19 December 2011

When Royal De Boer, a major manufacturer of barn equipment approached People Creating Value with the question: “We’d like to develop a new concept for our feed fences for dairy cows. Can you help?” the answer was simple: “Of course we can.”

16 December 2011

Dutch research and technology company Avantium has developed a patented technology YXY to produce 100% biobased PEF bottles. Currently PET is the most widely used oil-based polyester.

13 December 2011

Persons confined to a wheelchair or a bed must deal with numerous complications, of which one is bedsores or decubitus ulcers, as they are formally known. The ulcers are entryways for germs, which can trigger sepsis. 

9 December 2011

With 57,955 visitors – an increase of 4.2% over last year – from 97 different countries, the organizers of the Euromold are hailing the trade show as a resounding success.

6 December 2011

The University of Twente has taken the step of collecting and concentrating all ongoing research efforts in the field of Industrial Design in the newly formed Platform Product & Service Design. 

29 November 2011

Last week, Europe’s most important bioplastics event - the European Bioplastics Conference - was held for the sixth time in Berlin, Germany. The conference could be termed a success in all respects.

28 November 2011

The Precision Fair, the annual event organized by Eindhoven-based independent knowledge institution Mikrocentrum in the Netherlands, will this year be held for the eleventh time. 

24 November 2011

Given in recognition of an extraordinary achievement, this year’s Accenture Blue Tulip Award went to Dutch-based Synbra Technology for the development of their innovative heat-resistant injection moldable PLA.

21 November 2011

The Polymer Innovation Day was organized on 16 November in Zeist, the Netherlands, by DPI Value Centre. DPI was established in 1997 as a public-private partnership to perform pre-competitive research into polymers and their application, linking scientific knowledge to the industrial need for innovation.

21 November 2011

On Friday, 18 November, the last People Creating Value network meeting of this year was held in Enschede –this time, by invitation of network partner Karin van Beurden (Kompane) in the Fab Lab.

21 November 2011

On 17 November, Syntens, the innovation network for entrepreneurs in the Netherlands supporting small and medium-sized businesses, organized the meeting of the Noord Hollandse Materialenkring (Materials Circle).

18 November 2011

Innovia Films and Sappi Fine Paper Europe have joined forces to demonstrate potential laminate structures, using their respective products, suitable for end users in the food, confectionery and pharmaceutical industries. These laminates provide technical functionality in addition to being made from renewable resources and offering compostability – a focus...

14 November 2011

As the burgeoning world population continues to demand more and more of our planet, one of the effects being felt is that of the availability of raw materials.

11 November 2011

This year, the eighteenth edition of the EuroMold trade fair will be held from 29 November to 2 December in the Messe building in Frankfurt, EuroMold.

8 November 2011

The faculties of Industrial Design at the three Dutch technical universities of Delft, Eindhoven and Twente have intensified their existing cooperation ties with the launch of a new platform called Design United. The deans of the faculties of Industrial Design at the three universities signed the official covenant founding the new platform on 27 October 2011,...

8 November 2011

The stately villa in which People Creating Value is housed in Enschede is currently undergoing a major renovation process. The marble room in the front of the building has been totally refurbished with new plasterwork and a new coat of paint. The cherub overdoor plaster reliefs that were part of the decoration designed by architect A.G. Beltman in 1907 enhance...

4 November 2011

Researchers at the University of Hasselt in Belgium print solar cells on ink.

1 November 2011

As the global supply of raw materials tightens and with a playing field that extends across all continents, the challenge confronting the plastics packaging sector over the coming years is a considerable one.

28 October 2011

This week, Eindhoven may rightfully style itself the design center of the Netherlands: as host of the tenth Dutch Design Week from 22 - 30 October, the city is awash with events, activities and exhibitions, all about….design.  

25 October 2011

People Creating Value is bustling with activities. A new elevator is being installed and remodeling is being carried out, to the accompaniment of daily drilling and hammering in the heart of the building. And in the cellar, an extra meeting room and a new creativity area are slowly taking shape.

21 October 2011

This week at Fakuma materials producer BASF and injection molding machine manufacturer Arburg staged a special exhibit around the theme of energy efficiency. The two companies installed an injection-molding cell to exhibit the entire injection molding process, from product design through to production planning.

18 October 2011

The newest weapons in the fight against too much weight? Bananas, coconut, bamboo, flax. That is, if you are a car. These are all products that are nowadays being used as reinforcing materials in plastic composites, forming a green alternative to conventional reinforcements like glass fiber, carbon fiber and aramid.

14 October 2011

Outsourcing to Asia has been the way to go for the past ten years. Engineering, prototyping, toolmaking and production have been steadily disappearing eastward – even though in many cases, the work could have just as well stayed in Europe. 

10 October 2011

On 13 October, the second of the three workshops organized as part of the NRK Prima Business Opportunities map, a program aimed at identifying opportunities for the plastics sector, is scheduled to take place at Berenschot ’s office in Utrecht. Niels van der Stappen will attend the workshop on behalf of People Creating Value.

6 October 2011

As enthusiastic users of SolidWorks 3D CAD software, People Creating Value was pleased to receive an invitation to take part in one of the SolidWorks 2012 Launch Events being organized by software reseller Design Solutions.

3 October 2011

Acclaimed as a true natural polymer, “tested and tried over millions of years and guaranteed not to clog up the ecosystem”, Mycobond, is a new material that is being marketed by Ecovative Design as the green replacement for expanded polystyrene in protective packaging applications. The secret of the new material? Mycelium, the root structure of...

27 September 2011

On Friday, 22 September, a group of some 20 of mainly second-year design engineering students from University Twente were invited for a visit to People Creating Value. They were shown around by Bart Velthuizen and Sjoukje Groen, both of whom were very favorably impressed by the student’s enthusiasm and their interest in the company. In Sjoukje’s...

21 September 2011

To help SMEs with the practical implementation of the principles of C2C, DPI Value Centre, an independent Dutch foundation that supports innovation in the plastics field, has set up a knowledge network for companies active in the polymer chain.

19 September 2011

Maintaining contact with the market is part of how we continuously build on our material competency. To that end, we recently welcomed Jürg Spoerry and Roland Treutlein, of EMS Chemie, to our headquarters in Enschede, where they delivered a workshop on the EMS product range, applications and possibilities. A market leader in this field, at EMS Chemie, the...

15 September 2011

The vacations are over and, for the time being at least, it’s back to business as usual. At People Creating Value, this meant time for the network meeting, which was held last week in Enschede. The meeting was well attended, both by members of the core team and by the network partners.

15 September 2011

People Creating Value developed the innovative lightweight Holmatro Extreme winch handle, which offers perfect handling and control. After testing the new handle, Team Oracle Racing, the current holder of the legendary America’s Cup immediately ordered twenty, and will be defending the title in the upcoming edition of the race with the help of the new...

15 September 2011

Materials play an important art in the design of new products. At People Creating Value, our expertise in materials is a key competency. One of our materials experts is Sonja Eijpe, a specialist in the field of polymer chemistry and materials. At the show in Veldhoven, she is scheduled to give a talk on 28 September on ‘Polypropylene: the affordable...

15 September 2011

This year, People Creating Value is once again exhibiting at Kunststoffen 2011, the biggest trade fair for the plastics and rubber industry in the Benelux that takes place annually in Veldhoven in the Netherlands. For us, generating new ideas is what we do; creating value is our job and integral product development our passion. On display at our stand we are...

13 September 2011

In May 2012, the second study tour organized by the Industrial Design faculty of the University of Twente for students of Industrial Design is planned, this time with an intercontinental destination: Malasia and Singapore.

12 September 2011

This year on September 11 the annual Singelloop Run in Enschede, reputedly the most convivial race in the eastern Netherlands, was organized for the fourteenth time.

6 September 2011

As of September 1, 2011, People Creating Value has recruited two new trainees to the current core team: Jeroen Hermes and Robbert Ferket.

31 August 2011

Like just about everything else, brainstorming has also long gone online. Online ideation tools are no longer the next big thing. The good news here, however, is that the Idea Generator is actually, well, a good idea.

25 August 2011

Despite its many advantages, stereolithography has remained a largely underutilized technology. Due in part to newer and better materials, that trend is changing. Within the design world in particular, the change is coming fast.

22 August 2011

The Extreme Winch Handle made by Holmatro is a lightweight, very strong, user-friendly winch handle featuring a patented unlock system, which forms an integrated whole with Holmatro’s line of high-performance winches. The product is constructed of forged aluminum and is consequently ultra strong – and the lightest model on the market.

19 August 2011

Philips is proud to announce that it has received four prestigious product awards from the EISA (European Imaging and Sound Association):

16 August 2011

Right now, Wouter de Boer is one of the fastest 800-meter runners in the Netherlands. As a member of track club AC Tion, Wouter annually participates in the Singelloop run in Enschede. Just two weeks ago, while competing in the Dutch Athletics Championships, he suffered a fall in the final 150 meters. This meant the end of the Championships – and a nasty...

12 August 2011

From October 22 through October 30 2011, Eindhoven will be home to the tenth edition of one of the Netherlands’ majoe design events, Dutch Design Week. DDW presents unparalleled ideas, individualistic works and insightful solutions devised by innovative designers.

8 August 2011

For the sixth time, industrial design students from Twente University and from Saxion University of Applied Sciences in The Netherlands will be showing their projects at the ‘Bijenkorf’ in the city of Enschede. The show will run from Tuesday, 16 August through Thursday, 8 September 2011.

3 August 2011

Although it bears a strong resemblance to an alien’s flying saucer, the latest Nuna solar powered vehicle designed by a student team at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands was designed and built in the laboratory in Delft over the past 18 months—through sheer hard work and creativity.

29 July 2011

The People Creating Value network continues to expand. Over the past few months various new members have joined, one of whom is Sander de Wit. Sander has worked as an industrial designer since 2002. He set up his own business per 1 January 2011 in Emmeloord, the Netherlands and has since worked under the name DEWITT productinnovatie offering industrial design...

27 July 2011

To cope with the soaring demand for its phthalate-free plasticizer Hexamoll DINCH, BASF is now planning the construction of a second production plant at the Ludwigshafen site in Germany. This is the second capacity increase for Hexamoll DINCH since its successful market launch in 2002.

22 July 2011

By now, we all know that the Netherlands is more than just tulips, cheese, wooden shoes and cannabis. Internationally, the Netherlands has a reputation to maintain when it comes to innovative product design and development. Musically, too, the Dutch have their own traditions. Combine the two and what do you get? The Aristides electric guitar: a revolutionary...

14 July 2011

Open innovation, in which partners cooperate on product or service development, requires different skills, attitudes and personal traits from traditional innovation. These days it is who you know, not what you know that is important.

11 July 2011

Cognition Cockpit is an intuitive, web-based application that offers powerful support for the entire product development process. Based on customer input and "voices", a development team can easily work together to define requirements, product features, risks, cost and other critical parameters. As from 6 July 2011, Synergio is the authorized...

6 July 2011

We are proud to report that Jan-Paul van der Voet has elected to join People Creating Value as Senior Project Manager and Senior Design & Innovation consultant as per 1 July. As a member of the core team, Jan-Paul will also be responsible for leading the Beetsterzwaag office.

4 July 2011

The summer network meeting held on Friday, 1 July, at STT in Tolbert was a success. STT Products, who only last month celebrated its 25-anniversary with an open house for customers and business relations, adeptly welcomed the group of network members to the impressively equipped plant facilities at Leuringslaan 48.

28 June 2011

Spanish company Kliux Energies - Geólica Innovations SL has developed a completely new, intelligent technology for harnessing wind energy. The system is based on special rotors positioned vertically so that they are always facing the wind.

24 June 2011

Rugged, technical – and mesmerizing to play with. This is how the Multi/Joint 3000 plus, the coupling developed by People Creating Value for their client Georg Fischer Waga, was described at the innovation market held during the PDMA seminar on 22 June in The Hague.

24 June 2011

International rankings show that the Netherlands performs very well to excellently in a number of scientific domains. Measured according to the citation impact method, the Netherlands is second in the world in, for example, nanotechnology. We are also at the top of the field in earth sciences, chemistry, physics and materials science – with innovations as...

21 June 2011

On Wednesday 22 June, MaterialDesign will organize the next edition of its “The Experience of…” seminars. This time the subject is Materials in Music.

20 June 2011

Wageningen University and Research Centre opened a new research facility called AlgaePARC on 17 June. Here, the potential for using microalgae as a sustainable source of energy and raw materials will be studied on a semi-industrial scale.

16 June 2011

For the third time a team from PDMA.NL has compiled a book on innovations in The Netherlands, "Good News from the Netherlands". After the 2007 and 2009 editions, on June 22nd the 2011 edition will be presented. Mr. Bernard Wientjes, chairman of VNO-NCW will receive the first copy of the book.

14 June 2011

Are biobased materials finally moving towards mainstream applications? The Dutch 'Biobased Performance Materials' (BPM) program is specifically devoted to research aimed at the development and design of new biopolymers and on applied research focusing on improving the properties of existing bioplastics.

9 June 2011

Production in the Netherlands headed back in the right direction.

9 June 2011

On 29 June, Rob Fastenau, Dean of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science at TU Delft, has been invited to lecture in Eindhoven on the subject of ‘Innovation in i-Tech’ during an event organized by The House of Technology.

6 June 2011

Is innovation in the Netherlands still alive and kicking? What are the key success and failure factors for innovation in the Netherlands? These and other questions are on the agenda of the PDMA seminar ‘Innovation truth behind the dikes’ that will take place on Wednesday 22 June at VNO-NCW in the Malietoren, in The Hague.

30 May 2011

We are pleased to announce that per 16 May, Henk van der Wulp has joined our team at People Creating Value as our new Senior Project Manager, responsible for developing and managing both projects and people.

27 May 2011

According to the newest ABN AMRO report, manufacturing can take place perfectly well in the Netherlands. Dutch companies have one very important characteristic going for them: the Dutch worker, with his resilient attitude and capacity for independent thinking. This more than compensates the relatively high wage costs, and results in permanent innovation.

27 May 2011

For People Creating Value, Materials Engineering marked the debut into the world of materials design. The booth attracted visitors’ attention, even from those who were unsure about who or what People Creating Value was.

23 May 2011

On Friday13 May, STT Products in Tolbert, the Netherlands, celebrated its 25th anniversary with a ‘by invitation only’ open house.

17 May 2011

Launched in May 2006, today the NVC Chair in Packaging Design and Management plays a key role in the ongoing innovation strength seen in Dutch product packaging technology.

12 May 2011

Materials play an important part in the development of new products. People Creating Value has committed time and resources to developing their expertise in materials as a key competency.

12 May 2011

Welcome to People Creating Value’s very first online newsletter.

12 May 2011

May we introduce our materials experts? At People Creating Value, Niels van der Stappen, Remco Boer, Jos Lobee, Sonja Eijpe, Rickie Bouma and Fred van Dijk are the people with the professional skills and expertise to address any challenge arising in the field of materials and material selection. Representing both the core team of People Creating Value and the...

11 May 2011

On 25 May, the first day of the Materials Engineering trade show in Eindhoven, a mini symposium with the title “Material Design as a Profession” will be organized with free admission for show attendees.

11 May 2011

The central theme of the Materials Engineering 2011 trade fair that will take place on 25 and 26 May in Beursgebouw Eindhoven is ‘Smart Materials’.

5 May 2011

Environmental lobby ChemSec has called on the European Union to add 22 substances to the Reach Regulation, which it claims are endocrine-disruptors.

2 May 2011

Clean technology, or "cleantech," refers to a diverse range of products, services, and processes intended to provide superior performance at lower costs, while greatly reducing or eliminating negative ecological impact, and improving the productive and responsible use of natural resources.

28 April 2011

Dutch-based product development company Dog Back Design Solutions BV will take part in the Electronics & Automation fair, which will be held from 25 – 27 May, 2011 in the Jaarbeurs, in Utrecht (the Netherlands). It is the first time that Dog Back Designs Solutions will be presenting itself at a national show.

26 April 2011

The FME ‘Sustainability Compass’ project, in which companies in the high-tech systems industry participated, recently concluded with the presentation of the FME ‘Sustainability Compass’ manual. Twenty FME member companies, including People Creating Value, collaborated on the production of the manual, together with a number of organizations...

22 April 2011

On 20 April, Materialise NV announced the acquisition of Marcam, a German developer of software for Additive Manufacturing (AM). This move will extend Materialise’s software portfolio by adding Marcam’s expertise for Metal AM and highly regarded software packages to those currently being offered. Customers of both companies will benefit directly from...

18 April 2011

In December of last year, Mark Pepels earned his Master’s degree from Eindhoven Technical University in the field of polymer technology. On the 14th April, during the “Partners in Kunststof conference in Eindhoven, he was awarded the SPE Benelux Student Award for the exceptional quality of his master’s thesis, entitled “Self-healing in...

15 April 2011

May 15th marks the 25th anniversary of STT Products BV in Tolbert, a milestone that will be celebrated on Friday, May 13th with an open house from 15:00 – 17:00 for visitors interested in viewing the company’s expertise in the field of fine mechanical machining technology and mechatronical design and assembly skills.

13 April 2011

Bayer MaterialScience has developed a new “green” high-tech material blend of polycarbonate and polyethylene terephthalate for horizontal automobile bodywork parts.

12 April 2011

Innovation, for many people, is defined as conceiving and implementing something new that becomes a huge success. Yet innovation is also: taking an existing product and modifying it so that it becomes easier to use. Innovation is not confined to technology alone; many see innovation as the driving force for economic growth. This has become a hot topic, especially...

11 April 2011

Two interesting presentations from network partners Helger van Halewijn and Niels van der Stappen, an introduction from and tour of host company and network partner Dog Back Design Solutions in Emmen and a brief evaluative discussion about the functioning of the People Creating Value network – it works! – combined to make the network meeting on 8 April a success.

7 April 2011

Masterbatch producer Viba Laboratories SpA today announced the launch of three new products that are specifically formulated for use with PLA in packaging applications .

5 April 2011

Fifty million of them were sold in 60 days after launch, setting the Guinness World Record for the fastest selling consumer electronics device ever. Of what, exactly? The Kinect.

1 April 2011

People Creating Value is taking part this spring in the Hannover Messe, a leading technology trade show that will be held from the 4th through 8th April 2011. The theme of this year’s show is “Technology Creates New Dimensions For Your Business”.

1 April 2011

The bio-based economy aims to generate economic activity in a sustainable way.

1 April 2011

Is that possible? We have no choice, says Anniek Mauser, Head of Sustainability Benelux at Unilever during the MJA-NRK themed conference “A future with biopolymers”.

30 March 2011

News from our netwerk partner: On Mach 21, 2011 Emmen-based Dog Back Design Solutions B.V. signed the development contract for the Picture Watch (Beeldhorloge).

29 March 2011

As if the enormity of the humanitarian crisis following the earthquake and tsunami in Japan were not enough, economic effects are now also starting to emerge.The technology sector and the automotive industry appear to be particularly hard-hit.

25 March 2011

Some toys are timeless, and good design is key. An example? The colorful ABS Lego building bricks that so many generations have played. Less well known is Lego’s ‘Planet Promise’, a commitment to sustainable business, which includes energy conservation practices and the use of sustainable energy (target: 100% by 2020). For injection molding...

22 March 2011

DSM Engineering Plastics has commercialized its Cradle-to-Cradle grade of Akulon polyamide (PA) 6 in office furniture. Akulon K224-G6, is the first and only polyamide certified Cradle-to-Cradle grade by McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry (MBDC).

16 March 2011

In nature, materials of all kinds are self-healing, a mechanism that allows injuries to heal and fractured bones to mend. Until recently, man-made materials lacked this ability. Now, thanks in part to the Dutch Innovation-oriented Research Program (IOP) on Self Healing Materials, new materials have been developed that have self-healing properties.

15 March 2011

The trend toward teamwork and collaboration has been broadly endorsed by the Dutch plastics industry.

11 March 2011

The Erasmus Competition & Innovation Monitor, a study measuring the innovative strength of the Dutch corporate world, was recently conducted for the fifth time. This year’s findings are remarkable, say the report’s two researchers, Prof. Henk Volberda and Prof. Justin Jansen of the Rotterdam School of Management.

8 March 2011

Material Design organized an evening session that turned out to be very interesting and highly informative about ‘the experience of foam’ at Recticel, the biggest producer of polyurethane foam in the Netherlands.

8 March 2011

Designers, students and developers of consumer products often have no idea of the possibilities of polyurethane foam, because of their lack of knowledge and experience with this versatile material.

4 March 2011

The results of the annual iF product design competition for designers and technological innovators have been announced for the year 2011.

2 March 2011

Sustainability is hot – so hot that use of the adjective ‘sustainable’ has been hijacked to describe just about anything that is even vaguely ‘green’. Depreciation of the term is the result – together with a credibility problem. Which is too bad.

25 February 2011

This year, the European Additives & Color division of the SPE (Society of Plastics Engineers) is organizing its seventh biannual international two-day conference on the most recent developments and trends in polymer additives.

22 February 2011

Recently, People Creating Value welcomed yet another new member to the network: Jasper Boter, an industrial designer and director of Septagon.

18 February 2011

A solid knowledge of materials is an essential part in the optimization of the product development process. At People Creating Value, materials technology is a core expertise. To this end, People Creating Value is active in a number of ways to build up and to disseminate this knowledge. Among other things, this has meant recently becoming actively involved in the...

15 February 2011

People Creating Value held its first network meeting of 2011 at its head office on the Oldenzaalsestraat in Enschede. Prospective members, new members, and old members: all gathered together to meet, greet and network. Brand-new member Menno Kooistra, director of STT Products gave a 30-minute introductory presentation positioning STT Products within the network.

10 February 2011

Working in close collaboration with our client Philips, People Creating Value has developed a new integrated water purifier and dispenser for the Chinese market.

8 February 2011

For years, BASF has offered a specialty polymer line for the manufacturing of medical devices.

3 February 2011

On the 23 & 24 February 2011, Pharmapack, the first European congress-exhibition dedicated to drug packaging technologies and delivery systems will celebrate its 10th edition at the Grande Halle de la Villette, in Paris (France), with a special program bringing together the leading experts in the field.

31 January 2011

A whiff of fresh baking bread immediately causes most stomachs to start to rumble, while the stench of sewage causes most to heave. The smell of women’s tears has been found to thoroughly dampen a male’s libido. Smell is a powerful communication tool – and efforts are continuously being made to put this to commercial use.

27 January 2011

Design engineers and other professionals working in manufacturing today can no longer get away with an inadequate knowledge of materials and material design. However, the pace of developments in this area is extremely high.

24 January 2011

21 January 2011

After a brief look back at 2010, and a cautious look forward by Hein Schotsman, senior economist at ABN AMRO at the prospects for 2011 (“The patient survived the crisis, but still has wobbly legs”) during the New Year’s reception of the Dutch Rubber and Plastics Federation (NRK) held at the ABN AMRO’s Dialogues House in Amsterdam on January 20, 2011, it was time to...

18 January 2011

Scientists at Fraunhofer Institute have developed a technique for using supercritical CO2 as a solvent for dyes, protective layers and pharmaceuticals. Industrial solvents tend to be harmful to both environment and health. Supercritical CO2 offers a clean, safe alternative.

14 January 2011

The aim of the initiative is to set up a trend for building construction in the 21st century, together with the construction industry by developing new building methods and systems and implementing them in an experimental Green Building Lab project.

11 January 2011

Amorphous glassy materials are inherently strong but brittle owing to a lack of microstructure. They often demonstrate extreme sensitivity to flaws.

6 January 2011

3 January 2011

With the official launch of People Creating Value on 1 January 2011, the merger between De Loft, in Beetsterzwaag and First BV, in Enschede, is complete. The companies, both respected names in the world of design engineering, have been collaborating closely since early 2008. They have now officially joined forces under the name: People Creating Value. The new...