AIMPLAS closed 2022 with ordinary income of €19.3 million, a 10% increase. The technology centre has more than 3,000 customers and nearly 800 member companies.
With a staff of 218 people in 2022, the Plastics Technology Centre implemented more than 270 R&D&I projects, provided 6,150 technological services and carried out 213 training actions. It also renewed its certification as a Great Place to Work in Spain.
AIMPLAS, the Plastics Technology Centre, reported €19.3 million in revenue in financial year 2022, a 10% increase over 2021, thanks to the trust of its 3,100 clients, 789 member companies and staff of 218 people. AIMPLAS also revalidated its certification in 2022 as a Great Place to Work in Spain through GPTW consulting.
The technology centre implemented a total of 271 R&D&I projects (80 of which were international in scope) involving 512 companies, which resulted in €62.7 million in direct revenue. Among these undertakings was the technology centre’s first aerospace project, carried out with the ESA, to develop new plastic materials in space under microgravity conditions. At regional level, support from the Valencian Institute of Business Competitiveness (IVACE) made it possible to continue research in areas such as sustainable agriculture, forestry, climate change, decarbonization of the economy, sustainable and future mobility, food safety, circular economy, health, chemical technology, characterization of materials and Industry 4.0.
AIMPLAS also continued to expand the scope of accreditation of its laboratories by earning certification of its testing of reusable tableware. As a result, a total of 852 companies contracted AIMPLAS to provide 6,150 technological services that helped them improve their competitiveness by bringing safer products to market and complying with the strict, ever-changing legislation affecting plastic materials.
In the area of training and events, a total of 213 actions were carried out that took 4,363 hours and were attended by 4,842 professionals from a thousand companies. This area included the second edition of the postgraduate course University Expert on Bioplastics and Biocomposites from the Universitat de València, the ninth edition of the Master’s Degree in Polymer and Composite Materials Technology at the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), not to mention international conferences such as the fifth edition of MeetingPack, jointly organized with AINIA, and the first edition of the International Seminar on Biotechnology. And, at national level, the sixth edition of the Workshop on Plastics and the Circular Economy was held, jointly organized with CICLOPLAST, which allowed AIMPLAS to continue training new professionals and help people working in the sector to refresh their knowledge and stay up to date.
Sustainable growthIn order to continue driving this growth, in 2022, AIMPLAS also inaugurated its expanded facilities. Thanks to the financial support of IVACE, the total area for R&D&I on polymer synthesis, circular economy and medicine was increased by 2,000 sqm. Construction also began on the new 1,100 sqm building, which will increase the total floor space to 12,000 sqm.
It represents a real commitment to sustainable growth because environmental criteria were taken into account in the construction of the new building, thus enabling AIMPLAS to obtain BREEAM certification. AIMPLAS continued to measure its environmental impact by recording its corporate carbon footprint in 2021 in the register of the Spanish Ministry for the Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge, which enabled it to earn its third CALCULO seal of approval. For the past three years, the technology centre has also calculated its social return on investment (SROI), which showed last year that for every euro invested in 2021, a return of €13.70 was generated for society. In addition, a total impact of €623.1 million was generated in SDGs and €310.3 million in the circular economy.