The 2022 Design Innovation in Plastics winner, Zara King, has paid a visit to the UK headquarters of Covestro, which is the headline industry sponsor of the award.
Zara was welcomed by Covestro UK, to its offices and Technical Center near Manchester by
managing director, Steve Gormley, and his colleagues, along with DIP chairman, Martin Sixsmith. Steve was able to give Zara a fresh insight into the world of polymers and Covestro, as well as giving an insight into its goal to become fully circular, helping to accelerate the transformation to a climate-neutral and resource-conserving economy.
The group held a roundtable discussion about the products and the industry. Colleagues at Covestro were able to see Zara’s prize-winning product, EasyMode a bed pan for use in the NHS and other healthcare settings, and learn how it has been designed to make life easier for both nurses and patients.
Zara was given an introduction to the world of elastomers – the versatile material which has superior elastic properties. Covestro provides a wide range of high-performance engineering polymers which includes cast polyurethane elastomers, along with technical support and the machine technologies which enable products to be processed with high quality, accuracy, and at scale.
The group then went into to Covestro’s Technical Center where they were given a demonstration of the Alpha 3L low pressure polyurethane dispensing machine, by technical sales machines and service manager, Andre Durand. This machine conditions, meters and mixes materials to produce cast polyurethane parts.
Steve Gormley said: “It was a delight and an honour to be able to welcome Zara to our UK headquarters and to see and discuss her product first hand, as well as generate a few thoughts on how it can be developed.”
Zara said: “As a future product designer, I found my visit to Covestro fascinating. I received such a warm welcome from Steve and everyone at the headquarters. To get a real in-depth look at how Covestro manufactures elastomers was vital information for a field in which I will probably spend a substantial amount of time.
“Most notable however, was learning about Covestro's ethical standards. They are truly trying to make the changes the world needs. Their dedication to sustainability is very impressive.
“I received some excellent advice and support from the team and I'm looking forward to what the future holds. Thank you Covestro!”
Zara is back at university this autumn, starting her third year of study at Teesside.