Trade Talk Today K - Day 3

00:00:03: Welcome to

00:00:04: Trade Talk Today, your daily insight.

00:00:08: This show is

00:00:09: brought to you by

00:00:10: DAO.

00:00:20: AI.

00:00:21: Sustainability.

00:00:22: Circular economy.

00:00:24: Digitization.

00:00:25: K. perfect place to discuss these topics with insiders of the industry and visitors from all over the world.

00:00:34: And with that, welcome to Trade Talk today on day three of the fair.

00:00:38: We look forward to having a wonderful guest on the show today.

00:00:42: I'm going to be joined later on by Abby Turner, who is a Mayor, Marketing Director at Dao.

00:00:47: And now I'm joined by another special guest on the show.

00:00:50: It's great to have you here this morning, Dr.

00:00:52: Oliver Mönchstedt, Executive Director Geh-Kaufau, German Association of Plastic Converters.

00:00:57: That's a hard thing to say in the morning, but I got it done.

00:00:59: It's great to have you on this show, and I hope you're doing very, very well on day three.

00:01:04: Good morning, Emily.

00:01:04: I'm perfectly fine.

00:01:05: Yeah, and it's been a good fair so far.

00:01:07: You waited to talk this morning, and you said it's been wonderful.

00:01:10: So many guests talking.

00:01:11: Before we get into what's going on and why you're here and what you're presenting, let's get into some warm-up questions, starting with the question, boss or team player?

00:01:23: Team player, definitely.

00:01:24: Travel by train or car flexibility?

00:01:27: By train.

00:01:28: Sustainability is important.

00:01:29: Very good.

00:01:30: Scheduled or spontaneous?

00:01:32: Spontaneous.

00:01:33: Big data or gut feeling?

00:01:36: Big data.

00:01:37: Office routine or remote freedom?

00:01:40: Office routine.

00:01:41: Startups or established giants?

00:01:46: The best of both worlds.

00:01:47: That's a good answer.

00:01:48: Cooking at home or hunting street food?

00:01:50: Hunting

00:01:51: street food.

00:01:51: Oh, really?

00:01:52: Yes.

00:01:53: Read a novel or a white paper.

00:01:56: Reading a novel from time to time.

00:01:58: Plastic prevention or plastic innovation?

00:02:00: Plastic

00:02:01: innovation, definitely.

00:02:02: Sit down dinner or mega dance party?

00:02:05: Mega dance party we will have in Saturday night here in the town hall.

00:02:09: Absolutely.

00:02:09: It's the exhibitor's party and that's going to be a great party because everybody's already so excited and I think it's also good to have a chance to kind of let go some of the energy from the days and the work and just like party on.

00:02:20: It's a big family team.

00:02:22: Absolutely.

00:02:22: It's about plastics value chain.

00:02:24: But I also said this to Thomas Franken in the first day.

00:02:26: This is not the time to party right now.

00:02:27: We are going to talk hard facts right now on the show.

00:02:30: But we also should have a party to get in a better mood and to forget about problems for a couple of hours.

00:02:38: That's the best thing we could do.

00:02:39: Absolutely.

00:02:40: One of the problems that you're finding solutions for are the problems of finding skilled professionals.

00:02:45: And even though this industry is an industry that is innovative and is offering so many things for young professionals, it's still difficult to find people who really know what they can expect and are happy to start working in this industry.

00:03:01: What key factors are contributing to the current skills shortage and what can we do about it?

00:03:07: Well, if you look on Europe, on Germany, we have a difficult demographic situation.

00:03:12: We have many udders.

00:03:14: fewer younger persons in our society and we have fewer younger persons who like to go into a career in technology, in engineering, in nature science.

00:03:26: And this is what has to be changed in the next years because we need engineers, we need technicians for our industry and this is what we like to work on as an association of plastics converters together.

00:03:39: with our member companies, of course.

00:03:41: And together with the whole value chain and a good starting point for this trade fair.

00:03:47: K-twenty and twenty-two and twenty-five.

00:03:49: Twenty-five.

00:03:49: Twenty-five, yeah.

00:03:50: Twenty-twenty-two, of course, but twenty-five is already, we've processed quite a lot, you've done a lot already.

00:03:55: So tell me exactly what are you, what initiatives are you supporting to make sure that you find good skilled professionals?

00:04:02: Well, we've been working on this topic since a couple of years and we have developed several ideas how to motivate young persons to join our industry.

00:04:14: The first important step is to inform about the career and possibilities, opportunities in our industry to inform about vocational education in the whole value chain, in the chemical industry, in the plastics converting industry.

00:04:31: in the plastics machinery industry.

00:04:35: And that's why we developed a brand new website, which has been presented a couple of weeks ago.

00:04:40: And younger persons can get information, can get knowledge about vocational training.

00:04:50: in the industry and about companies which are likely to give this knowledge to the young talents.

00:05:01: and also we will give some information about the universities and the opportunities for studies of plastics engineering for example.

00:05:11: and this is what has to be worked out for the young talents and to prepare them very well for career in our industry.

00:05:21: Tell me about some of the questions that the young people are asking you that sometimes even surprise you when they're talking about joining or becoming part of the plastics industry.

00:05:31: Well, we met in the first two days of this trade café a lot of young talents which are interested very much in our industry.

00:05:41: And they ask us which kind of companies are in the plastics industry.

00:05:46: are only big players like Dow, for example, or other small and medium sized companies as well.

00:05:53: And in the plastics converting industry, there are lots of small and medium sized companies because sometimes younger people have the choice and they like to join.

00:06:06: some like to join a big company, a big brand name and some like to join them.

00:06:10: or familiar smaller company with maybe more flexibility in the working processes.

00:06:18: And this was a lot of questions on this topic.

00:06:22: And last but not least on sustainability of our industry.

00:06:25: Exactly.

00:06:26: I think that is one topic.

00:06:27: Sustainability is so important to.

00:06:30: hopefully to all of us, but especially for the younger people, which we're so happy about.

00:06:34: And plastics does not always have such a good reputation.

00:06:37: I know this is not the right thing, but how do you tell the children or the people, the young people that plastic is and can be sustainable in there?

00:06:46: You're working on innovations in this area all the time.

00:06:49: Well, we collected a lot of good examples from our industry, how plastics can be sustainable.

00:06:57: recycling is one topic which is very important but also the choice of materials if you think about bioplastics for example which can be very sustainable if it's well made and the young talents are very interested in these topics because they are not aware of the whole plastics world and all the possibilities and all the innovations which are presented during this key fair.

00:07:25: And this gives a lot of motivation to visit the booths of this trade show from the companies which are presenting this sustainable solutions.

00:07:36: And as far as I know, most of the companies which are presenting their products here during this K-Fair are very deep into sustainability solutions.

00:07:47: They are presenting these things.

00:07:50: So the young talents are invited to visit the booths of the companies and to have good talks about sustainability in the plastics industry.

00:08:00: And from my point of view, we have the chance in the next couple of years to make a change from more.

00:08:10: fossil linear economy to a more circular economy.

00:08:14: And this is a fascinating thing, and especially for young talents, to be a part of this story, to create good solutions.

00:08:24: And this is what we like to invite and to motivate.

00:08:26: And maybe also interesting to turn it around and say it might be a driving force for the employers to become more sustainable because otherwise they won't have the skilled professionals, the young ones who are interested because they say, I don't want to have anything to do with the industry.

00:08:40: Is that something you've been talking to the industry about?

00:08:43: Exactly.

00:08:44: This is what every company in the value chain must be aware of.

00:08:50: Sustainability is one of the key questions of young talents which like to join our industry.

00:08:59: They like to make a change.

00:09:01: And this is a good thing.

00:09:02: And companies should motivate them to do that, should invite these persons to join the companies and to be creative, to be innovative.

00:09:14: And this is what we like to push as an association.

00:09:17: And it's not only about sustainability.

00:09:19: It's also, as I said before, AI and digitization.

00:09:22: about circular economy belongs to sustainability.

00:09:25: all these topics are important, things that you're talking about.

00:09:27: And I thank you very much for being here today.

00:09:30: If you, as a young talent, say, I want to come to the caber, I don't know, I really can't afford it.

00:09:36: There is a great offer that the K is offering on Sunday on the fifth day of the fair.

00:09:40: You can come in for free and you can come in on the other days too.

00:09:44: You're welcome to because there's a lot to discuss.

00:09:46: It was great having you on the show today.

00:09:48: Thank you so much.

00:09:48: I wish you a wonderful K and we're very excited to see how many people are inspired by the plastic industry.

00:09:55: coming here and visiting you.

00:09:56: Thank you so much.

00:09:58: And as I just said, there's a lot going on.

00:09:59: We want to have a look at what is going on in the Young Talents Lounge and in the startup zone.

00:10:04: So let's take a look at that right now.

00:11:01: There is so much going on in the halls.

00:11:03: I wouldn't know where to start.

00:11:04: Check out our website and you can find out what's going on all over the place.

00:11:08: Or just tune into Trade Talk today because I know one place you should visit and that is the stand of Dao.

00:11:14: And our next guest is from Dao.

00:11:15: Thank you so much for being here today.

00:11:17: Abby Turner, a mayor marketing director, Dao Europe.

00:11:20: It's great to have you here.

00:11:21: Thanks for having me.

00:11:21: How are you doing?

00:11:22: Excellent.

00:11:23: Yes.

00:11:23: Day three still going?

00:11:25: I know.

00:11:25: I'm going to start with some warm up questions so you can kind of, you know, get into the mood.

00:11:29: All right.

00:11:30: OK.

00:11:30: E-reader convenience or hardcover charm?

00:11:33: Hardcover charm.

00:11:34: Yeah.

00:11:35: Produce locally or go global?

00:11:38: Both.

00:11:39: Coffee lid, plastic or none at all.

00:11:43: Recyclable.

00:11:43: Very good.

00:11:45: Scheduled agenda or a wing it?

00:11:47: Oh, wing it.

00:11:49: It's more fun.

00:11:50: Inbox zero or a hundred unread messages?

00:11:54: A hundred unread messages.

00:11:56: Work on site or from anywhere?

00:11:59: Yeah, both.

00:12:01: Risk taking or playing it safe?

00:12:03: I would say I used to be playing it safe and now I'm more risk-taking.

00:12:07: A sustainable packaging or reusable systems.

00:12:11: Both.

00:12:12: Meet at a coffee corner or a Zoom

00:12:14: room.

00:12:15: Coffee corner.

00:12:17: Definitely.

00:12:17: An early bird or night owl.

00:12:20: Early bird.

00:12:21: Yes.

00:12:22: So far, all I guess they've been early birds and that's maybe it's because you're all so powerful and you've got to wake up early to make sure you get things done.

00:12:30: I don't know.

00:12:30: Who knows?

00:12:31: Or it's the coffee.

00:12:31: It's the meeting at the coffee corner.

00:12:33: That's

00:12:33: what it is.

00:12:34: Before I get started with the questions regarding the company, I do want to talk to you about your role in the company and if you brought something that means something to you regarding the company.

00:12:45: I did actually.

00:12:46: I did.

00:12:47: It's this jacket.

00:12:48: Okay.

00:12:50: It's actually vintage and I can tell you how vintage it is.

00:12:53: so I celebrated thirty years with Dao this year and I had this jacket when I joined.

00:12:59: And I didn't know that Dao Red is, is, it was such a thing when I joined.

00:13:04: And actually, if you look back at any of the other K shows, you might see me hovering around wearing the very same jacket.

00:13:09: So maybe it's a little bit of a lucky charm.

00:13:13: But yeah, so I've looked after it and thirty years, it's still going.

00:13:16: It looks beautiful.

00:13:18: As do you, obviously.

00:13:19: I mean, that's quite an accomplishment being in the industry for thirty years and being in the same company for thirty years.

00:13:26: Maybe that fits to the generation or generation transformation.

00:13:32: Would you put those two together maybe?

00:13:34: Can you do that?

00:13:35: You can, for sure.

00:13:36: What

00:13:36: exactly does that mean?

00:13:38: So generation transformation, it's more than just a theme that Dow have at K this year.

00:13:42: So I'd say it's more of an ethos.

00:13:44: It's definitely something I've gone through.

00:13:47: And it is about the agility of adaptation.

00:13:50: So whether that is your people, your skillsets, your learning, your technologies, it is about making sure that we are staying connected but also real and honest as to what's adapting in the world.

00:14:04: So the generation transformation I would still say is me.

00:14:07: I'm maybe of the older generation but I'm still transforming.

00:14:11: And one example, actually, and it attains to your earlier guest is my nephew, Ben.

00:14:17: So he is a Loughborough University in the UK, and he is choosing to study product design.

00:14:24: And he's actually currently in a year in industry at an innovation organization, and he's focusing on medical prosthetics.

00:14:32: So a young guy who has curiosity and passion is actually going into a place where material science technology will develop for the future.

00:14:42: And something about that also, it warms my heart because, yeah, I'm obviously very proud of him.

00:14:48: But that curiosity is the next generation who are using not only material science, technology, but their drive to create solutions for the future.

00:14:58: So he, for me, is generation transformation as am I.

00:15:02: That's amazing.

00:15:03: That's wonderful that he's going that path.

00:15:06: You just said You have to be real and be honest about the future.

00:15:11: Is that a hard, difficult path to go down?

00:15:14: sometimes because people are expecting you to say, oh, it's all going to be fine.

00:15:18: And sometimes you have to say, actually, this is not going to be fine.

00:15:21: And we've got to fix that.

00:15:22: Yeah.

00:15:22: Yeah.

00:15:22: And you have to be, I mean, my current job is strategic growth and sustainability.

00:15:28: And you could argue, does that really mesh?

00:15:31: And I would say, yeah, I actually think they're complementary.

00:15:34: So, Dow are.

00:15:36: Where are and will be committed to decarbonization and growth?

00:15:41: So as the world evolves and the landscape changes, you also have to adapt.

00:15:46: That means being open to those conversations, so nothing can be done alone.

00:15:51: You know, you hear the word collaboration everywhere, but it's in the DNA of Dow.

00:15:55: We can't do this by ourselves.

00:15:57: So if the honesty can come from our customers, our partners, our converters, the brand owners, the consumers, What do they need?

00:16:06: What do they value?

00:16:08: What do they want?

00:16:09: And then how can we use not just the power of plastic, the power of resin, the power of our people to understand that and materialize that to a solution that benefits.

00:16:20: So I don't think that sustainability or a circular economy going forward versus strategic growth.

00:16:29: are anything other than complimentary.

00:16:32: it's about understanding what a market needs going forward.

00:16:34: what changed automotive for example?

00:16:37: so you know so many things have changed in so many markets.

00:16:40: how do you adapt with the knowledge and the expertise and the need to grow and grow in the right way?

00:16:47: i

00:16:47: don't want to put this the wrong way but um no because i think you might be an exception regarding that kind of mindset.

00:16:56: for someone who's been in the industry so long.

00:16:58: I think there are a lot of people, or I would expect to be people in the industry who've been in there so long who are not so open to change and finding it all together.

00:17:08: Is this a wrong opinion I have?

00:17:10: Or is that something you would say it's sometimes getting the older people who've been in the industry for a long time to change their mindset is a hard thing to do?

00:17:16: Or do you think they've figured out they've got to go the right path?

00:17:19: No,

00:17:20: it's individual, their response, but I Change is inevitable and change is exciting.

00:17:26: And if you also look at everything, I mean, look at the markets that Dow is currently supporting.

00:17:30: If you come visit us in the pavilion, you're going to see everything from mobility to infrastructure, you know, fire retardant building panels, to recyclable material on a new car seat, which we all can spend a lot of time in, maybe in an electric vehicle in the future, that's made of recyclable material, to medical packaging that is creating product that can be down gaged, so lightweighted, but also protect the content.

00:17:58: So no compromise on barrier.

00:18:01: It's about asking honest questions, because that's the only way we're going to move forward.

00:18:06: So ask the honest questions, collaborate together.

00:18:10: And if it doesn't work, it doesn't work.

00:18:12: OK, let's try something else.

00:18:14: But that honesty and that connection, that's what drives innovation.

00:18:18: And for me, those are the conversations that are always worth having.

00:18:23: What was different compared to thirty years ago to now regarding the speed of things?

00:18:28: The jacket still things,

00:18:29: which is phenomenal.

00:18:32: The speed of things.

00:18:33: I think now we need to be very courageous.

00:18:36: I think the honesty in terms of, and also the way that the world, the landscape has evolved, obviously technology, not only in what you're able to do from a lab perspective and a material science evolution perspective, but everything else that comes along.

00:18:51: that from the digital front.

00:18:53: So like we have PAC Studios, it's an innovative collaboration space.

00:18:57: We're even able to do that remotely.

00:18:59: So digitally with customers who want to try something, we have the technology that says let's try and even if you can't come to us, we can broadcast it digitally.

00:19:08: So that collaborative space where I would just encourage people to speak up as to what they think they need, let us work together to try and find it and either succeed together or maybe we fail faster, but through that we'll also learn and through that we can be agile to adapt to the next thing.

00:19:25: It's been absolute pleasure having you on the show today.

00:19:28: I think you are a super woman, a super power woman.

00:19:31: If you go on the LinkedIn page of Dow, you can check that out yourself because I know you have a picture of you in a superhero outfit.

00:19:38: We all have superpowers.

00:19:39: You do.

00:19:40: I know, absolutely.

00:19:40: I wish you another thirty years or more in the industry and thank you for doing so much and changing so much.

00:19:45: And we hope to have you all visit them on the... Yes,

00:19:48: come to the event with her and the whole time.

00:19:51: Perfect.

00:19:52: Thanks so much.

00:19:53: And I started the show talking about AI and sustainability.

00:19:57: And if you want, you can go check out this Smart Saturday tomorrow with the strong focus on AI topics.

00:20:03: But of course, there is so much else happening in the halls.

00:20:06: We have the guided tours.

00:20:08: We have the exhibitor party on Saturday, of course.

00:20:11: So, yeah.

00:20:12: You should keep some of your energy, but make sure you let it go to in the halls, whatever you feel like doing.

00:20:16: Tomorrow on the show, we have Thorsten Kuhmann, a board member of HAUDMA, and Olivier Kaiser, president of Edeca Polymer, additive Europe.

00:20:25: So I wish you a lovely day.

00:20:27: Enjoy your time.

00:20:28: Okay, it's a fantastic fair.

00:20:30: There's so much to see.

00:20:32: So get going.

00:20:33: Come on.

00:20:33: Have some fun.

00:20:34: Out you go.

00:20:36: This show was

00:20:37: brought to you by Dao.