Proceeds from recycling campaign to go for nature preservation / ContiTech supports environmental project in Northeim´s Mittelwald forest / Tree planting initiative with students slated for spring 2014 

Northeim - ContiTech is planting trees in Northeim´s Mittelwald forest. The printing blanket segment of the ContiTech Elastomer Coatings business unit is supporting the Northeim Mittelwald environmental project with proceeds from a Europe-wide recycling campaign. With every metal printing blanket that ContiTech recycles, the company will be helping protect both nature and the environment.

ContiTech Elastomer Coatings will present the campaign to the public at its printing blanket symposium at Hotel Freigeist in Northeim on June 14, 2013. In fall, the municipal forestry department will prepare the ground in the Northeim Mittelwald area for afforestation. In the spring of 2014, ContiTech will plant native tree types that have become rare - such as wild service and wild pear - as part of a large planting initiative with students from Corvinianum Northeim high school.

Saving energy and resources, manufacturing without solvents, avoiding climate-damaging emissions - protecting the environment and nature have always been part of the corporate philosophy at ContiTech. „We are working intensively on solutions in all production, material, and processing areas to make sure that manufacturing printed products has less impact on the climate and environment. As the leading manufacturer of printing blankets, we want to lead the way in this area. The decision to link the recycling of metal printing blankets with support for the Northeim Mittelwald forest fits in well with our environmental commitment,“ says Markus Gnass, head of Metal Printing Blankets at ContiTech Elastomer Coatings. It was Gnass who had the idea for the campaign.

Metal-based printing blankets are used for newspaper printing all over the world. Since the blankets remain valuable even after their use in printing machines, ContiTech collaborated with experts to develop a concept for the competent recycling of used metal printing blankets. On request, the company provides customers throughout Europe with robust transport boxes as collection containers for the metal-based blankets. This means they are fed back into the recycled substance cycle in a way that is eco-friendly.

By taking back every CONTI-AIR^® brand metal printing blanket, the company is supporting the Northeim Mittelwald environmental project, winner of a national nature conservation award. „As an important local employer, we are facing up to our responsibility to society and the environment and making a contribution to voluntary and sustained climate protection in Germany,“ explains Dr. Thomas Perkovi?, head of the printing blanket segment at ContiTech Elastomer Coatings.

The Northeim Mittelwald project and the forestry association of the same name have commited themselves to preserving the rich diversity of flora and fauna as well as to preserving the forest's traditional and historic character. With its viewing platform, the nature trail is not only a popular recreation area in the region. Schools and kindergartens in Northeim also use it for education purposes, as does the University of Göttingen for research projects.