Meet our experts from the industry
We work closely with our Advisory Board to ensure that the fair goes in the direction demanded by the industry. They are all strong representatives of the plastics and rubber industry and help us to ensure that the fair becomes a most advantageous meeting place that maintains the right quality for both exhibitors and visitors. Let’s get to know each of them below.
lennart
johansson
Co-ordinator Swedish Plastics Industry Association (SPIF)
Lennart Johannson has a PhD in Chemical Technology with a focus on plastics. He has worked as a Senior Scientist at ABB Corporate Research and Senior Development Scientist at Orica. The various activities he has engaged in have resulted in both new patent inventions and three published books. He has an extensive experience of presenting scientific articles at international conferences and has served on the boards of the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE), the Scandinavian Society of Electron Microscopy (SCANDEM) and the Swedish Plastics Industry Association (SPIF). He currently conducts plastic education in eight different countries around the world.
“I hope to add experience as an industry manager for SPIF and as a responsible exhibitor at various fairs”.
Per Stefan
Gersbro
Managing Director,
Paccedo
Per-Stefan has over 30 years of experience in the packaging industry and has held several prominent positions in international packaging companies and organizations in Belgium, England, Switzerland, and Sweden. He was the initiator of Packbridge, where he also served as CEO for 5 years. Today, he works as a consultant, where his extensive network provides excellent opportunities for, among other things, an established conference business, with 10-15 seminars and conferences per year. In these contexts, he is responsible for project management, programming, and moderating panel discussions across a broad range of areas, such as sustainability, materials, automation, design, and trends.
“I hope to bring new thoughts and ideas to the steering group, particularly on how Plastteknik can address one of the hottest and most pressing issues in plastics, namely the use of plastics in the packaging sector.
Sara
Georgsson
Marketing & Business Development Director
Sara Georgsson has extensive experience in product and assortment development, marketing, and business development, with over 15 years in leading roles. She is currently the Head of Marketing and Business Development at Biofiber Tech Sweden AB, where she has been responsible for the commercialization of the company’s sustainable material solutions since March 2020. Previously, she held key positions at BRIO, Silva, ICA, and Fjällräven within assortment and branding. With strong skills in marketing strategies, business development, and strategic communication, Sara is currently contributing to Biofiber Tech’s innovation and growth journey in sustainable plastic solutions.
“I look forward to contributing new ideas and strategies to promote sustainable and circular solutions within the plastics industry, focusing on the necessary strategic partnerships.”
Vesa
Kärhä
CEO of the Finnish Plastics Industries Federation
Vesa Kärhä is the CEO of the Finnish Plastics Industries Federation. Since the start of his career (early 1980s), he has worked in the recycling of plastics and environmental issues.
Johan
Abramsson
Business Development Manager
AKRO Compounds
Business Development Manager for AKRO Compounds in the Nordic countries at K.D. Feddersen Plastics Machinery.
Kerstin
Jedvert
Project Manager
Chalmers Industriteknik
Kerstin is a civil engineer in biotechnology and holds a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from Chalmers University of Technology. She has extensive experience in research and project management within academia (Chalmers, Friedrich Schiller University) and at research institutes (Swerea, RISE Research Institutes of Sweden). Her projects have mainly focused on the development of bio-based or recycled/circular materials.
Johannes
Kjellgren
VD
WEMO Automation
“Jag arbetar som VD, med fokus på sälj och marknad, för Wemo Automation AB, där vi levererar värdeskapande automationslösningar inom plastproduktion och palletering.”
Helen
Thors
Technical Sales Polymer and Polyurethane, Brenntag
“For the past 20 years, I have worked with customers and suppliers in many different industries, ranging from pharma and process oils to, for the past 8 years, plastics and PU. Developing with customers together with suppliers in a time like this, where legal requirements and end-user demands are interconnected in sometimes very challenging ways, allows thoughts and ideas to flow freely.”
Lars
Petrén
BU Manager, Bayer Group & Chairman of SGF
Lars Petrén works with technical development and has a commercial responsibility for Arlanxeo, the world’s largest manufacturer of synthetic elastomers. In addition, he is chairman of SGF (Swedish Rubber Technical Association), delegate in IRC and IRCO technical committee. Previously, Petrén was also a polymer specialist at Volvo Powertrain.
Mattias
Kristiansson
Marketing Director PLM Group
With 15 years of experience as a technology editor and in recent years as editor-in-chief of the 3d printer site 3dp.se, Mattias Kristiansson is a very good resource in our Advisory Board. Since the turn of the year, he has been working as marketing manager at 3DVerkstan, which helps companies in industries such as architecture, manufacturing, product development, maintenance and medical technology to get started with additive manufacturing technology and 3D training.
Per Stefan
Gersbro
Managing Director,at Paccedo
Per-Stefan has more than 30 years of experience from the packaging industry and has held several prominent positions in international packaging companies and organizations in Belgium, England, Switzerland and Sweden. He was the initiator of Packbridge, where he also worked there as a CEO for 5 years. Today he is active as a consultant, where his broad network provides excellent conditions for and among other things, an established conference business, with 10-15 seminars and conferences per year. In these contexts, he is responsible for project management, programs and moderation in panel discussions in a wide range of areas, such as sustainability, materials, automation, design and trends.
“I hope to be able to add new thoughts and ideas to the steering group, including how Plastteknik can address one of the hottest and most pressing plastic issues, namely plastic use in the packaging area.”
Andreas
Bladh
Marketing / Sales at Quiptec AB
Andreas began his career in the plastics industry in 2004 as a technician. Since then, he has extensive experience in sales and marketing at Animex Plast AB, which was an agent for machinery and peripherals. Since 2008, Andreas runs the company Quiptec AB together with his father with the main focus on marketing and sales. Quiptec AB is the general agent for most agencies in Sweden and Norway in the plastics and rubber industry.
Andreas has been on the steering group for the plastic machine group since 2017. Otherwise Andreas is a true plastic friend who likes to drive and start discussions about plastic as he sees the advantages of this material where many others see disadvantages.
Martin
Strååt
VD at Novoplast
Martin has a background as a researcher in plastic processing. In 2015, he was one of the founders behind Novoplast, a plastic recycling company that helps its customers to use more recycled materials in their products.
“I have always liked the connections between technology development and business development.”
Henrik
Oxfall
IKEM
Henrik has an extensive experience from from Chalmers and RISE IVF’s research and development work in plastics and polymeric materials, where the main focus has been on processing, characterization and recycling.
“In my current role, as responsible for plastics processing issues at the industry organization IKEM – Innovations – and the chemical industries in Sweden, I have a close contact with our member companies on the plastics side and hope to represent the plastics industry in a good way.”
Hans
Friedsam
President, Nordic Bioplastics Association
Hans Friedsam is chairman of the Nordic Bioplastics Association with 46 member companies and has 40 years in the trade press/media and the event industry. During these years, he has started and run industry magazines, arranged trade fairs, major events and conferences and started industry organizations. Chairman of SGF (Swedish Rubber Technology Association) Delegate in IRC and IRCO technical committee.
Claes
Torkelsson
Business Unit Manager at IMCD
Claes Torkelsson has not only 25 years of experience in the chemical industry but also has an experience of working in plast industry from last 20 years, mainly in Styrenics. He has previously worked for BASF, which is a leading producer in the chemical industry, and for Styrolution, which is one of the largest players in styrene-based plastics.
Since 2016, he has also worked as a Business Unit Manager at IMCD with Nordic responsibility.
Niclas
Forsström
VD
Fristads Plast
Mirja
Juslin
Managing Director
Plastics Association FI
Mirja is the Managing Director of the Finnish Plastics Association since October 2022. She has a wide experience in leadership and quality management in many industry sectors, also from plastics and especially injection molding.
“I personally think that plastics are just a brilliant material with usage possibilities in multipurpose needs. As we know, the circular economy in plastics is just starting to grow as a significant sector of industry and will affect in reducing CO2 emissions only in a positive way”.
Anne
Ristorp Kraufeldt
Editor
PlastForum Danmark
Anne Kraufeldt is a trained journalist and editor at the Danish B2B media PlastForum (plastforum.dk) and the magazine PlastForum.
These media are owned by the Danish media house Nordic Media, who also publish the Swedish and Norwegian PlastForum.
The niche media PlastForum follows the Danish plastic producing and processing industry closely and is an official media partner to Plastteknik Nordic 2023.
