On September 13, 2022, the TITK – Thuringian Institute for Textile and Plastics Research e. V. invited the Composites United community to Rudolstadt in Thuringia for the first time to the CU Innovation Day “Fiber Composite Lightweight Design in Thuringia”. More than 40 participants from industry and science followed the call of TITK and the CU Ost cluster in cooperation with PolymerMat e. V. – Kunststoffcluster Thüringen and the Rudolstädter Kunststofftage.

In addition to the impressively presented research competence of TITK and the Ilmenau University of Technology in the field of lightweight fiber composite design with a special focus on sustainability, the Thuringian companies Airborne Composite u.G. and Schmuhl Faserverbundtechnik GmbH & Co. KG presented their current industrial projects in mechanical engineering, automotive engineering, aviation and other sectors.

In the practical part of the networking event, the guests not only gained deep insights into the technical and technological possibilities of the TITK; the subsequent visit to the Schmuhl company was also a special highlight, where innovative fiber composite systems, ranging from medical devices to tank structures and aircraft lavatories, were presented during their development in practice.

The main organizers Prof. Florian Puch, head of the plastics technology department at TU Ilmenau and scientific director of TITK, and Dr. Thomas Heber, cluster managing director CU Ost, agree: “This successful event calls for a continuation in a regular series by CU Ost and TITK at the Rudolstadt site.”