During the last two or three decades, the use of polymer in industry has generalized, in most industrial sectors. These polymers are often used as full systems thanks to their easy implementation and their light weight. They are increasingly combined with other materials to provide hybrid systems alloying each component’s advantage. Good knowledge of these materials is necesary for the advanced technologies’ development. This aspect is not easy to master for the firms which use advanced technologies, since they must often cope with immediate profitability requirements. Besides, they are not necesseraly structured to carry this research work through a successful conclusion. The program Interreg III, called “Polymer” comes from this observation. Under the leadership of CERTECH ( a Wallon company); this program brings together CREPIM, andCRITTM 2A on the French side, and VKC on the Flemish side.

This programme brings together several partners from a variety of sectors, associating crossborder research and development centers in order to set up and develop a permanent back up network for companies involved in polymer materials and composites. The network will allow a full following of each project from the design stage to the manufacturing stage.

Special care will be taken, by the partners, of the product life cycle. At the moment, too many products become un-recyclable waste when they reach the end of their usefull life.With sustainable development in mind, research will be lead to create recyclable products.

The network will set up a technological surveillance by collecting all information useful in its expertise field and feed it back to industry especially thanks to a newsletter. Thematic seminars, taking place in turn in France, Wallonia and Flanders, will allow the industrialists from crossborder territories to meet and discuss common issues; and exchange ideas together and also with experts.

The “Polymer” project will also provide industrialists with some development programme and primer services before mass production can be considered. These services will be paid for, it is considered as a proof that the network will follow on at the end of the programme Interreg III. They also thought out these services as a way open for bigger projects that could extend all over the European Union.

To promote the network, it is planned to gather all the information available from each partner, in a common database, which would be updated as the time goes on. The publishing of a presentation leaflet and the creation of a crossborder Internet portal is also planned.

Bénédicte Goffin, in charge of CERTECH’s project, is really pleased to see “the technical complementarity of the 4 partners”.

 

Technological sustain network for companies in the scope of polymer materials and hybrids directed toward an improvement of life cycle.