On 6 October 2025, the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) Central Europe presented awards for innovative plastics solutions for the automotive industry at the 23rd SPE Automotive Award Night in Bonn. The traditional event, which takes place every 18 months, is regarded as one of the industry's most important showcases. Two days before the start of K 2025, prizes were awarded in eight main categories as well as several special awards.
For the past three years, SPE Central Europe has offered a special stage with the Young Professionals Award, which recognises outstanding master's theses related to plastics applications in the automotive industry. In 2025, first place went to Maurice Wittler for his thesis entitled "Determining the influence of adhesion promoter concentration on the direction-dependent properties of organic sheets".
Research for efficient lightweight construction
Wittler's study deals with the optimisation of organic sheets - lightweight, high-strength composite materials made from a thermoplastic matrix and continuous fibres. The aim of the work was to investigate the influence of different adhesion promoter proportions between fibre and matrix. To this end, Wittler produced organic sheets made of glass fibres and polypropylene with varying fabric types and bonding agent concentrations and tested their tensile and bending properties in different load directions.
The result: The use of adhesion promoters fundamentally improves the mechanical properties - especially when loads are applied transverse to the fibre direction. However, it was not possible to establish a direct link between the dosage of the adhesion promoter and the degree of improvement.
Convincing research and precise methodology
The jury praised the practical implementation in the laboratory, which has comparable properties to industrially manufactured organic sheets, as well as the clear structure and high comprehensibility of the work.
With the Young Professionals Award, SPE Central Europe emphasises its commitment to promoting young talents who are helping to shape the future of lightweight automotive construction with solution-oriented research.
