EUROPUR's 2024 Annual Conference in Istanbul showcased critical discussions on Europe's industrial future and sustainable innovation in the polyurethane industry, drawing over 530 participants and highlighting significant market insights and technical advancements.
The 2024 edition of the Annual Conference of EUROPUR and EURO-MOULDERS – respectively the association of flexible PU foam blocks manufacturers and the association of polyurethane parts producers for the automotive industry – took place in Istanbul on 12 and 13 June. Around 530 participants attended the event, with another ~60 joining online. Together, they represented more than 160 companies, including 60+ foam producers from all over Europe and beyond.
Day 1: Keynote Speeches, Market Insights & Industry Trends
As it is customary, the first day of the conference was dedicated to ‘general’ topics, such as market sentiments and industry trends, discussions about upcoming EU legislation, as well as keynote speeches and a sponsor presentation. Following EUROPUR’s General Assembly, the association’s President, Bart ten Brink, addressed the attendees and opened the conference. During his opening speech, Bart emphasized that:
“Our continent cannot only be a continent of innovations that are brought to industrial scale elsewhere. We must remain a continent of industrial production and that requires our political leaders to finally take this issue at heart. They must create the conditions under which our industry can flourish and does not have to fight on the world stage with one hand tied behind its back.”
The conference then kicked off with an insightful keynote presentation ‘Geopolitics, Competitiveness, Climate Change – Can Europe Face it All?’ by Georg Riekeles, Associate Director of the European Policy Center. Georg painted a sobering picture of global geopolitics and their consequences on trade, as well as on what this means for Europe, giving practical examples for the flexible PU foam industry. His conclusions underlined the key message given by EUROPUR’s President in his opening speech.
This was followed by an interactive panel discussion entitled ‘European Flexible PU Foam Markets, Upstream & Downstream – With Focus on Türkiye’. Experts from the companies Chemical Market Analytics (Tobias Spyra), CSIL (Giulia Taveggia) and Turkish Automotive Industry Association, OSD (Irem Bacdar) provided insights on chemical raw materials, as well as on the main downstream markets for flexible polyurethane foam (namely upholstered furniture, bedding and automotive), whilst having a particular focus on the host country, Türkiye.
The panelists reflected on various topics, notably on the global trade relations of mattresses with the EU, setting the foundation for the next panel discussion.
Transitioning to automotive topics, another panel discussion was held on ‘The Draft End-of-Life Vehicles Regulation – What Changes for the Automotive Supply Chain?’, with delegates from a good part of the automotive supply chain.
Moderated by Michel Baumgartner (EUROPUR/EURO-MOULDERS), panelists discussed the possible impact the proposed ELV Regulation will have on polyurethanes and plastics in vehicles. The panel consisted of representatives of EURO-MOULDERS (Theodoros Mardas), Adient (Sebastien Gentil), Plastics Europe (John Mortell), EURIC – The voice of Europe’s recycling industries (Alejandro Navazas) and Ford Otosan (Ayşemin Top Gül).
In the second keynote speech of the day, Wim Vermeulen, Director of Strategy and Sustainability at Bubka, a Belgium-based advertising agency, gave a science-based presentation on the importance of authenticity in sustainability marketing. Wim’s message is straightforward: your [the company’s] voice matters – but only if it is credible. To close the day, Dr. Claudine Mollenkopf, President of the Specialty Additives division at Evonik, delivered a speech on ‘Evonik Goes Beyond: Our Quest to Drive Sustainable Innovation for the Polyurethane Industry’.
Day 2: New Solutions & Technical Innovations
The second day, traditionally dedicated to ‘technical’ topics, saw 33 presentations in total: 11 on topics of sustainability, 6 on automotive and product stewardship & novel raw materials, and 5 on machinery & digitalization and health & safety.
EUROPUR’s Secretary General, Michel Baumgartner, closed proceedings, thanking everybody involved in the organization and announcing that the next Annual Conference will take place in Alicante (Spain) on 3-5 June 2025.
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