General Assembly 2025

On May 14 and 15, 2025, the members of the Gütegemeinschaft Kunststoff-Fensterprofilsysteme e.V. (GKFP) and EPPA Deutschland e.V. came together for their annual general assemblies. This year, the associations and guests met at the Dorint Hotel Sanssouci in Potsdam. A venue with history, as the associations held their General Assembly there 16 years ago.

Public lecture event

On May 15, the two Bonn-based associations welcomed their members and invited guests to a lecture event before the general meeting of the Gütegemeinschaft Kunststoff-Fensterprofilsysteme e.V. took place immediately afterwards. The presentations served as an opportunity for the two associations (RTG, GKV), of which EPPA Deutschland has become a member, to introduce themselves. These were supplemented by impulses from plastics research, a central field of innovation for EPPA.

The RTG as an interface in political dialog

Thomas Drinkuth from the Repräsentanz Transparente Gebäudehülle (RTG) gave a presentation on current developments in energy-efficient refurbishment and the role of transparent building elements as well as the activities of the RTG.

The RTG is involved in the political debate on construction and refurbishment and shapes framework conditions in collaboration with politicians, authorities, scientists, the media and industry associations. The aim is to give greater political weight to the construction industry, energy policy and housing and to establish balanced policy instruments such as subsidies, CO₂ pricing and advice. The focus is on energy and climate policy developments such as the EU Green Deal, ETS II, the national implementation of the EU Buildings Directive (EPBD), the Climate Protection and Adaptation Act and the Federal Funding for Efficient Buildings (BEG) and other funding programs. In the construction sector, tax incentives, the amendment to the Building Code, building type E and the Construction Products Regulation are particularly relevant. In terms of economic policy, RTG considers investment offensives, special funds and a strategically oriented industrial policy to be key to the transformation of the industry.

The RTG is initiating its own studies to substantiate the content, including the current study "The future-proof building envelope", in which building standards are modeled and analysed with regard to energy efficiency, cost-effectiveness and climate change adaptation (especially heat protection). The aim is to define relevant requirement values as a basis for the upcoming amendment to the Building Energy Act (GEG) as part of the EPBD implementation in 2025/26. One key finding is that increasing the breadth of refurbishment makes more economic sense than maximizing the depth of refurbishment - the principle of the "best possible" refurbishment is being replaced by a pragmatic and economically viable solution.

The RTG is also working on a position paper on the carbon footprint of the transparent building envelope over its entire life cycle. This will serve as the basis for its evaluation of future legislative amendments and for clearly defining effective measures.

Challenges, opportunities and political representation of the interests of the plastics processing industry in Germany from the perspective of the GKV

Dr. Oliver Möllenstädt, Managing Director of Gesamtverband Kunststoffverarbeitende Industrie e.V. (GKV), addressed the current challenges and opportunities facing the plastics industry, in particular the political and economic framework conditions. The GKV is the umbrella organization of the German plastics processing industry. As an umbrella organization, it bundles and represents the common interests of its member associations and acts as a mouthpiece for politics and the public.

With an annual turnover of around 69.4 billion euros and over 312,000 employees in over 2,985 companies, the plastics processing industry is one of the most important economic sectors in Germany. The sector, which is dominated by medium-sized companies, is characterized by a high level of innovation and a wide range of products. Plastics are used in numerous areas, from packaging and building supplies to technical parts and consumer goods.

The GKV is committed to good framework conditions and the growth of the plastics processing industry. To this end, the association supports environmental policy fields of action within the industry, such as the circular economy, climate protection and the expansion of renewable energies as well as a pollutant-free environment, and represents interests vis-à-vis political institutions such as the Commission, the Bundestag, ministries and other authorities. It organizes an exchange to promote dialogue between politics and industry. This includes an annual business press conference, an annual survey on the economic situation and extensive communication on industry-relevant topics in trade and business media.

In conclusion, Dr. Möllenstädt urged everyone to get involved and called for participation in the working committees.

Innovations, sustainability and certifications in the PVC profile industry: current developments and research approaches at SKZ

Simon Fischer, Group Manager System/Special Testing at SKZ - KFE gGmbH, presented practical insights into new technological developments and research projects. The VinylPlus sustainability program, which supports companies in meeting environmental standards, increasing market acceptance and achieving climate targets, was one of the topics discussed. Prerequisites for participation include membership, sustainable supply chain management and the use of resource-saving raw materials.

The OCS certification (Operation Clean Sweep®), a voluntary initiative by EuPC and Plastics Europe to prevent PVC pellet losses in production, the second largest source of primary microplastics, was also discussed.

Environmental product declarations (EPDs) also play an important role. They enable a transparent and standardized presentation of the environmental performance of building products (Type III according to ISO 14025 / EN 15804).

With a view to upcoming reporting obligations, Fischer provided information on the planned omnibus regulation: CSRD and EU taxonomy requirements for large companies are to be simplified from 2028. Despite the reduced scope and introduction of threshold values, the effort involved remains considerable, which is why early data collection is recommended. For small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), voluntary sustainability reporting will be based on the VSME standard.

Ongoing research projects at SKZ include particle foaming of rigid PVC to develop lightweight, stable materials, solvent-free laminating for sustainable surface finishing, solvent-based recycling to recover high-quality raw materials from composite materials and Ultraviolet Germicidal Irradiation (UVGI) - a process for germ-reducing UV treatment of surfaces and air flows.

General assembly of Gütegemeinschaft Kunststoff-Fensterprofilsysteme e.V.

Following the lecture event, the general assembly meeting of the Gütegemeinschaft Kunststoff-Fensterprofilsysteme (GKFP) took place.

As part of the report on the past financial year, the Executive Board, Dr. Michael Stöger (REHAU Industries SE & Co. KG) and the Chairman of the Quality Committee, Peter Czajkowski (Gealan) presented the news from the GKFP-office. Bernhard Elias, Ulrike Quiehl and Adaja Steinke summarized the main activities of the working groups, the Quality Committee, standardization committees and public relations projects for their presentations.

Following the fiscal auditors' report and the presentation of the annual financial statements, the actions of the Executive Board were approved and the budget for 2025 was voted on. Christian Fischer (Schüco Polymer Technologies KG) stood for election as Chairman and Frank Zimmermann (Rehau Industries SE & Co.) as Deputy Chairman of the new Executive Board, both of whom were confirmed. As part of the new elections, the previous Board of Directors - Dr. Michael Stöger (REHAU Industries SE & Co.) and Dr. Michael Szerman (VEKA AG) - thanked the members for the trust they had placed in them and the good cooperation. Dr. Stöger's farewell was moving: he not only bid farewell as a member of the Management Board but also announced his retirement for 2026 with the words "happy and".

The Quality Committee has also been reorganized: Igor Gorbunov (REHAU Industries SE & Co. KG), Torsten Voigt (Salamander Industrie-Produkte GmbH), Jörg Hofmann (Schüco Polymer Technologies KG), Michael Walther (Urban GmbH & Co. Maschinenbau KG) and Justin Wesselmann (VEKA AG) were elected to the Quality Committee. Carsten Schäfer (aluplast GmbH), Peter Czajkowski (GEALAN Fenster-Systeme GmbH) and Ralf Grewenig (profine GmbH) were confirmed. With a representative from Urban, we also have a member of the quality committee who is not a profile manufacturer.

Matthias Wolff (REHAU Industries SE & Co. KG) and Thorsten Drüge (VEKA AG) were reappointed as fiscal auditors.

The event in Potsdam was rated a complete success by all participants: it not only provided in-depth information and impetus, but also valuable personal encounters and discussions that further strengthened the network within the industry.

As a member, you have exclusive access to the presentation slides of our events in the login area of the GKFP homepage.