DOUBLE HONOR FOR THE SAERTEX® GROUP AT THE AVK INOVATION AWARD 2020 

Saerbeck, 12. November 2020 – This year, the AVK (Industrial Association for Reinforced Plastics) presented two innovation awards to the SAERTEX Group. Both SAERTEX and SAERTEX multiCom were honored for their innovations in the respective categories. For the first time, the award ceremony was held as an online event this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The globally operating non-crimp fabric manufacturer SAERTEX and its partner Hyconnect GmbH jointly received an award for fireproof composite metal hybrid structures in the category "Products and Applications." The winning combination is a SAERTEX LEO® fire protection sandwich with integrated Hyconnect steel-glass hybrid connector. The 3D reinforced SAERfoam composite sandwich structure has structural properties and fire protection layers that are integrated into the component. In addition, a hybrid glass-metal structure is integrated into the process by means of vacuum infusion which enables welding with classic metal components. This produces an innovative fireproof connection. Unlike classic metal composites, the weight of the product can be reduced by up to 55 percent. Possible fields of application for the product are, for example, shipbuilding, the railway vehicle sector or the automotive industry. This project was awarded third place.

The subsidiary SAERTEX multiCom was awarded first place in the category "Research and Science" for its cooperation with Dr. Moritz Stuck in the context of his doctoral thesis. Dr. Stuck worked closely with the research and development department of SAERTEX multiCom as part of his doctoral thesis on "District heating liners: Possibilities and limits of district heating pipeline rehabilitation using pipe liners that harden on site." For the rehabilitation or repair of district heating pipelines, technologies already in successful use must be qualified for significantly higher thermal-mechanical stresses. With the new high-temperature UP resins and a toughening agent, a glass transition temperature (Tg) of nearly 250°C is possible. So far, the highest measured HDT value (heat deflection temperature) was 180°C. Tests at SAERTEX multiCom showed that the photochemical and thermal reactivity is significantly higher than that of comparable high-temperature resistant vinyl esters and urethanes. The toughening agent was developed on the basis of styrene-maleic anhydride copolymers and increases toughness at temperatures between 100 and 160°C. At the same time the reactivity is increased and the surface quality of the laminate is improved.

"We know that exciting and innovative projects are submitted every year for the AVK Innovation Award. We are therefore very pleased that our innovative achievements have been recognized and would like to thank our project partners for their cooperation," says Christoph Geyer, CEO at SAERTEX.