Evening lecture by dr. Ir. Albert ten Busschen, organized by the 'Chemische Kring Zwolle'.

Developments in the Plastics Technology Lectorate, Windesheim

Presentation 1: Full-time Master's degree in Polymer Engineering from Windesheim and NHL Stenden
Presentation 2: Method for reusing end-of-life thermoset composites

As usual, the January lecture will be followed by a short break with the General Members' Meeting of the Chemische Kring Zwolle. CKZ members received the documents by email.

Summary
Plastics are used everywhere in our modern lives, and for good reason. This lecture will explain the properties of plastics. It will also present their many applications and explain how plastic products are manufactured.
The lecture will feature two presentations: one about a new and unique educational program at two universities of applied sciences, and one about the potential processing and reuse of fiber-reinforced plastics.

Presentation 1: Master Polymer Engineering
The Polymer Engineering master's program is a new, two-year, full-time program unique in the Netherlands. It was developed and is offered by Windesheim University of Applied Sciences in Zwolle and NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences in Emmen. This "professional master's" program is application-oriented. The presentation will explain the program, the intended students, and the opportunities it offers for the plastics industry.

Presentation 2: End-of-Life Composites and Solutions
Composites (fiber-reinforced plastics) allow for the creation of extremely strong and lightweight structures with a high degree of design flexibility. This makes them an ideal construction material for applications such as aircraft construction and wind turbine blades. However, recycling these materials at the end of their life (End-of-Life) is problematic. This presentation will explain the background of processing methods for End-of-Life composites. It will also explain the special reuse method developed by Windesheim University of Applied Sciences.

Speaker Biography
Albert ten Busschen (Zwolle, 1966) has extensive experience in the development and production of composite and construction products. During his mechanical engineering studies and subsequent doctoral research, he focused primarily on the mechanical properties of fiber-reinforced plastics (composites).
He then spent seven years working as head of the Reinforcement Evaluation Centre at PPG Fiber Glass in Hoogezand. In this role, the applications of fiberglass products as reinforcement in plastics were evaluated. In the following years, he was head of the Wood Products for Construction department at SHR Hout Research in Wageningen and later research manager at Tech-Wood Nederland in Rijssen. In these roles, Albert and his team conducted extensive research and development in the field of wood products and wood/plastic compounds. For the following sixteen years, he was technical director at Poly Products in Werkendam. This company manufactures a wide variety of composite products and structures, where Albert consistently played a key role in the design, engineering, and production start-up. A key achievement was the development, production, and CSC certification of the Cargoshell composite container. During this time, he also chaired the Dutch composites industry association, VKCN (now CompositesNL).
Since June 2015, he has been an associate professor in the Plastics Technology department at Windesheim University of Applied Sciences in Zwolle. Initially, he held this position part-time alongside his work at Poly Products, and since 2023, full-time. In this role at the university, he applies his expertise in composites to applied research and educational development. A new development he initiated is the reuse of end-of-life thermoset composites, for which he has now launched his fourth RAAK-MKB project. Since 2025, he has also been the coordinator of the full-time Master's degree in Polymer Engineering offered by Windesheim University of Applied Sciences and NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences.

Invitees are very welcome.

For further information about the lectures, please contact the CKZ by email: ckzsecretariaat@gmail.com.