“MondoPelma: the evolution of flexible polyurethane foam“ is the title of an exhibition that took place from 22 to 26 January in Milan on the campus of the Bovisa Polytechnic of Milan. The exhibition marks a new stage in the research path that Pelma is making in recent years to promote the quality of its materials and enhance their research. For 50 years, leader in the production of flexible polyurethane foam, Pelma wanted to present not only the history of a company through its products, but the continuous evolution of a material, the flexible expanded polyurethane, open to future developments both within the products and applications.                                                                                                                                                                                                              The setting up of the exhibition, curated by Studio Giovanetti, allows to grasp not only the state of the art, telling the production context and the reference materials, but also to illustrate a constantly evolving situation that aims to develop new products and new applications. No more then only conventional or high resilience polyurethane for the upholstery market or the “visco-elastic“ for the bedding sector, but also polyurethanes with innovative features, water resistant or cooled when in contact with body heat. Materials that open the way for new markets and new applications such as packaging, medical, personal care, sport and sound insulation.

The future of polyurethane between economy and innovation

The evolution of flexible polyurethane foam has also been the focus of an interesting meeting that took place on Tuesday 22nd January, on the occasion of the inauguration of the exhibition. Marco Pelucchi, CEO of Pelma, with the enthusiasm and passion for his work and for the polyurethane that distinguish him, explained the motivations that led him to organize this exhibition and give life to this meeting, an important moment to talk , listen, share, compare.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           Angelo Bonsignori, General Manager of the Rubber Plastic Federation, illustrated the beached plastics recycling project, a project created in collaboration with Legambiente, to collect and recycle the beached waste, transforming it into a symbolic gadget, shaped like a small fish, to raise awareness and public opinion on beach litter, underlining the plastics industry's commitment. He then explained how is facing a very important challenge in recent years: to innovation, market and employment and to reduce the impact on the environment that derives from the dispersion of plastic waste caused by bad behavior. To respond effectively to this challenge, we must support the efforts of the post-consumer plastic recycling sector and implement collection schemes and recycling quality.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                It was therefore the turn of Giulia Taveggia, Market Researcher of Csil, and Alessandra Tracogna, Senior Partner of Csil, the Centro Studi Industria Leggera, which has been analyzing the furniture industry for over 35 years. Their interventions focused on the global sector of upholstery and mattresses, providing very interesting data on the current situation and forecasts for the sector considering the latest economic problems.                                                    At the end of the morning, the speech by Tommaso Puccioni, one of the founders of the company Banale, an innovative company, which thanks to the polyurethane and the collaboration with Marco Pelucchi, has created one of its best-performing products: Omni Pillow. It is a travel pillow with three different functions: a pillow to wrap around the neck for air travel, folded up as a desk pillow, or tied up as a topper to make a hotel pillow more comfortable.