A New Fact Sheet: Öko-Test Examines PVC Flooring

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As expected, the current May issue of the German „Öko-Test“ magazine features a test report on PVC flooring. The content of the report unfortunately came as no surprise and is yet again dominated by the editorial team’s attempts to stir up panic among its readers. A total of twelve different types of PVC flooring available from different suppliers and manufacturers were examined in the test laboratory, two of which were classified as „satisfactory“ and two of which received the mark of „sufficient“. The remaining eight flooring products were given the negative classification of „insufficient“. Öko-Test itself claims that the results of the test only reveal a slight glimpse of hope compared to those of the test conducted in 2012, when all of the products examined were deemed to be insufficient.

In the run-up to the recent test, AGPU prepared for the publication of the results in cooperation with the German Specialist Association for Manufacturers of Flexible Flooring (Fachverband der Hersteller elastischer Bodenbeläge – FEB) and other partners. It created a new fact sheet based on publications such as the AGPU brochures „How hard would life be without soft PVC?“ and „The Most Frequent Misunderstandings about soft PVC“. The fact sheet was released in perfect timing with the publication of the test report and can be downloaded from the FEB website, the AGPU documents are available in printed form or electronically on the AGPU website.

PVC Recyclers Meet PVC Processors: Event Dates

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After the two kick-off events held at the Demolition Conference in Berlin and the terratec trade fair in Leipzig, the dates for the three regional meetings of the successful series of „PVC Recyclers Meet PVC Processors“ events held by AGPU, VinylPlus, AgPR, Rewindo and Roofcollect have now been confirmed. One of the main targets of the joint project is to further increase the amount of PVC recycling material and to improve networking activities between PVC processors and recycling companies. Participants are therefore able to present their products, services and requirements in person at the meetings. This is a great start for further discussions.

The first regional event will take place at the premises of the flooring manufacturer Gerflor Mipolam in Troisdorf on the 13th of June. Other meetings will be held at recovery company Tönsmeier Kunststoffe in Minden/Porta Westfalica on the 6th of September and at Rehau in Erlangen on the 23rd of November. Invitations to these events were already sent out. For more details or registration to attend the meetings, please contact Julia Gogos at julia.gogos@agpu.de.

KBD: New Advertorial on PVC Pipes

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In the April/May issue of the German procurement magazine „Kommunaler Beschaffungsdienst“ (KBD), AGPU has published an advertorial on the use of PVC pipes in the field of water management as part of the VinylPlus communication project on sustainable public procurement. The specialist magazine is particularly aimed at decision-makers in municipal administration departments and companies.

In the past, AGPU has already produced a multitude of special publications of technical papers featured in various magazines. These publications are used to appeal to specific target groups and can also be distributed by AGPU member companies at events such as trade fairs, exhibitions and customer events. You can find out more about the special publications currently available by visiting the AGPU website or sending an e-mail to michael.friedrichs@agpu.de.

Destatis Reports a Boom in Housing Construction in Germany

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The German Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) in Wiesbaden, reported recently that building licences were granted for 375,400 flats in Germany last year, the largest recorded result in the last 17 years. The number of flats approved in 2016 was therefore around a fifth (21.6 percent) or 66,700 granted building licences more than in 2015. These figures confirm that the positive development that has been in place since 2009 is continuing. In fact, the number of flats approved last year was the highest since the considerably larger number of 440,800 building licences granted back in 1999. The strongest growth in 2016 was recorded in the category of newly constructed flats in blocks of flats, which achieved an increase of 26.6 percent or 36,500 flats. The number of approved flats in semi-detached houses increased by 13.2 percent, while the number of approved flats in detached houses remained unchanged in comparison with last year’s results.

Recycling Solutions: Campaign PVC Recycling

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At the beginning of March, the Campaign “Aktion-PVC-Recycling” participated in the 23rd Demolition Conference with a joint stand. More than 900 demolition and recycling specialists from all over Europe made the most of the event in Berlin as an opportunity to discuss current topics in the industry. At the campaign stand, for example, participants in the Demolition Conference were invited to find out more about recycling solutions for flooring, roofing membranes, windows, doors, roller shutters, tarpaulins and pipes made of PVC throughout Germany.

Demolition activities also involve non-mineral building materials, which often include windows, floor coverings, roofing membranes and pipes made of PVC. „We offer our services as a partner of the demolition industry in this special field and in order to demonstrate this, we have been regularly participating in the conference held by the German Demolition Association (DA) for the past 15 years“, explains Michael Vetter, the Managing Director of Rewindo and recycling expert of AGPU.

Alongside AGPU, the German Association for the Recycling of PVC Floor Coverings (AgPR), Roofcollect, the German Plastic Pipe Association (KRV), EPCOAT and Rewindo are all partners of the campaign “Aktion-PVC-Recycling”.

Specific Requests in Response to Our KDB Report

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As part of its Soft PVC Communication Campaign, AGPU was able to publish a detailed report on PVC as a high-performance material in the January/February issue of the magazine „Kommunaler Beschaffungsdienst“ (KBD), which is mainly read by local authorities. The report focused on flexible vinyl floorings for sports facilities and coated membranes for textile architecture. The image of the PVC membrane roof that covers the sports court of a school in Hamburg made it onto the cover of the KBD issue and is thereby prominently promoting the use of PVC.

The issue was sent out to subscribers, including a multitude of decision-makers in communities and local authorities. It seems that AGPU was ‘in the right place at the right time’ when it chose to present this topic given that it has already received three specific enquiries from communities requesting detailed information on the use of PVC products.

The Spring Issues of STARKE SEITEN and BLITZ-INFO Are Now Available

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Over 27,000 copies of the spring issue of our magazine STARKE SEITEN were sent out to readers, mainly to decision-makers from various target groups and to recipients in the PVC industry and its value chain in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. AGPU is distributing some of these copies together with BLITZ-INFO, which is also published three times a year, summarises up-to-date information on the sustainable development of PVC and is sent to over 6000 decision-makers in the fields of politics, administration, industry, trade and commerce together with a personal letter.

On the occasion of the EuroShop retail trade fair in Düsseldorf, part of the print run of STARKE SEITEN also contains the „New Floors Fashion Week“ booklet produced by the German Specialist Association for Manufacturers of Resilient Flooring (Fachverband der Hersteller elastischer Bodenbeläge – FEB). This publication particularly focuses on architects who are important decision-makers when it comes to topics such as designing industrial and business premises.

If you would also like to use STARKE SEITEN for your communication activities, please feel free to contact us and we will be happy to send you more information.

Have you already discovered our PVC Partner app?

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Since October 2012, all important publications produced by AGPU, for example the latest issues of the magazine „STARKE SEITEN“ and „BLITZ-INFO“ and the most important brochures published by the PVC experts in Bonn, have also been available in the PVC Partner app. According to a recent evaluation of use of the app, around 13,000 readers currently make the most of this digital service.

At the beginning of March, the spring issue of STARKE SEITEN together with the BLITZ-INFO will be available to download from the app. The print versions of these publications will also be sent out to target groups relevant to the PVC industry like local authorities and deciders in the building industry. Please feel free to contact us if you would like to find out more about our app or our publications.

The app supports both the iOS (Apple) and Android (Google) operating systems and can be downloaded from their respective app stores.

Apple App Store: https://itunes.apple.com/de/app/pvc-partner-kommunikation/id588969815

Google App Store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pressmatrix.pvc

 

The Toy Industry Is Still on Course for Success

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A multitude of companies use the Toy Fair in Nuremberg as an opportunity to present their latest sales figures. According to these figures, the industry is thriving more than ever before, with reports referring to sales growth of 5 percent in 2016. Interestingly enough, toys made of plastic represent more than a quarter of the production volume of toys in Germany, according to the German Federal Statistical Office. Last year, the global sales of the traditional company Schleich increased by eight percent to a total of EUR 142.9 million. In Germany, the company, which also produces toys made of soft PVC, was even able to increase its sales figures by 14 percent.

The German Federal Government Promotes a Successful Energy Transition and Features Windows in Its Advertisements

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A new publication produced by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) summarises the successes achieved by the energy transition to date and provides an overview of the upcoming steps to be taken. According to the brochure, with the title „The Energy Transition: a Success Story“, the energy transition moved past its classification as a future project a long time ago and can now be viewed as a successful current development. The publication also states that major steps have resulted in great progress in recent years and that virtually all projects have now been implemented.

The German Federal Government already brought energy efficiency to the forefront back in 2014, when it launched its „National Action Plan for Energy Efficiency“. A total of over 17 billion euros has been made available for corresponding measures up until 2020. Be it installing new heating pumps, insulating building façades or replacing old windows, the state offers a wide range of different consulting services and funding programmes and also recently launched advertisements to attract more attention to these benefits.

PVC products play an essential role in the energy transition. The fact that PVC is the most important plastic martial for building applications, offering outstanding material properties makes it the preferred material for new windows, doors, cables und and cable ducts.

AGPU has also been committed to boosting the profile of PVC on a comprehensive level for a long time, from production to processing and to recycling. It regularly runs campaigns communicating this message in locations such as Berlin.

http://www.bmwi-energiewende.de