Finnish Plastics Industries Federation (FIPIF) in EuCia - presentation of the Composites Group

Pirjo Pietikäinen leads the Finnish Plastics Industries Federation (FIPIF)’s Composites Group. In this interview she discusses the group’s activities and achievements and considers future trends in composites sustainability.

What is FIPIF?

Finnish Plastics Industries Federation (FIPIF) is an organisation for plastic product manufacturers in Finland. It brings plastics companies together and acts as their voice towards legislators and other organisations. FIPIF provides a platform for cooperation for plastics companies.

The Composites Group is one of FIPIF’s sector groups and has 28 member companies today. The members are companies manufacturing composite products, companies manufacturing resins, companies manufacturing fibre products and companies distributing composite raw materials or machinery. This means that there is a good coverage throughout the whole composite sector. The board of the Composites Group consists of 10 company representatives and one person from FIPIF as a secretary.

What is the Composites Groups strategy?

The Composites Group acts as a cooperation body for the plastic composites industry. It monitors the development of technology and influences the standardisation in the industry, also at international level. It also promotes the development and implementation of training in the industry, implements joint projects to map the market, and works to develop the general operating conditions of the industry.

The main composites activity in Finland is the yearly Composites Seminar. The seminar gathers the composites field around topical themes to learn and discuss, as well as to together think forward and to promote the common goals of the FIPIF composites branch.

What are your key initiatives related to sustainability?

Everyday work and developing processes and selecting raw materials belong to enhancing sustainability. Today, the FIPIF composites branch is especially proud of the nationwide recycling logistics system that has been established – the KiMuRa Route.

The KiMuRa Route makes it possible for the composites industry to recycle its production waste. The company producing composite products sorts its waste and takes the composites fraction to specified collections areas. The recycling company takes care of the shredding and crushing of the waste, providing the cement industry with material suitable for the processes of making cement clinker. In addition to production waste, KiMuRa has been applied in recycling some wind turbine blades, smaller boats and process vessels and piping. The route is ready to enable the recycling of a much a larger amount of wind blades that will reach their end of life in Finland in the 2030s.

The Composites Group is in close connection with the Ministry of Environment whenever regulations concerning composite materials are created and processed.

How does being a member of EuCIA assist you in your work?

International contacts are important for the small countries like Finland. It is important to be able to closely follow the international discussion and be able to have a voice to contribute. Working in EuCIA and in the EuCIA Board of Directors gives us the valuable possibility to network and connect the Finnish composites industry with European actors.

Where do you see your association in 10 years from now?

In 10 years, we will be as active as we are now. In the future we will appeal to more boat makers to join the Composites Group. Another aspect will be a strong Nordic cooperation that has been initiated this year. In coming years, we will organise a Finnish Pavilion at JEC World each year.

From the technical point of view, we could see developments like:

• Sustainability will be less pronounced as such, because it will be (in 10 years) included in (design, product) requirements along with other requirements more in a standard way.
• Work for sustainability focuses more specifically on recycling methods and how to establish them, including infrastructure, collection and new uses of recycled material, with more collaboration probably needed because of increasing materials selection in composites markets overall.
• As more and more natural material choices such as linen and hemp are available on markets, certain features will be emphasised like fire protection, protection from humidity and microbes.
• Numerical design codes for balancing optimally between requirements for sustainability, durability, strength, lightweight, and automated manufacture will be sought and offered to commercial users.

Pirjo Pietikäinen is an advisor at the Finish Plastics Industries Association and a member of the EuCIA Board of Directors. In addition to running the FIPIF Composites Group she has responsibilities in standardisation. The KiMuRa Route for recycling composites waste has also kept her busy during recent years. Her heart beats warmly for education following a long career at Aalto University where she taught polymer chemistry and engineering. In her free time Pirjo is a passionate knitter and enjoys the role of a grandmom.

Link to the interview: eucia.eu/meet-our-members-finnish-plastics-industries-federation/