On the occasion of the opening of the Open Innovation Center for Advanced Materials (OICAM) in Nijverdal, the Netherlands, TenCate and Pentair X-Flow are set to launch the first demonstrator project developed in open innovation, which is known as GreenSource. In this project a synthetic turf system from TenCate has been combined with water filtration technology from Pentair X-Flow). This combination will make it possible to use drinking water and other water management worldwide for both sports complexes and landscaping with synthetic turf, particularly in areas where water shortages prevail or where only polluted water is available.
At the opening of this Open Innovation Center for Advanced Materials (OICAM), Mr L. de Vries, President and CEO of Royal Ten Cate, pleads for the simultaneous establishment of an Advanced Materials top-flight institution, which will enable the Province of Overijssel and the Netherlands to further strengthen their national or international competitive position.
The opening of OICAM represents an important step towards the creation of the right framework conditions for practical innovations with advanced materials. A number of striking projects have been initiated, such as GreenSource, the combination of synthetic turf and water treatment, as well as Inkjet, nano-coating technology for textile substrates. On the basis of prevailing market demand and the growing need of companies for cooperation, all these innovation projects should result in specific new products and employment opportunities.
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GreenSource
There is an increasing demand from the international market for durable products, in particular those that save water. The GreenSource project ensures this, by combining synthetic turf systems for sports or landscaping with Pentair X-Flow technology for water treatment. The collected and treated water can then be used both for spraying synthetic turf pitches for sports activities and irrigating the terrain. Above all, the treated water can be used as drinking water for the local population.
Inkjet
The Open Innovation Center for Advanced Materials will shortly start up projects for demonstrators in the field of inkjet technology for trial production. It will harness specifically the knowledge of the University of Twente and in particular the Academy of Life Science, Engineering & Design of Saxion University in the Netherlands. The latter institution cooperates closely with OICAM. As a result of the recent procurement by Saxion University of a compact inkjet machine from Xennia Technology, professors and students in the field of open innovation are now able to gain essential experience of the groundbreaking technology for the nano-coating of various fluids on advanced materials, including smart textiles.
Contact
Frank Spaan
Corporate Director, Business Development
Tel. : +31 546 544 977
Mobile : +31 6 129 617 24
E-mail : f.spaan@tencate.com
About Royal Ten Cate
Royal Ten Cate (TenCate) is a multinational company that combines textile technology with chemical processes and material technology in the development and production of functional materials with distinctive characteristics. TenCate products are sold throughout the world. Systems and materials from TenCate come under four areas of application: safety and protection; space and aerospace; infrastructure and the environment; sport and recreation. TenCate occupies leading positions in protective fabrics, composites for space and aerospace, antiballistics, geosynthetics and synthetic turf. TenCate is listed on NYSE Euronext (AMX). TenCate is one of the founding partners of the Open Innovation Center Advanced Materials in Nijverdal, the Netherlands. www.tencate.com
TenCate Grass develops and produces synthetic turf components and designs systems for top-flight sports, recreation and landscape applications. Together with its partners TenCate Grass endeavours to operate a system approach. This gives users confidence in its playing characteristics and service life. TenCate Grass has production plants in Europe, the Middle East and North America.
Xennia Technology Ltd is a major driving force in the world of inkjet printing, with more than 15 years of experience in the industrial inkjet industry. As the world’s leading supplier of industrial inkjet solutions, Xennia is bringing about a radical change in obsolescent production processes by developing reliable inkjet products and processes for markets such as textile finishing, ceramics, packaging, product decoration, biotechnology and health care and printed electronics. Solutions from Xennia include R&D facilities, printers and print modules, software and printing fluids. Xennia has its head office, R&D and production facilities in Letchworth, United Kingdom, with regional sales offices in the US and China. For further information about Xennia, please visit www.xennia.com.
