Spotlight on research institute Fraunhofer IFAM
Adhesive engineer Uwe Maurieschat tells about his experience with Afera, as well as that of the notable German research organisation dedicated to manufacturing technology and advanced materials and Afera Member since 2009
Located in Bremen, the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials (IFAM) is a prestigious German research organisation involved in the qualification of adhesive tapes for new technical application, development of formulations of new pressure sensitive adhesives (PSAs), research on the topic of adhesion, adhesion problems and damage assessment of adhesive tapes, and knowledge transfer about adhesives, including tapes, and adhesion in general.
One of Fraunhofer IFAM’s adhesive engineers is Uwe Maurieschat, who has worked actively on Afera’s Technical Committee (TC) since the organisation became an Affiliated Member in 2009. In this capacity, he supports veteran Afera TC Member and consultant Lutz Jacob in the operational development of test methods (TMs), currently within the Next-Level TMs Working Group.
“It is a great honour for me to share all of my experience in production and testing of adhesive tapes with this group,” he revealed. “It is also valuable on the institutional research side to interact with all the players in different forms and sizes of the European tape industry.” Mr. Maurieschat also assumed the position of Global Test Methods Committee vice chairman at the Afera-hosted global Tape Forum Meetings held in Munich in June 2018.
Learning about Afera through standardised test methods
“I first learned about Afera back when I was a student interning at a company that produced self-adhesive films,” said Mr. Maurieschat. “In the laboratory, I tested production samples according to Afera TM 5001.” Then, once participating in Afera through Fraunhofer IFAM’s Membership, he expanded his European view on the tape business. “Through Afera I have met a lot of new potential customers and worked on many interesting projects with other Members—most recently the Loop Tack TM—and personally I have come into contact with really interesting people and useful information about adhesive tapes.”
Creating a global network in the tape industry
Mr. Maurieschat sees Fraunhofer IFAM’s experience with Afera as equally positive. “We were already well-connected within the adhesive tape industry but through Afera have become well-known as an R&D partner in the business,” he revealed. “Meeting other experts who know many of the newest technologies and other various aspects of adhesive tapes has been really valuable to us, allowing us to stay in touch with the demands of the Industry.” For the last 2 decades, one of Mr. Maurieschat’s colleagues, Head of Workforce Training and Technology Transfer Prof. Dr. Andreas Groß, has also been a regular speaker and contributor at Afera events. Both attend Afera’s 2 or 3 face-to-face events every year.
“In 5 years, I see Afera being even further connected to the world of adhesives, i.e. liquid adhesive users,” Mr. Maurieschat projected. “And I hope we can be involved in this.”
If you would be interested in joining Afera’s Steering, Technical or Marketing Committee, please contact Ms. Lejeune on +31 70 312 39 16 or send an e-mail here for more details. Read Afera’s Statutes here.