Feasibility study for an Estonian Materials Technology Programme

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41 Feasibility study for an Estonian Materials Technology Programme 2. Materials technology in Estonia Currently, collaboration between companies and universities is not common for the plastics industry. The main challenge for developing co-operation is the fact that universities and companies are focusing on very different actions. University researchers focus very much on fundamental research and materials characteristics whereas the plastics industry would primarily need educated workforce that is able to use and install machinery. People educated at the universities do not have the practical skills required by the industry and they need a lot of preparation before being able to successfully work in the industry. Thus the primary need in the plastics industry is to find a common language between universities and industry before any large scale technology transfer can be carried out in Estonia. Global perspective and trends The plastics industry has high significance to the European economy as more than 1.6 million people work in over 50,000 companies that generate in total 300 billion Euros of revenue annually. Largest consumers of plastics in Europe by materials volume include packaging industry (40.1% of the 45Mt consumption), construction industry (20.4%), automotive industry (7.0%) and electrical and electronic equipment manufacturers (5.6%). Similarly to Estonia, the plastics industry suffered globally from the recession but several important trends in innovation mean that especially high value added plastics products will enjoy market growth in the future. The most important industry trends can be found in transportation, construction, electrical equipment, packaging and healthcare. Plastics have huge potential in the transportation sector, where the key for future development is the reduction of weight of the vehicles. According to the European Plastics Converters, 9.3% of the materials used in cars, by weight, are currently plastic and up to 75% are still different metals 37 . However, plastics already compose more than 50% of the volume of the car. This means that by introducing components based on novel plastics or polymer composites, significant improvements in the fuel economy of cars and airplanes can be achieved. For the transportation industry, plastics also enable manufacturing of novel molded structures that are not possible to achieve with metals. Another huge market for future will be the quickly emerging plastic electronics. Based on the advances in polymer technology, plastics can be the core material in technologies such as OLED (organic light emitting diode) based displays and lighting, solar photovoltaics (thin film solar cells and organic solar cells) and smart packaging solutions. The plastics electronics enables roll-to-roll mass manufacturing of electrical and electronic structures by printing conducting and semiconducting inks on a thin plastic film. The developments in printed and plastic electronics are closely linked to future packaging technologies, where they enable integration of electronics into packaging resulting in smart packaging products that can e.g. sense if the food in the package is still edible. Printed electronics also play a key role in the development of healthcare technologies, where it will enable e.g. various lab-on-a-chip applications used for constant monitoring of patient health without the need for surgical operations. In addition to technological trends and development, life cycle management issues are considered of key importance in the plastics sector. This is due to the fact that most plastics are produced from non-renewable raw materials and the properties of the material mean that most of the synthetic plastics currently disposed could be utilised in production of new plastic products or at least in energy use. Another aspect worth mentioning is the continuously increasing use of natural renewable raw materials for plastics. Summary and conclusions In plastics industry, there is a clear mismatch between industry needs and university R&D supply Subcontracting and plastics converting vs. advanced polymer materials R&D work Relevant activities at TUT, TU, ENCC Mostly related to very advanced polymer materials, electroactive polymers and electrically conductive polymers, that are not in the interest of bulk industry 37 http://www.plasticsconverters.eu/markets/automotive
42 Feasibility study for an Estonian Materials Technology Programme 2. Materials technology in Estonia Recommendations for the plastics industry There is a clear need for higher added value products in the Estonian plastic industry This calls for more collaboration between/within companies and universities Current subcontracting business models are making collaboration difficult Plastics are extremely important materials for the future Polymer composites for transportation, construction and machinery Plastic and printed electronics (lighting, packaging, solar cells, ...) Packaging Interesting companies Estiko Plastar, Nordbiochem And more concrete comments: Plastics industry would need an independent development centre. Universities are very much on the chemical side: how to bridge the gap with industry? Give some teaching about practical work and internships The technology investments programme (EAS) was popular among plastic industry. The industry believes it should be restarted. Case: Estiko Plastar Background The company was orginally established already in 1917, being a comb factory at the time. In 1991 the enterprise was registered as a public limited company – Estiko Plastar AS. From that time the enterprise has been operating as one of the leading manufacturers of packaging materials in the Baltic region, also competing successfully in the local markets in Scandinavia, Russia, Ireland and other export markets. The company currently employs around150 people. Thanks to the modern flexographic printing presses, Estiko Plastar offers high quality solutions printed in up to eight colours for the packages of many food products. Clients include e.g. Milk industries: Packages for milk, yoghurt, sour cream, mayonnaise, ice-cream, and cheese Meat and fish industries: Packages for meat, sausage, dumplings, fish and shrimp Confectioneries: Packages for candy, biscuits, chocolate and bread. Their competive advantage compared to baltic competitors is better technology with its newly upgraded production, and compared to nordic competitors is better price. Vision: To be the first choice as a producer of packages and packaging materials in the target market. R&D From EstikoPlastar point of view basic R&D means product engineering, i.e. tailoring the products with properties according to customer needs. Exceptional on Estonian scale, the owners have put effort into renewal of the company through long term development by hiring an R&D project manager, Dr Lange, who is an expert in the field of material science. Projects involve EU-projects, contract research from Estonian universities and typically have a time-scale of 2-5 years. Dr Lange does also technology scouting by e.g. attending international conferences in the area he is also responsible for all R&D related contacts and networks in the company. The aim is to increase the use of plastics through e.g. including electronics, and be aware of the newest trends to be able to change production rapidly to answer the demand of the markets. University-Company collaboration Estiko Plastar is a partner in the Estonian Nanotechnology Competence Centre, where they are working together with Tartu University on developing plastic film properties, with the main objective to reinforce the plastics with a minor doping of carbon nanomaterials. Collaboration with Tartu University, Physics department is twofold as they do some properties measurements with Estiko Plastar’s machines. Estiko Plastar has also done some contract research with Tallinn University of Technology, Department of Polymer Materials.
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Page 3 and 4: Authors: Commissioned by Technology
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Feasibility study for an Estonian Materials Technology Programme

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