First bio-data cable: Federal Chancellor Scholz takes the "touch test" at LAPP
Olaf Scholz at the Hannover Fair
Stuttgart/Hannover, 22 April 2024 - High-ranking visitors to the LAPP stand at the Hannover Fair: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, accompanied by Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, learnt about the innovations of the Stuttgart-based global market leader for integrated solutions and branded products in the field of cable and connection technology.
Matthias Lapp, CEO of the Lapp Group, presented the first ETHERLINE® FD bioP Cat.5e data cable, which consists of a partially bio-based jacket material based on maize, to the Federal Chancellor as a highlight. The special thing about this is that previous data cables only had plastic cable sheaths. The new, sustainable variant with a bio-based outer sheath consists of 43 per cent renewable raw materials. This reduces the carbon footprint by 24 percent compared to the fossil-based sheath. 1
"Have a feel, Mr Federal Chancellor"
Matthias Lapp presented the organic variant of the cable to the two politicians. "Feel what an organic sheathing feels like. There is a lot of sustainability in this product," said Matthias Lapp. The organic variant has the same product properties as a data cable with a fossil-based sheath. Both variants are suitable for particularly demanding applications: for example, for continuous-motion use in cable chains or in moving machine parts. They enable lightning-fast information exchange for the data transmission of analogue and digital signals in the frequency range up to 100 MHz. They also offer optimum protection against electromagnetic interference. Furthermore, the bio-TPU outer sheath is insensitive to mineral-oil-based lubricants and resistant to many chemicals. The company tested the cable for over one million bending cycles in the cable chain at its own test centre at LAPP.
LAPP focuses on sustainability
During the visit, it was particularly important for CEO Matthias Lapp to emphasise how committed the family business is to sustainability. LAPP is continuously working to further improve the carbon footprint of its products and processes. In the case of cables, LAPP always considers two main components: the copper and the plastics for the cable sheathing. In the case of copper, LAPP already uses large quantities of secondary raw materials. Until now, purely fossil-based materials - i.e. plastics - have been used for jacket materials. "Of course, we are constantly working on developing sustainable products and expanding this step by step across our entire portfolio. And we already have the next sustainable control cable in the pipeline," says Matthias Lapp.
1 Tested according to ASTM D6866