ALMELO, The Netherlands — July 7, 2011 — 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, 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.
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.
Posted on July 12, 2011
Source: Royal Ten Cate
