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BIOFORE
In good company
Among the giants of the automotive
industry, the Biofore Concept Car was
in good company in Geneva. The latest
models from the industry's major
players were displayed right next to the
exhibition stand of Metropolia, which
was responsible for building the car.
In addition to the newmate-
rials, industry leaders were inter-
ested in the car’s design. People from
Ferrari's design department visited the
Metropolia student’s exhibition area a
number of times to take a closer look
at the car.
Juha Tuomola
, a student
who was in charge of the car’s interior
and exterior design, explains that the
aimwas to create an ecological city car
with good visibility in traffic. Tuomola
is happy with the result and feed-
back given to him. His goal is one day
to become a designer at an Italian car
manufacturing company.
"Car designers must be visionaries,
as it will take years before the products
will be introduced to the markets. This
car does not resemble anything on the
market, and in that sense the design is
very successful."
Irish auto journalist
Kevin Fenix
was also impressed with the car.
"First of all, the design of the car is
very successful. It looks appealing and
attractive, and the glass roof brings in
light. The car’s seats are comfortable
and its size is perfect for city traffic.
"In addition, the wood lining of the
car gives a sophisticated look & feel.
The colour is very natural, which is
good inmy opinion. The car’s finish is
beautiful. Overall, I think that the car
is very successful."
According to Elisa Nilsson, the coop-
eration with the young talents has also
been an important experience for UPM.
"For the students, this has been an
excellent opportunity to demonstrate
their skills and cooperate closely with
UPM. We, on the other hand, have
enjoyed seeing how strongly they have
committed to the project."
A model of sustainability
A perfect example of sustainable
development: automotive industry
professionals are interested in UPM’s
development work.
Harald Braun
fromMercedes-Benz remarks that
building a concept car is a perfect way
to take new steps towards sustainable
development.
"The industry needs research like
this in order to demonstrate how
sustainability can be incorporated into
car design.
"What is interesting about this
development is to investigate how
much of the materials from the first
cars that are manufactured using
biomaterials can be recycled and used
inmanufacturing of subsequent cars.
It is impossible to achieve a 100% recy-
cling rate, but the challenge is to figure
out how close to this target we can get."
Braun remarks that sustainable
development is becoming an increas-
ingly more important factor affecting
consumers' purchase decisions.
"After that come ecological and
economic factors, whichmust be in
balance. Meeting all the requirements
of sustainable development in trans-
port will be the next big challenge of
our time."
The adventures of the Biofore
Concept Car in Geneva continued
after theMotor Show. The car was
on display at the UN's Geneva head-
quarters for the International Day of
Forests, the theme of which was the
green economy and the innovative
use of forest fibres. Ambassador
Päivi
Kairamo
from the Permanent Mission
of Finland in Geneva spoke at the event
and stated that the Biofore Concept Car
is an excellent example of cooperation
between an industry and a university.
"It combines an innovative approach
with the aim to make it possible to
manufacture cars in a more sustain-
able and resource-efficient manner in
the future," said Kairamo. The Biofore
Concept Car will be inspected and
registered to be a street legal vehicle
in Finland.