Dr. Frank Birkelbach, Sales Director International at RAMPF Giessharze, a company belonging to the RAMPF Group, will be presenting solutions using bio-based polyols for automobile applications at the 13th BAIKA Annual Congress “Zulieferer Innovativ” (= “The Innovative Supplier”). The RAMPF Group wishes to become more active as part of the BAIKA network and present its solutions and applications to potential cooperation partners. The meeting point for motorists in the automobile industry, which has existed for the last 10 years, will now take place on 6th July, 2011 with an accompanying exhibition in the Audi Forum in Ingolstadt.

In his presentation, Dr. Frank Birkelbach will be providing an overview of current market developments regarding sustainable materials, e.g. their use in interiors, for tires, natural fiber-based plastics and for PU- or integral foams. Apart from this, a classification of po-lyurethanes in the plastics industry and the manufacture of bio-based polyols will be part of his presentation. Using two case studies, the charging plug for electrically driven cars and the cable protection sleeve, Dr. Birkelbach will also be demonstrating bio-based polyurethane applications from RAMPF. “The challenge for bio-based polyols as a substitute for conventional raw materials lies, on the one hand, in the high-level of technical needs and, on the other hand, in the visualization for the consumer”, Birkelbach emphasizes in his outlook. “It will be decisive for the future of biopolymers how the end-user reacts to this subject”. For this reason, the cross-linking and innovative automobile industry will be an important starting point for opening up new markets and developing new, “green” target groups. The company RAMPF offers raw materials which are tailor-made to meet the needs of the customer with regard to application technology and technical support. Many years of know-how and chemical expertise are used at RAMPF to provide the customer with tailor-made and customer-specific systems.

RAMPF Giessharze and RAMPF Ecosystems, the research nuclei of the small and medium-sized plastic specialists in the field of renewable raw materials, will be offering sustainable solutions for lighter, more cost-effective and CO2-conserving cars with plastics made of biogenic feedstock. Long-term availability, CO2-neutrality and improved product properties make bio-based plastics true competitors to conventional materials. Vegetable oil-based polyols exhibit pronounced hydrophobic character and are therefore willingly used in hydrolytically stabile polyurethanes. “RAMPF is well-positioned in this niche of the technical polyurethanes”, explained Dr. Frank Birkelbach. RAMPF has been carrying out research into polyols based on natural oils since the 1990’s. RAMPF bio-based polyols are used in model making panels, sealing, moulding and rigid foam applications, as well as in electro- and structural casting resins. Applications include steering wheels, arm rests and door modules, or even light-construction parts, which are used as rear open placement areas and in vehicle interiors. RAMPF is now leading the way in research areas of the chemical industry, biotechnology and materials sciences and technology. An efficient casting compound has recently become available, which is used as a protective sheath in the cable protection sleeves of trucks. The rigid foam product uses rapeseed oil to produce the best possible mechanical strength and excellent vibration, acoustic and thermal insulation. Furthermore, the experts have developed an electro-casting resin made of bio-based polyols, which, for example, is used in the electrical charging plug of electro-vehicles. The material is not only capable of equalizing extremes of temperature, but also protects against overheating, knocks and chemicals.