Issue 04/2023

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20 bioplastics MAGAZINE [<strong>04</strong>/23] Vol. 18 Cover Story A centenary of sustainable Unveiling the issue 100 Better-More, 100 sounds like a rather issues – a number that needs to be talked about. In a time of Faster- small number. If we talked about 100 years, surely everyone would have a feel for how impressive and big this number is, but 100 issues? Many publications come every month or even every week. In this period, 100 issues are not that far away. Since we have a rhythm of six issues a year (with two and four issues in the early years), it takes some time, to add up all those sixes and make them a combined one hundred. To be precise, it took us more than 17 years to achieve this triple-digit milestone. Let me take you on a little journey back in time to the origins of bioplastics MAGAZINE. Or, perhaps, even to the time before that. The year is 2005, and our CEO Michael Thielen was still a startup-PR-consultant with a strong background in plastics and blow moulding technology. He was asked by IBAW (today European Bioplastics) chairman Harald Kaeb to act as a PR consultant for the Innovationparc – bioplastics in packaging at Interpack 2005 in Düsseldorf. And, like so many others, Michael was intrigued. After Interpack the topic piqued his interest, so he asked Harald “What’s the name of your industry’s trade journal? I want a subscription!” But guess what… there wasn’t one. What a bummer – or was it? The subject ignited Michael’s passion. According to legend, it took only a couple of conversations with various people (whose creativity and imagination were fuelled by a drink or two) and the small crazy idea developed and grew, becoming less and less crazy. As you probably know, the bioplastics industry is full of passionate and (hopelessly?) optimistic people – trailblazers and inventors that foolhardily try to bring change to the world. So it didn’t take long to find the right experts, combined with professional approaches, and the little crazy idea matured into a full-blown epiphany, backed by a proper business plan. As a result, Michael founded the bioplastics MAGAZINE in 2006 together with Sam Brangenberg, who became a close friend of the family over the years. Starting with two and four issues in the first two years, the third year marked the beginning of our sixissue cycle. Sure, if you want to do it right and economically sound, you need support. Of course, you can’t do it all on your own, there are too many tasks to be fulfilled. While Michael was to a large part a “oneman-show”, he was supported by the minor shareholders Sam Brangenberg (sales) and Mark Speckenbach (layout and design). And they also found enough people “crazy enough” to invest in advertisement in a print medium when many a soul was saying “magazines and books will die out soon”. Against all odds, and perhaps exactly because the bioplastics industry is full of dreamers and visionaries, bioplastics MAGAZINE was able to establish itself on the market as THE source of all information on the subject of bioplastics. What happened across 100 issues of content over 17 years can be seen on pp 34. This article, however, is about our cover – a celebration of this milestone. If you’re a loyal reader you will be familiar with the approximate conception of the cover: usually a woman with some kind of product that connects to one of the topics in the magazine. Occasionally, it was a man or a child (usually connected to toys) or even a puppet or a doll. All embedded in our bio-green framework. Finally, our logo and the highlights of the issues are on top so that it is clear what this publication is all about.
ioplastics MAGAZINE [<strong>04</strong>/23] Vol. 18 21 innovations: of bioplastics MAGAZINE Since we are of course incredibly proud of this anniversary issue, we also wanted to show this succinctly on the cover. The concept naturally comes first and dictates the basic framework of the look. In the past, we have decorated milestones and anniversaries with silver applications. We wanted to stick to that concept and increase the significance – so we’re going for gold baby. In addition, we replaced the organic green frame in this issue with a dark background in order to visually distinguish it from the 99 issues that came before, and to emphasize even more that this anniversary is exceptional. If this is too blatant for you at this point, all I can say is, “Sorry – not sorry”. A design like this stays with the big anniversaries, and they don’t come along every day. By Philipp Thielen Head of Design & Digital Operator bioplastics MAGAZINE Let’s talk about “the cover girls”. While it is unusual for a trade magazine to have people on the cover at all, it was initially something that kind of just happened – and if things happen twice in a row, it’s a rule (German proverb – probably). And let’s be honest, 2006 was a different time, the argument “sex sells” was less controversial – even if we did not pick the “cover girls” for their sex appeal. Yet, holding on to that tradition did not come without criticism. In the last three years, a lot of changes have taken place, both in terms of content and structure. When it came to the cover, we tried to incorporate the criticism while holding on to the tradition of a “cover person”. The “cover-girl concept” remained, however, we gradually moved away from images that fit the topic, towards showcasing women of the industry. The plastics industry is still a male-dominated one, although times are changing – and so are we. It was therefore crystal clear to us that the cover of the 100 th issue would also be different. If you look at the cover, you already know what I’m getting at, but let me tell you more about it. Three years ago, Alex started as an editorial assistant for the daily-news. Thanks to his background with his Master’s in Creative Writing, this was easy work which gradually expanded to editing articles and, every once in a while, writing one himself. In terms of content, Alex had always had contact with the magazine and the topic of bioplastics, as he supported the magazine at trade fairs and conferences for years, and of course, knew the magazine. Until today, this perfectly fitting combination of technical knowhow and interest, probably even passion for the content has developed to such an extent that Alex has now become the absolutely legitimate Editor-in- Chief. Of course, you also know him from the editorial. Alex is also responsible for the ”new” topics Advanced Recycling and Carbon Capture and Utilisation – CCU and has already built up certain expertise there. If you are keen to know more about it, Alex talked about it in a recent podcast (see link at the end). Like Alex, I also have had contact with the industry and the topic of bioplastics since I was a teenager, helping out at a number of trade fairs and conferences. In a way, we both grew up with the topic of bioplastics. After eleven years as a commercial photographer in the publishing industry, I joined the bioplastics MAGAZINE team in 2022 and have since been responsible for the design and layout, as well as the digital operation at our conferences. In summary, the one-man-show Michael has become the family team of bioplastics MAGAZINE over the past years. So what would be more fitting than to feature this team on the cover on this special occasion?
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Page 53 and 54: New bioplastic jar Lumene (Espoo, F
Page 67 and 68: In 1992 Biotec was founded in a gar

Issue 04/2023

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