Plastipolis took part in the EU-US cluster matchmaking event organized by ECCP on April 25th and 26th during Hannover Messe. 

 It was a great opportunity to meet with US counterparts from Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire and Kansas.

The US have always been a priority for the cluster as this is a target country for most of its members. Plastipolis presented the results of this collaboration during the E.U-US seminar on Monday, April 25th. The cluster has signed MOUs with 3 US based partners from Ohio and Mississippi regarding polymers, composites and bio-based materials. Those partnerships allowed the cluster to accompany about 30 companies since 2012. The WIINTECH ‘European Cluster Consortium’ (a pilot project taking place between 2012 and 2014 with a group of 8 European clusters in the materials and processes fields) was a great support in the development of a joint inter-cluster cooperation strategy towards international clusters outside of Europe, including the USA. Following those first initiatives including fact-finding missions, welcome of foreign delegations, representation on trade fairs, Plastipolis would like to move one step forward by setting up a permanent representation office. It could have a staff member hosted directly in its partner’s premises and working on networking opportunities and joint projects between France and the US, at academic, technological and business levels. 

Caroline Pin, Director of International Business at Plastipolis Cluster