HF’s Limper to receive Herzlich medal at ITEC

Akron, Ohio  – Andreas Limper has been awarded the 2016 Harold Herzlich Distinguished Technology Medal in recognition of his pioneering research in various aspects of  tire technology.

Limper will receive the award during a special ceremony on 14 Sept as part of the International Tire & Exhibition Conference.

The announcement was made by Harold Herzlich, Walter Waddell and Larry Evans, co-chairmen of ITEC, being held 13-15 Sept at the John S. Knight Center in Akron.

Limper is managing director and a member of the management board of Harburg-Freudenberger Maschinenbau GmbH, also known as the HF Mixing Group, located in Freudenberg, Germany.

The HF leader holds around 35 patents on rubber and plastics processing, has been published in about 180 publications, and is the author and editor of several books. He is a past recipient of the Erich Conrad Medal of the German Rubber Association.

Limper also is a long-time professor at Aachen University. His expertise includes tire production, rubber mixing, rubber extrusion, and thermoplastics.

Herzlich said Limper was selected for the award “in recognition and appreciation for his dedicated efforts and contributions addressing the ever increasing performance and economic demands placed on the tire manufacturing industry.”

Herzlich praised Limper’s track record of turning research theories into practicalities, stating that his “extrapolation and application of complex theoretical concepts ‘to where the rubber meets the road’ requires the rare application of focus and dedication that the medal represents.

“It also requires an intuitive understanding of how this great industry operates and openly accepts disruptive innovation as a key ingredient for its success and survival,” Herzlich said

Limper has worked in academia researching and mentoring researchers and has applied his knowledge to practical applications during his career.

He studied mechanical engineering at Aachen University, then started his professional career as a researcher in rubber extrusion at the IK, or Institute for Plastics Processing at Aachen University. His doctoral thesis examined a model for the temperature and pressure build-up in rubber extruders, a model that is still used for screw designs.

After receiving his doctorate, he became the head of the Extrusion Department in 1985 at IKV, where research was conducted in thermoforming, extruder screw and die design (thermoplastics), PVC processing, film extrusion technology, rubber mixing, rubber extrusion and control systems for extrusion purposes.

In 1987, he moved to Battenfeld Extrusionstechnik. a German machine manufacturer, whose portfolio included extrusion machinery such as blown film and calendering lines, planetary extruders, pipe and profile extrusion for polyolefins and PVC, and granulation systems. There he was responsible for all research and development activities.

Two years later, he returned to work in the field of rubber processing. As head of the technical department at Werner & Pfleiderer in Freudenberg, he was responsible for the startup of the technical center, the automation department and an R&D department.

Limper continued to give lectures at Aachen University, and in 1992 he became a formal professor there in the field of rubber technology.

In 1995, he went to the University of Paderborn for a professorship on polymer processing machinery. There, he organized 10 working groups that researched rubber and PVC rheology, rubber and thermoplastics extrusion, die design and rubber mixing.

In 2001, he returned to Freudenberg to head the mixing business of ThyssenKrupp Elastomertechnik, which was later sold to Possehl and changed its name to Harburg-Freudenberger.

Limber retained his professorship at Paderborn and Aachen. He assists the IKV’s work in rubber technology and serves as a member of the scientific board of the German Institute for Rubber Technology in Hanover.

The Harold Herzlich Distinguished Technology Achievement Award recognizes a person “whose contribution of pioneering research in tire construction, tread design and manufacturing, coupled with engineering and materials innovations, has significantly contributed to the betterment of society, safety of transportation and global tire technology.”

The inaugural award, called the ITEC Distinguished Technology Achievement Award, was presented in 2008 to Maurizio Boiocchi, then senior vice president and global director, research and development, of Pirelli Tyre S.p.A. Four years later, it was renamed for Herzlich, the longtime ITEC chairman and former ACS Rubber Division chair.

Past recipients include Marion Pottinger, a professional engineer and owner of M’gineering L.L.C., and Bernhard Bluemich, chair of macromolecular chemistry, at Aachen University.