Contributions

Change in TEGEWA Management

Frankfurt, July 2023

The TEGEWA office in Frankfurt is headed by Mr Ralf Kattanek by 1 July 2023.

Dr Alex Föller, who has been General Secretary since 2001, is thus handing over to an industry expert who – once active in the Association as a representative of a member company himself – is very familiar with both the Association’s workflows and the needs and necessities of companies in the chemical industry.

When Dr Föller took over the management of the association in 2001, it coincided with the publication of the White Paper “Strategy for a Future Chemicals Policy” – the birth of today’s European chemicals legislation REACH.

Advocating for science-based and viable legislation thus became one of the main tasks of the new TEGEWA Managing Director.

In a way, handing over to his successor at a time when the current REACH text is being revised closes the circle:

Ralf Kattanek looks back on many years of experience in the textile industry. He started his career in fine chemicals and then in the textile dye division of BASF AG. When this division was sold, he joined DyStar to lead the textile business in the EMEA region. Mr Kattanek gained international experience as Managing Director for DyStar in Turkey and for CHT in Switzerland. Most recently, he served as CSO (Chief Sustainability Officer) for the CHT Group, having spent many years building and leading the global textile chemicals business.

For many years, Mr Kattanek supported TEGEWA’s activities both in the Working Group Textile Auxiliaries and Dyes and on the TEGEWA Board of Directors and played a key significant role in their further development. As a result, he got to know the processes and the team very well.

“I am looking forward to the new task, which offers great challenges with, among other things, the further development of the Strategy, internationalisation and the implementation of the European Union’s Green Deal. I can rely on a very experienced team with a high level of expertise. Furthermore, I am very pleased that Dr Alex Föller will continue to support the association for a while yet with his many years of know-how, e.g., on technical issues in the field of surfactants.”

TEGEWA association is a trade association of the German chemical industry. It represents the interests of currently 104 member companies that produce chemicals for industrial use. These include, for example, products for the manufacture of paper, textiles or leather goods, but also raw materials for the cosmetics and detergent industry.

CESIO Lifetime Award for Dr Föller

CESIO Lifetime Award for Dr Föller

At the closing ceremony of the 12th CESIO World Surfactant Congress in Rome, Dr. Föller, who has been instrumental in shaping the content and organisation of the CESIO Congress for many years, was presented with the CESIO Lifetime Award.

In his laudatory speech, CESIO President Tony Gough (Innospec) highlighted Dr Föller’s extensive knowledge of surfactants from a technical, commercial and regulatory perspective.

On the CESIO Executive Committee, he represented TEGEWA’s interests as a national association. The list of CESIO congresses in which he participated in the organising and programme committees is impressive: Florence 2000, Berlin 2004, Paris 2008, Vienna 2011, Barcelona 2013, Istanbul 2015, Munich 2019. This year’s congress in Rome was the second one he shaped as chair of the programme committee – and also the last one he actively contributed to.

The Lifetime Award was the big final of 23 years of CESIO Congress.

First General Assembly of new European Association EUCTL

(Frankfurt, 16-11-2021)

On February 10th, 2021, the first General Assembly of the European Association EUCTL (European Chemistry for Textile and Leather) was held – due to the pandemic situation in form of a virtual conference. EUCTL had been founded in 2020 by TEGEWA and the Italian Chemical Industry Association Federchimica and shall help to achieve better – and earlier – involvement in European legislation processes.

This first General Assembly also comprised the election of Board and Chair Persons. Due to restructuring processes in the membership, the board was forced to make use of its right on cooptation and to determine Dr. Wolfgang Schumann, Rudolf, as successor to the first elected president, Ralf Kattanek. Dr. Filippo Pampagnin, Bozzetto, holds the position as Vice President. Further Board members are :

Roberto Ghioldi,  E.R.C.A. S.P.A.
Dr. Giuseppe Li Bassi,  Lamberti S.P.A.
Dr. Benoit Moutault, CHT Germany GmbH
Marc Smit,  Smit & Zoon B.V.

 

Azo Dyes pursuant to TRGS 614Classification of those azo dyes that can cleave to carcinogenic amines being concerned by the use ban of TRGS 614. PDF (latest version of march 2001) opposite.

Azo dyes according to RGS 614   pdf

REACH: TEGEWA Use DescriptorsBasis for calculation of environmental releases in customer's industries

Fibre Descriptors - Background   pdf
Descriptors - Fibres   vnd.ms-excel
Leather Auxiliaries - Background   pdf
Descriptors - Leather Auxiliaries   vnd.ms-excel
Textile Auxiliaries - Background   pdf
Descriptors - Textile Auxiliaries   vnd.ms-excel

Brochures

The brochure on “The Busy Compounds“ (the title intends to illustrate surfactants’ behavior) is easily comprehensible and suitable both for users in industry and pupils in senior classes.

 

For interested professionals in industry, a working group of physicochemical experts from TEGEWA and CESIO member companies also offers comprehensive information, e.g. the “Foam Guideline” or publications on a range of topics relevant for practical work in the field of surfactants.

Surfactants Brochure   pdf | DE   pdf | EN
Foam Guideline   pdf
Critical Micelle Concentration   pdf
Hydrophilic/Lipophilic Balance   pdf
Solubility   pdf
Determination of Surface Tension   pdf

Product Safety & Occupational Safety

Not one but two initiatives TEGEWA is supporting in order to enable workers in tanneries worldwide to work safely: with a Safety Poster in different languages and the Sustainability Online Tool/ Checklist „Tannery of the Future“. The TEGEWA Steering Group „Leather Auxiliaries“ has initiated and financially supported both projects.

Safety Poster

The Safety Poster „Safety Guidelines for a safe use of chemicals” for workers in tanneries in Asia and South America is available in English, Mandarin, Hindi, Bengali, Tamil and Spanish. It is hung up in production facilities of the customers and is meant to improve safe use of chemicals in those tanneries where occupational safety and environmental protection are of minor priority so far.

Poster Safety Chinese English   pdf

Tannery of the future

The Sustainability Online Tool/ Checklist Tannery of the Futurehas been developed to help tanneries build a future-proof and socially responsible industry. It is an opportunity to classify oneself in view of ethical business behaviour, occupational and environmental protection and conservation of resources. Tannery of the future is made up of a questionnaire on topics such as traceability in supply chain, energy consumption in production, health and safety of employees or emergency plans in the tanneries. By means of questions on self estimation one can visualize the actual state in one’s company and draft possible improvement plans. Additionally, the questionnaire contains references to conceivable improvements and support.

ILM e-newsletter 09/2016   pdf
Chemiereport 2018 03 Tanneryofthefuture   pdf

Opinions / Position PapersBelow you will find background information and papers with regard to issues of current interest for our member companies. Currently, there is especially information with regard to cyclical siloxanes available.

Free formaldehyde content in aqueous formulations (2016) - TEGEWA method   pdf