The Kunststoff-Institut is not a public institution or one financed by public funds, but operates as a private limited company and is financed exclusively through service contracts. Where possible, industrial projects are funded by EU, federal, or state funds, with the subsidies either being included directly in the project calculation or passed on directly to the participating companies.

The Kunststoff-Institut has two shareholders. The majority shareholder (76%) is represented by a sponsoring association (Traegergesellschaft e.V.), while the other shareholder (24%) is represented by the city of Luedenscheid. The sponsoring association currently (March 2021) represents over 400 companies from Germany, Europe, and overseas.

The Kunststoff-Institut was founded in 1988 as the first affiliated institute at a university of applied sciences. A cooperation agreement was signed with the South Westphalia University of Applied Sciences (based in Iserlohn) with the aim of promoting close cooperation between teaching and science and joint industrial research. In addition to the shared use of university facilities, the cooperation also takes the form of joint events.

In principle, the Kunststoff-Institut cannot award any funding. However, thanks to numerous projects at EU, federal, and state level, the institute has contacts with all funding agencies and can provide advice on applications and establish relevant contacts.

The majority of the employees at the Kunststoff-Institut are trained in the field of tool and process engineering. This means that we strive to provide you with on-site support within one day in Germany and within 1.5 days in Europe, especially in the event of acute production problems.

Of course, job advertisements can be posted on our homepage. This service is free of charge for member companies.

Orders can be placed in several ways to ensure that they are processed as quickly and unbureaucratically as possible. The “normal” procedure is a written or verbal request from the customer. A binding offer is then prepared and sent by email. The order confirmation is also sent by email. For customers with irregular or very complex requests, so-called hourly pools are agreed upon, which allow orders to be processed without further order confirmations using the institute’s entire range of services.

In 1988, a survey conducted by the SIHK (South Westphalia Chamber of Industry and Commerce) revealed that numerous companies would like to have an advisory institute. The institute was founded immediately and began operations in early 1989.

A group of initially 30 companies from the Luedenscheid region founded the institute in 1988. The initiators were the former Iserlohn University of Applied Sciences, the city of Luedenscheid, and the SIHK (South Westphalia Chamber of Industry and Commerce).

No. In principle, everyone has access to the range of services offered by the Kunststoff-Institut, although members of the sponsoring organization can take advantage of additional offers in addition to monetary benefits.

The sponsoring organization is a registered association and is the main shareholder of the Kunststoff-Institut. Companies of all sizes from all plastics-related industries are represented in the sponsoring organization.

Membership in the sponsoring organization gives companies access to numerous exclusive offers. In addition, member companies receive a 10% discount on training courses, seminars, and joint projects. No discounts can be granted on standard services.

The application form for membership of the sponsoring organization is available in PDF format in the download area of our website.

The supporting organization represents companies of all sizes from a wide range of plastics-related industries. You will find all the important information about membership in the Supporting Organization section.

The number of member companies always fluctuates somewhat during the year; currently, there are over 400 companies.

In the sponsoring organization section, you will find all the important information about membership.

Yes. Any company with a direct or indirect interest in the plastics industry can become a member.

The membership fee depends on the number of employees in your company who can be directly assigned to the field of plastics technology. You will find all the important information about membership in the section on the supporting organization.

All project information is stored in the protected area for project participants. If you wish, you can also receive project news by email.

The procedure for patents is handled differently for each project and is agreed upon with the participants at the outset. As a rule, project participants are always given preferential treatment.

Project results are only published in certain areas or announced after a specified delay. Here too, project participants always receive preferential treatment.

Our experience with collaborative projects shows that in numerous projects, competitors have worked on a task and yet company-specific tasks have been completed. This ensures that the confidentiality of individual participants’ results is maintained. The results of individual studies are only published and discussed within the project group after approval by the companies.

The biggest advantage of joint projects is that the time-consuming and costly basic research can be distributed among several companies, thereby keeping the costs for each individual company low. In addition, new business ideas, new business connections, and even new business areas can emerge within the project group.

No. Any publication of internal company know-how or company-specific results will be discussed with you before it is published. However, it is important that all parties involved in the project group adhere to a principle of “give and take.”

You can determine your own level of involvement in the project. The minimum requirement on your part is participation in the quarterly or semi-annual project meetings. There is no upper limit to the maximum level of involvement. However, the greater your own commitment, the greater your chance of maximum implementation success.

Our guide is available in two languages: German and English.
Note: This guide has replaced our classic “Troubleshooting Guide.”