The managing director of German producers’ association PlasticsEurope Deutschland (Frankfurt; www.plasticseurope.org), Rüdiger Baunemann, died unexpectedly on 17 April 2020 in his home town of Leun / Germany. He was 58 years old.

Ingo Sartorius, head of the association’s people and environment division, takes over as interim managing director of PlasticsEurope Deutschland with immediate effect.

With Baunemann’s passing away, the plastics sector has lost a leading figure with immense creative power and a trailblazer who was committed at the national and European levels to ensuring that the plastics industry was given fair and relevant representation.

“Under the leadership of Dr. Baunemann, PlasticsEurope Deutschland has been made into a strong advocacy group for the plastics industry, which enjoys great renown in the political and public spheres,” said association chairman Michael Zobel. “He did not shy away from controversy, and with his keen mind and committed contributions, ensured a lively and fair atmosphere of constructive debate. With great conviction, he campaigned for plastics producers’ concerns with politicians, industry representatives, journalists, non-governmental organisations and other stakeholders. His death leaves a huge void. Our sympathy goes to his family,” said Zobel.

After studying chemistry at the University of Gießen and completing a doctorate in heavy metal toxicology, Baunemann joined the Verband Kunststofferzeugende Industrie (now PlasticsEurope Deutschland) in 1989. From 1989 to 1995 he worked in the plastics and environment division before he became head of the technology division until 2002, and from 2002 to 2010 he was manager of the association and head of the plastics and consumers division. In 2011, Baunemann took on the role of the association’s managing director and was regional director for Central Europe as well as part of PlasticsEurope’s leadership team in Brussels.

He was instrumental in integrating the association into a pan-European structure in addition to maintaining the German branch’s independence and clout. For this he enjoyed great respect at home and abroad.

In addition to his work as general manager at PlasticsEurope Deutschland, Baunemann was committed in a variety of ways to the interests of the plastics industry. This includes being on the board of the federation of German industries BDI (Berlin; www.bdi.eu), a member of the board of directors at German plastics institute SKZ (Würzburg; www.skz.de), chairman of the plastics standards committee (FNK) at the German institute for standardisation DIN (Berlin; www.din.de) and in many other organisations.

Baunemann was a “key managing director, who even in challenging times campaigned with conviction and the highest expertise for plastic as a material and the plastics value chain. And a person who always had his heart in the right place.”

All of us at KI Group agree. Our deepest condolences go out to his family and relatives.