Possible new collaborations for the University of Oulu and Mirka
Kirjoittanut Vilma Lehto
During their visit in the University of Oulu, SHAPE’s team visited Fablab. Tour guide was Jani Ylioja.
SHAPE is an ecosystem of Mirka Oy, a manufacturer of abrasives, polishing compounds and tools, and its goal is to develop new sustainable solutions for industry and construction. The aim is to create innovations that can be used to extend the life cycle of products and materials.
"The goal is to find solutions that support the circular economy," explains SHAPE's Boosting circularity leader Petra Härmälä.
Products can be made suitable for the circular economy, for example, by utilizing sustainable material solutions and by making manufacturing processes environmentally friendly. In this case, recyclable and bio-based materials, such as wood-based plastic substitutes, are used as materials for the products. In addition, the circular economy is increased by extending the lifespan of products: SHAPE develops solutions for product repair, refurbishment and reconstruction. The circular economy will also be boosted by, for example, finding new uses for process by-products.
According to Härmälä, circular economy perspectives must be taken into account already at the design stage of the product. For example, sustainable bio-based materials are currently being studied at SHAPE and may one day replace fossil-based materials.
"In abrasive products, a wide variety of materials are currently used as backing materials: plastic films, textiles and paper. We aim to ensure that in the future the backing materials would be bio-based, for example, and would all fit into the same recycling technology. This ensures that all materials circulate and no waste is generated,” Härmälä clarifies.
In abrasive products, a wide variety of materials are currently used as backing materials. The goal for Mirka is that in the future the backing materials would be bio-based, for example.
Showing how it’s done as a leading company
Business Finland has granted funding for Mirka's SHAPE ecosystem, and it enables Mirka to find partners for developing innovations. Mirka is the leading company of the project.
"The launch of this ecosystem was a very great achievement from our research side. Now our goal is to make Mirka as circular economy-based company as possible," says Viktor Sundholm, Project Manager at SHAPE.
Sundholm says he is excited about how innovative and self-developing company Mirka is.
"I didn't know you could even innovate this much around sanding. It's been the biggest wow for me in this project," Sundholm laughs.
New solutions through academic research
One of the possible partners for Mirka may be the University of Oulu.
"We are looking for new cooperation networks because we want to strengthen what we are doing with a wide range of expertise. That is why we want to involve academic research and thus find new solutions," says Härmälä.
Both Härmälä, Sundholm and the rest of the SHAPE team visited the University of Oulu in September, and this allowed researchers to present their ideas on possible forms of collaboration.
Cooperation with the University of Oulu may be possible, as Jukka Majava, for example, who works as an Associate Professor in the Industrial Engineering and Management Research Unit, was able to offer suitable, usable solutions for SHAPE's purposes.
"Mirka's people were most interested in remanufacturing, the related new business and its development. Also, they were interested in modelling and developing circular economy value chains (reverse logistics). These topics will be discussed in more detail during the autumn”, Majava says.
Jukka Majava giving a presentation about Industrial Engineering and Management at Oulu.
Härmälä feels that the visit to Oulu was a success.
" I got a positive impression of the University of Oulu based on this meeting. Mirka has collaborated with the University of Oulu in the past and we look forward to continuing to do so in the future as well,” Härmälä says.
“It has always been easy to get involved with the University of Oulu. Research that is done there has a good balance between practicality and academics”, Sundholm continues.
What is SHAPE ecosystem? You can learn more about the project on SHAPE's website.
Vilma Lehto
Viestinnän harjoittelija / Communications Intern
+358 50 305 5761
vilma.lehto@oulu.fi
Blogitekstit, uutiset, sosiaalinen media, tapahtumaviestintä.
Blog posts, news, social media, events communication.