Paul Vallette, director general of PVC processor Grosfillex (Oyonnax / France; www.grosfillex.com), has been appointed the new head of the recently founded plastic R&D hub Centre Technique Industriel de la Branche Plasturgie et Composites (IPC).

IPC was created through the merger of the research activities housed at the Pôle Européen de Plasturgie (PEP, Bellignat / France; www.poleplasturgie.com) and the Institut Superieur de Plasturgie d´Alencon (ISPA, Alencon / France; www.ispa.asso.fr). The merge likely constitutes another step in the French plastics processing segment’s path to gain international clout, and follows last year’s new regional set-up of converters’ association Fédération de la Plasturgie et des Composites (FEP, Paris; www.laplasturgie.fr) – see Plasteurope.com of 14.01.2015.

IPC is to develop materials such as thermoplastics and thermosets as well as composites and ensure that technology is swiftly transferred within the industry. One of the key drivers is the circular economy, which is raising demand for recyclate and "green" material.

The R&D centre’s establishment is a late reaction to a study by the EU competition authority DGCIS, published in 2005, which took aim at the fact that France lacked a centre of this kind, including the related resources needed to achieve critical mass.