Patricia Lamouche, Hager Group
Flame retardants are essential for Hager to ensure fire safety and to respect applicable product standards. Access to full chemical data on all molecules in plastics compositions is a priority to support Hager’s sustainability roadmap and to ensure respect of end-user obligations under chemicals regulations. This includes, in particular, avoidance of substances included or to be included in RoHS Directive (Restriction of hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment), SVHC (Substance of Very High Concern) or POP substances (Persistent Organic Pollutants). This could become problematic if the proposed Green Deal revision of REACH adds further requirements for substances such as flame retardants because suppliers often do not supply full information to end-users. In order to support the eco-design approach, Hager performs Life Cycle Assessment for its end-products, however the lack of information on flame retardants in environmental databases remains a challenge. Hager is looking for sustainable FR solutions with thermal stability in processing, enabling improved product mechanical stability. Hager is already using some recycled plastics (e.g. from end-of-life fridges) and is looking to use more secondary materials, if recyclers can develop supply while meeting reliable fire resistance performance. Hager is open to further cooperate with FR suppliers and compounders on environment and LCA, ageing and recycling.
Hager manufactures electrical distribution, installation, wiring, connection and safety systems for residential and commercial buildings. Hager is an independent family company since 1955, with today 12 100 employees and 22 production sites worldwide. https://hagergroup.com/
Christoph Karpe, Wulfmeyer Aircraft Interior
Requirements for fire performance and low smoke in aviation mean using PIN flame retardants with constant R&D to meet tightening requirements. Despite the same fire safety and low smoke objectives in other sectors (automotive, building), performance PIN FR solutions developed for aviation are often not used for reasons of cost. POSS (see Bioenvision presentation) can be an effective synergist, enabling achievement of fire and smoke requirements with lower PIN FR levels, so better materials performance. Challenges for aviation material suppliers are demanding technical requirements (for example bonding foams to aluminium), increasingly tight fire safety specifications, and difficulties to well mix FRs into polymers (poor compatibility). Combinations of materials are needed to achieve performance requirements, but complex testing of these can limit innovation.
Rudolf Wulfmeyer Aircraft Interior GmbH&Co.KG is a supplier and partner of the international aviation industry since over 60 years, initially supply aircraft seats covers, and today supplying specialised materials including non-textile flooring, thermal acustic insulation foams (body panels, wastewater systems, …), non-textile floor coverings, adhesive tapes, hook & loop fasteners. www.wulfmeyer.com