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News Release from: Faraday Plastics
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 30 September 2005
Faraday Plastics urges industry
partnership
Richard Simpson, director of Faraday Plastics, has called for a revitalisation of the UK academe/industrial relations in polymer science and technology.
Speaking after the second UK Polymer Showcase, September 6-7, 2005 at the Cedar Court Hotel, Wakefield, Yorkshire, UK, Simpson said that: "This very successful conference has shown that the UK has a wealth of research talent in the fields of plastics and rubber science and in developing new materials and applications for new materials" " Professor Tony Ryan's presentation, for example, on polymer tissue scaffolding for medical applications has shown how science can be presented so as to be easily digestible by industry and researchers alike"
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 3 Oct 2003 at 8.00am (UK)
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"What we still lack, at present, are enough effective mechanisms to get these discoveries applied and made workable in the commercial world." Simpson adds that: "Many academics, full of resources, patents and ideas do not know what industry wants - and this is not necessarily their fault".
"At Faraday Plastics we intend to ensure that a good part of our future - within the DTI's planned structures for knowledge transfer - will ensure more opportunity and more matching of industry need to academic input." The highest profile speakers from the UK and international polymer research community made compelling presentations at the Polymer Showcase including: Dame Julia Higgins, Professor Tom McLeish, Professor Andrew Cooper, Dr Alan Smith, Dr Nigel Clarke and many others.
The UK Polymer Showcase once again set out to highlight the latest advances in polymer science, soft nanotechnology, macromolecular materials and new technologies on the plastics and rubber horizons.
Further reading
UK plastics-related research review published
Faraday Plastics has published the first full-scale review of plastics-related research in the UK funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Council.
Technology Road Mapping skills help plan future
Faraday Plastics has started rolling out Technology Road Mapping (TRM) techniques and services for use by individual companies in the plastics and rubber sectors.
Uk plastics innovation supported
Faraday Plastics reports recent strong successes in getting plastics and rubber product innovation off the ground in the West Midlands area of the UK.
It was jointly organised by the long standing Polymer Interdisciplinary Research Centre (IRC), its Industrial Club and partners Faraday Plastics, Faraday Packaging and Yorkshire Forward.
Faraday Plastics will be exhibiting at the forthcoming Interplas 05 (October 4-6 at the NEC, Birmingham, UK) in order to promote the research and development agenda for companies; providing much needed tools, information and resources for visitors to the show.
Simpson says, "Our recent research has shown us that the overall level of R and D in UK plastics overall - less than 0.5% of its total turnover - is sadly lagging behind any measure you might care to mention, not least the figure of 1.9% shown by UK industry as whole." Simpson says that: "We know that many plastics-based companies want to improve their R and D position but are currently struggling to fund and create the activity that will help take their businesses forward in this area".
"Faraday Plastics will be at Interplas 05 to help these companies in just this task; providing analysis, contacts, ideas and funding routes that will hopefully keep the spirit of innovation alive." A key recent success for Faraday Plastics has been the Technology Road Map (TRM) tool, which can be applied to the future of individual companies or to sectors as a whole (such as nano-composites or engineering plastics) or to issues within the sector such as energy consumption or machine utilization and cost.
Simpson urges all in plastics to visit the exhibition and to check out their R and D plans, modus operandi and needs in strictest confidence with the Faraday experts on the Faraday Plastics stand".
""Every part of the plastics industry, like it or not, cannot stand still - has to innovate".
"But most undertake this work alone and without calling on resources such as ourselves".
"There may be connections, funding, ideas and resources that we can identify that might make all the difference to the life of an R and D project.".
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