Furnishing specialists equip Deutsche Bank Park with seats
The Polish company Forum by Nowy Styl`s has equipped Deutsche Bank Park in Frankfurt with new seats. The seats are characterised by a sustainable production process and consist largely of post-production waste.
The topic of sustainable stadium seat refurbishment is getting at speed, and Forum by Nowy Styl has already been developing its know-how for a while. Just to mention a successful 974 Stadium made of transport containers (World Cup 2022) or fully sustainable refurbishment at Rybnik municipal stadium.
On the occasion of Eintracht Frankfurt Stadium expansion, Forum by Nowy Styl reached another milestone in designing ecological stadium solutions. The brand provided over 40,000 seats made of a granulate comprising 80 % post-production waste.
“For years, we`ve been collaborating with the Forum brand, and our experiences have always been friendly, professional, and of high quality”, said Daniel Garcia, Head of Technology and Events, Eintracht Frankfurt F.C.
This material was created in collaboration with Grupa Azoty Compounding, which specialises in an innovative approach to synthetic compounds, and eagerly joined the project. The project was challenging as, apart from the basic ingredient—polyamide—the stadium seats are enriched with flame retardant and UV blocking agents.
In this light, using recycled material as a basis meant creating a completely new plastic mix, and all of the mentioned ingredients had to be adjusted once again. All this was done to maintain the top quality of the final product.
Our stadium, our colours
It was a complicated case, though. Given progressing climate changes and sustainable development, it was hard to justify refinishing tens of thousands of seats solely because of their colour.
Daniel Garcia explained: “The chair exchange was an emotional decision; we wanted to demonstrate that the stadium belongs to the club and the fans. Nevertheless, we are an environmentally conscious organization. The club takes environmental protection seriously, so we couldn`t just dispose of good chairs. We wanted to do this in a sustainable manner. The new chairs had to have the most neutral carbon dioxide balance possible, which is why our requirement was to produce them with at least 80% recycled material.”
Priceless, as the symbolic meaning of such a decision would be, the Club had to plan it in detail. It all started with a new stadium design that expanded the capacity to 60,000 spectators. The construction permit was issued in 2022, and the actual work started the following year.
At the same time, the Club had to deal with the existing seats—utilising them was not an option. “Necessity is the mother of invention,” as they say, and Eintracht got some ideas of what to do with the spare blue seats.
One was an offer dedicated to the fans and season pass` holders—they could buy out “their seats” for a symbolic sum. In fact, everyone could buy a seat but regulars could purchase the exact seat they sat on for years cheering for their beloved team.
Another offer aimed at institutions—schools and smaller local clubs could purchase sets at a special price. Finally, all the seats that were left were recycled to polyamide granulate that could be reused for different purposes. Eintracht Frankfurt wanted the new seats to have a minimal negative environmental impact, so one requirement was that they be manufactured from at least 80% recycled material.
A strategic collaboration: Forum by Nowy Styl and Grupa Azoty Compounding
Eintracht`s requirements were very demanding, Forum by Nowy Styl looked for a technology partner to design the recycled compound. Grupa Azoty Compounding took the challenge and created an innovative granulate comprising 80% recycled plastic (PIR).
“Participating in this project was an absolute milestone for us. With our experienced technical team and a specialist laboratory, we feel we demonstrated what`s best in our company`s operations. Grupa Azoty Compounding offers hundreds of standard mixes but can also adjust the compound to dedicated needs or design a dedicated product according to customers’ requirements. Implementing such products proves our pro-environmental attitude by providing—in line with Grupa Azoty Group Strategy—safe and functional products based on innovative and complex solutions that meet consumers` expectations”, said Dariusz Cholewa, Managing Director Grupy Azoty Compounding Sp. z o.o.
Safety certificates
Forum by Nowy Styl does not bargain quality. All stadium products have relevant certificates that meet the highest European standards. The seats from 80% recycled plastic were not an exception. The manufactured seats meet the European incombustibility standards (DIN EN 4102) in B1 class. Additionally, they hold level 4 UV-resistance (EN ISO 4892-1, -2 ). The seats shipped to Frankfurt also hold the German GS certificate in terms of material durability on the highest level 4 (DIN EN 12-727).
The seat installation at Deutsche Bank Stadion occurred between June and August 2023. The facility operated normally during this time. Forum by Nowy Styl provided over 40.000 shell-type seats Omega and over 100 tip-up seats, Sigma. All of them were produced from the environmentally-friendly, recycled compounds. (stadiaworld, 17.06.2024)
