Event details
Expansion of the Fraunhofer IWU
Grand opening of the expanded Upper Lusatia Plastics Center with new technical centre in Zittau
Research in the field of innovative plastics and lightweight construction technologies now spans three times the previous area. On November 7, the grand opening of the expansion wing of the Fraunhofer Institute for Machine Tools and Forming Technology (IWU) took place at the Zittau campus.
The Zittau branch of Fraunhofer IWU, the Upper Lusatia Plastics Center, has produced a multitude of technology and product innovations ready for practical application since its opening in 2016. Whether in plastics processing, additive manufacturing, lightweight construction, biocomposites, or hydrogen technologies, the demand for research services is growing. And Fraunhofer IWU has responded. In the future, innovative research will be conducted on a total area of approximately 2,000 m² in collaboration with regional companies, utilizing an expanded, state-of-the-art machine park.
This includes innovative systems for the additive manufacturing of large metal and plastic components—which could be used in the future in the aviation, power plant construction, or building industries—as well as machines for producing natural-fiber-reinforced lightweight structures, which serve, for example, as trim parts in passenger cars and rail vehicles.
For the ceremonial opening of the expansion wing and the new technical training center, Saxony’s Minister President Michael Kretschmer and the President of the Fraunhofer Society, Prof. Reimund Neugebauer, traveled to the site to join District Administrator Dr. Stephan Meyer, HSZG Rector Prof. Alexander Kratzsch, Executive Director of the Fraunhofer IWU Prof. Welf-Guntram Drossel, the Director of the Fraunhofer Plastics Center Upper Lusatia, Prof. Sebastian Scholz, and the Chairman of the Board of the General Entrepreneurs’ Association of Zittau and Surrounding Areas, Bert Handschick, to symbolically cut the ribbon marking the expansion of the research center.
The Saxon Minister-President emphasized that research and innovation are key to continuing to successfully drive structural change in Upper Lusatia.
Prof. Alexander Kratzsch, Rector of the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences, can only confirm that this requires close partnerships between research institutions, businesses, and universities in the region—partnerships that ultimately led to the expansion of the Plastics Center: “With the opening of the Fraunhofer expansion, we are witnessing a living partnership between the university and local research institutes, which will enrich all those involved even more sustainably in the future.”
District Administrator Dr. Stephan Meyer says the expansion demonstrates above all “how the business community is driving demand for applied research in the fields of lightweight construction and composite materials, and that it was a good decision at the time to establish Zittau as a hub for universities and research.” With what is currently the largest 3D printer in Germany, he sees exciting opportunities to actively promote climate protection through cost-effective technologies.
A larger machine park means far more possibilities. Prof. Sebastian Scholz, director of the Fraunhofer Plastics Center Upper Lusatia, agrees: “With the new equipment—particularly in additive manufacturing and the processing of sustainable lightweight structures—the Plastics Center offers an excellent technological foundation for researching cost-effective and sustainable manufacturing processes and components.”
Turning his attention to teaching, Rector Prof. Alexander Kratzsch adds:
“The expansion of the Fraunhofer Plastics Center right next to our university campus in Zittau is not only a huge step forward for our region undergoing structural change as it transforms into a sustainable hub for research and innovation, but also an absolute boon for our students. This is because they benefit significantly from the hands-on training provided by the now doubled number of researchers at the expanded Plastics Center, who support regional companies with innovative applied research. Here, they find unique opportunities to experience and help shape education that is closely aligned with the latest research in their field.” Prof. Alexander Kratzsch, Rector of the HSZG
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Whether it's a hydraulic hot press, a new hybrid machining center for additive component manufacturing and milling, or new metal 3D printing processes. Find out here more about the new technical possibilities at the Zittau Research Center and the collaboration between the university and Fraunhofer IWU.
3RD FLOOR
1st floor
