It is with great sadness that we bid farewell to Harri Dittmar, who passed away on October 13, 2024 after a short, serious illness. Harri was a leading and influential figure in the field of thermoplastic fiber composites, a material that he played a key role in shaping and developing over four decades.
Harri Dittmar graduated with a degree in plastics engineering from Aalen University of Applied Sciences in 1983. Just one year later, he began his professional career in an industry that was still in its infancy at the time, but was to develop into one of the most important pillars of modern lightweight construction, particularly in the automotive industry.
During his time at BASF and Elastogran from 1985 onwards, Harri played a decisive role in the development and optimization of the flow-mouldable GMT material. His innovative work helped to bring this material to maturity and expand its application possibilities in a wide range of projects. From 1997, he continued his career at General Electric Plastics before moving to Quadrant in Switzerland in 2001. There he played a central role in the further development of the material group, particularly in the development of LWRT technology, which opened up new fields of application through its weight optimization.
In the later years of his career, Harri remained loyal to lightweight construction with thermoplastic fiber composites and dedicated himself to the project and application development of organic sheets. From 2011 to 2017, he worked for Bond-Laminates (later Lanxess, now Envalior), where he made a significant contribution to the further establishment of this new group of materials for lightweight automotive applications. In recent years, he has been working on e-mobile composite applications in collaboration with Elring-Klinger. His innovative strength is reflected in more than 25 patents bearing his name, as well as in numerous specialist articles and lectures in which he has shared his knowledge. Through his active involvement in the AVK, he has also championed materials and their dissemination in the trade association.
Harri Dittmar was not only a brilliant engineer, but also a person who inspired many people with his passion, his expertise, his solution-oriented approach and his integrity. With his passing, we have lost a tireless campaigner for the further development of the thermoplastic composites materials group and a valued colleague who dedicated his professional life to the advancement of this technology.
In addition to his professional commitments, Harri was a passionate sportsman and adventurer. In his free time, he was often drawn to the heights, be it with a hang glider or a paraglider. Hiking, mountain biking, skiing and gardening were also among his favorite activities.
We will remember Harri Dittmar not only as an outstanding engineer, but also as a fine, helpful and proactive person. He leaves a gap that will be difficult to fill. Our sympathy goes out to his family and loved ones. Harri, we will miss you.
Prof. Dr. Frank Henning, Karl Ludwig Brentrup, Prof. Dr. Alois Schlarb, Prof. Dr. Christian Obermann, Dr. Tapio Harmia, Bernhard Scherübl, Co den Besten, Dr. Egon Moos, Sreenivas Paruchuri, Christopher Johnston, Bernd Uwe Wulf and on behalf of the AVK Dr. Elmar Witten.