Is plastic packaging green enough for the future? Are we green enough for the future? Upon closer inspection, this provocative introductory question also conceals further questions: What does “green” actually mean? And what does it mean to “be green”? What constitutes “green enough”? What is the future? — It is an extremely emotive topic! I discussed this with budding young engineers at OTH Regensburg and continued the conversation with experts at PETnology 2015. 

Marc Jacobs of itim International turns our attention to intercultural competence. Why are we addressing this topic in our technical magazine? The answer is that in spite of what many people think, culture isn’t soft and fluffy but can be made really tangible. It is quite possible to measure it and therefore it can be understood and managed - this is more and more important. 

Last year, Alwin Lehner (84), founder of ALPLA with its headquarters in Hard, Austria, was honoured for his life’s work. We met with him and his son Günther in Hard, where we enjoyed a conversation that both reflected on the past and looked ahead to the future. We had a wonderful discussion and could have kept talking with these two down-to-earth men for hours. Discover it for yourself: “From humble beginnings to international success”.

IN DETAIL and IN BUSINESS focus on colour, barrier technologies, plasma coating, inspection, quality control and other technologies.

In this edition’s OUT OF ROUTINE, Alwin Lehner gives us a tour of his vintage vehicle museum in Hard. He has turned his hobby into his new life’s work, so that you can hardly call him retired. He and his small team restore vintage vehicles with great attention to detail. “Even as a little boy, I was fascinated by everything that moved,” Alwin Lehner said. His son Günther added, “When he was active at ALPLA, my father left the computer and internet work to the younger generation, but now that he is focused on finding replacement parts and vehicles, he has become more computer savvy.” 

We hope this edition ONE:16 makes again for exciting reading.

Yours,

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Otto Appel

PETnology/tecPET GmbH