FRANKFURT, Germany — May 7, 2026 — At the Techtextil trade fair in Frankfurt at the end of April, Peter D. Dornier, chairman of the VDMA’s Walter Reiners Foundation, presented awards to five successful young engineers.
Image source: VDMA
Promotion and sustainability awards were presented in the categories of bachelor’s/project theses and diploma/master’s theses. Academic theses are eligible for the sustainability awards if, for example, they develop solutions for resource-efficient products and technologies.
Mattis Körner, from TU Dresden, received a sustainability award for his internship project, in which he analysed the effects of fibre lengths on the properties of fibre composites.
Annegret Storm was awarded a promotion prize for her bachelor’s thesis, which she completed at RWTH Aachen. She evaluated microwave heating technology in the false-twist texturing process.
Lukas Robert Balon (RWTH Aachen) was awarded a promotion prize in the master’s category. In his thesis, he developed a CFD model to describe the flow conditions during BCF texturing.
The Walter Reiners Foundation awarded a promotion prize to Katrin Platte for her master’s thesis, which she completed at the DITF in Denkendorf. The topic was the design of a drafting machine for precursor filament yarns.
The recycling of carbon fibres was the subject of the master’s thesis by Sabina Dann, RWTH Aachen, who was awarded a sustainability prize by the foundation.
60 Years Walter Reiners Foundation
During the event, the foundation celebrated its 60th anniversary. To mark the occasion, the foundation’s chairman, Peter D. Dornier, looked back on the industry’s development over the past decades together with former award winners Prof. Stefan Schlichter (1989 award) and Dr Heiko Schenuit (2013 award).
The entire industry benefits from the work of the Walter Reiners Foundation, as highly qualified young engineers are essential for tomorrow’s success.
Posted: May 7, 2026
Source: VDMA Textile Machinery Association / Walter Reiners Foundation
