three years ago,” says Filipe Constant, INOVYN’s Chief Commercial Officer, who kicked off the awards ceremony with host Chris Burns. “That shows the growing drive for innovation and sustainability in the industry, and INOVYN is excited to be a part of that.”
Sustainability
In the Sustainability category, the gold award went for PVC films for packaging pharmaceuticals, developed by Pharma film producers Bilcare Research and Perlen Packaging, coordinated by the AGPU (PVC and Environment Working Group). Also involved is the recycling network VinylPlus, turning waste from the manufacturing into building profiles.
Perstorp took the Silver award in Sustainability for its Pevalen Pro non-phthalate plasticiser for PVC products, based on partly renewable raw materials. The Bronze went to Pipelife Netherlands for developing three lives for PVC piping for Dutch gas network operator Alliander. Recycled twice, it has a total lifespan of 150 years. Barcelona Tech earned the Special Commendation for its Urban Jungle hydroponics scaled for urban living.
Design
The Design category honoured the Instituto Brasileiro do PVC for its Adjusted PVC Furniture project – creating lightweight furnishings and equipment for needy children with neuromotor dysfunctions. The project turns wires, pipes, connectors, sheets and other PVC products into shower chairs, positioning chairs, walkers and adjustable tables.
Silver in Design went to TechPlas Extrusions for its Techboard planks. It’s 30% lighter, stronger and more durable than wood, thanks to hexagonal reinforcement inside. It also has an end-of-life recycling scheme. Benvic and Geplast took the bronze for their honeycomb profiles. The FoKus rolling shutter box has better thermal and acoustic insulation, and is produced with different grades of PVC – rigid and plasticised, virgin and recycled. Kristen Tapping received the Special Commendation for Tectum low-cost roofing from recycled PVC, developed from a competition sponsored by IOM3 and the British Plastics Federation.
Process
Taking the Gold award in Process, Coperion won with their Kombiplast knife rotor that minimises dust in cutting PVC pellets. It’s a two-stage process that took extensive testing in pilot plants. Kombiplast closely intermeshes a twin-screw extruder and a single-screw extruder. With the new design, the knife retains its pre-setting for the die plate, preventing formation of fine dust during cutting.
Solvay took the Silver with its Alve-One®, a new generation of chemical blowing agents for use in flooring and artificial leather for the automotive industry as well as cables, cladding, foam sheets, pipes, footwear and packaging. Deceuninck won the Bronze for its Thermofibra 2.0, a fully recyclable line of PVC window frames. Using up to 80% recycled PVC, they get extra strength and insulation from continuous glass fibres impregnated in a bath of PVC latex called Nanovin. The Special Commendation for Process went to Polymer Chemie for its fire-retardant vinyl fibres for design flooring.
New Product
Eurocell’s Coastline composite cladding system won the Gold in New Product. 100% recyclable, it’s a breakthrough in materials technology – a patented triple composite of polymer resins, inorganic minerals and acrylic colourings. There’s no mortar or rendering involved in the installation, and it’s much easier to handle than cement boards.
Winning Silver in New Product was Nicoll, with its Magnetech shower and bath drainage system. It rethinks the syphon, using three magnets to open and close a valve. Barcelona Tech took the Bronze for its e-Dock system for parking and charging electric scooters. And the Special Commendation went to Confort Banho – a shallow inflatable bathtub for bedridden patients of all ages. A group of social entrepreneurs saw the potential and launched the project, which uses 100% vinyl.
As with INOVYN Awards 2016 competition, the monthly INOVYN Newsletter will highlight and tell the stories of all the candidates for the awards, showing the vast creative and innovative energy of the vinyl industry!